The last Saturday in November has always been fixed in the parish diary for many years for the Christmas Market and the 2024 market held on Sat 30th November, was once again a highly successful event, raising in excess of €16,000 for parish funds.
However, the Christmas Market is not just about raising money, important though that is! It is also a major social event attended not only by parishioners but by their friends and neighbours and those from neighbouring church communities.
Lucy Michael took on the role of market coordinator, assisted by a team of volunteers with specific responsibilities, while Hazel Bolton, who has been associated with the organisation of the market for many years, was again to the fore in liaising with the stallholders.
The Fundraising Team, consisting of Carol Winterbotham, Mandy Fleury, Sally-Anne Edwards and Richard Firth did an outstanding job .
As always, we are grateful to all who donated items for the various stalls and ensured that everything was in good condition.
The kitchen, under the management of Sally Anne Edwards and her team of helpers did a fantastic job. The cake stall and toy stall were particularly popular as was the bric-a-brac section. There was an amazing array of bottles on the bottle stall and a lovely selection of gifts for sale on the gift stall. The deli stall was packed with homemade jams, chutneys and the ever-popular book stall, did a roaring trade, and several people reported some great finds! There was plenty of festive cheer in the Coffee Dock area with mulled wine, mince pies and fresh cream.
The raffle continues to be a major feature of the Christmas Market and this year we are grateful to Mandy for all her efforts to obtain many of the great prizes for the event. We are grateful to all of our sponsors who donated prizes.
Members of Fingal Gospel Choir, accompanied by Tenny Firth, provided live Christmas music and added a real buzz to the occasion, and the visit of the real Father Christmas was a highlight for many.