On Monday morning the basement of St. Nicholas-St. Mary School in Wilkes-Barre felt even hotter than the sweltering summer outside.
Sweaty and filled with people, food, and household goods as far as the eye could see, the scene brought Patricia Fagula to tears.
"Yeah, I'm crying," Fagula said with a laugh as she sliced onions at a long table alongside fellow volunteers.
The smell really was that powerful, but so is the passion Fagula and other parishioners feel for their annual three-day bazaar, which kicks off this afternoon on the St. Nicholas Church grounds on South Washington Street in the Diamond City.
Fagula and other volunteers busied themselves Monday morning preparing for the popular food tents, which at that moment others assembled in the parking lot outside.
Much of the basement was filled with donated goods for the bazaar's flea market, with furniture laid out on the gymnasium floor upstairs — including, literally, a kitchen sink.
While not unique to the region, yearly bazaars like the one at St. Nicholas-St. Mary Parish are a beloved tradition intertwined with local identity, particularly its deep ethnic and religious roots.
“I believe our parish festivals in Northeastern and Northcentral Pennsylvania are important to people because they recognize the rich cultural heritage of our area," said Eric Deabill, secretary for communications for the 11-county Roman Catholic Diocese of Scranton.
"Our region was built by immigrants who brought with them many recipes and customs from their homelands. So, whether it’s pierogies, halupki, potato pancakes — or my favorite, haluski — church festivals allow these recipes and traditions to be passed down from one generation to the next.”
While some parishes have already hosted their bazaars, nearly two dozen are scheduled around the diocese between today and October, with the majority this month and next. A full listing follows at the end of the story.
A culinary tour of NEPA's ancestry
Bob Steininger paused in the school kitchen to talk with a reporter and photographer while large vats of steaming liquid jiggled on a cart in front of him. Inside were haluski noodles.
"I'm co-chairperson, so I basically run the meetings, and then I run all the food for the bazaar. Anything dealing with food, I deal with it," Steininger said.
Organizers expect thousands of visitors. They prepare enough food to match the demand.
He rattled off some statistics: 35 pans of haluski, 25 gallons of sauce, 120 pounds of wimpies, an estimated 1,500 pierogi. Outside at the tables, Fagula and her crew had sliced 50 pounds of onions and counting.
For those who don't know, haluski is a buttery dish of cabbage and noodles; halupki are boiled cabbage leaves stuffed with meat and rice; and pierogies are dumplings filled with meat or cheese.
Each is a classic Eastern European dish, found at many parishes around the region, along with potato pancakes and wimpies, which are ground beef sandwiches. Bazaar cuisine varies depending on the parish and its ethnic history. Some parishes may offer more Italian fare, for example, especially in the Pittston area.
St. Nicholas-St. Mary's menu mixes all of the above, and then some. Bazaar visitors also will find Latino dishes, in keeping with the parish's growing Spanish-speaking population, as well as Sister Anna Nguyen’s Vietnamese-style egg rolls, pizza and hot dogs.
But the parish's roots are also deeply German, and that isn't forgotten, with bratwurst, sauerkraut and other dishes offered. Steininger said more are coming.
"We added something new this year: kielbasi and kraut. We also added German desserts this year. One of the desserts is called Dutch Baby, and the other is a German chocolate cake," he said.
Food, fellowship and fundraising
In addition to the food, bazaars around the region also offer music, games, flea markets, and — sometimes — adult beverages.
The greater purpose, though, boils down to two common threads: fellowship and fundraising.
“One of the most important parts of a parish festival is being able to strengthen a sense of community. While parishioners worship together, they all attend different Masses and many not regularly see one another," Deabill said.
"Church festivals bring everyone together in one place to volunteer, share food, enjoy entertainment or simply spend time together. Just as importantly, church festivals invite neighbors and visitors who may not have ever stepped foot inside the church to take part as well, so the festivals allow the welcoming spirit of a parish to shine and make sure these individuals know they are always welcome."
But they're also important to parish finances.
“Behind every successful parish festival or picnic is an army of countless volunteers who spend weeks, and in many cases months, planning every detail. In most instances, a church festival is the largest fundraiser of the year, which helps to sustain parish ministries, maintain church buildings and continue outreach efforts. In reality, each hamburger purchased and raffle ticket that is sold helps to strengthen parish life in some way,” Deabill said.
Steininger agreed.
"This is a big parish, but there's a lot of big bills, and with this bazaar, it helps us [raise] 29% of our whole annual net income," he said.
"We just did a big renovation with the church steps out there, and that was in the thousands and thousands of dollars, and other renovations. We need steeple repairs," he said.
"You just can't keep going back and asking the parishioners all the time. So we need outside money, and it's for the community," Steininger said.
Like Deabill, he knows it's also deeper and more meaninful to many.
"It's a way that everybody gets together to have fun — to meet friends and hopefully make new ones," Steininger said.
Generosity and friendship
The bonding — and the generosity — begins long before the gates open and the first food is served.
It's in the kitchen, where the food is being prepared. It's along the tables where flea market items are being organized — and, indeed, it's in the very donations that leave a school basement stocked to the brim with goods to sell.
"We have so much, as you can see," said flea market chairperson Nancy Verespy Forbes, gesturing toward tables of toys, games, glasswear, souvenirs, dishes, household items, and more.
"We have puzzles here. And Christmas we have coming out of our ears. But that's what it's all about," Forbes said. "Last year we made over $17,000 doing this job — that's at 50 cents a piece for most things, just this part of the bazaar. So it was very helpful."
Turning donations into a profit takes labor.
"On average, I have six or eight people who come just to price things, and then after they've done that, they put it out, and then the next few days we're going to organize it," Forbes said.
"It's hard work because it's hot too. You know, it's air conditioned in here, but now we've got onions to add to the process," she said with a smile.
Many of the volunteers are longtime parishioners, but Forbes and Steininger noted parish youth group members have been active, too.
So it was on Monday morning, as Wilkes-Barre resident Alysha Wipp Rosario, 14, sorted shopping bags for the flea market.
Amid the colorful array of bags before her, Alysha found fun in getting out and seeing friends during the summer.
"I just didn't want to be stuck at home," she said.
Steininger said that's part of the plan.
"We have over 40 young men and women coming to help us at the bazaar this year, and we're going to have jobs for every single one of them," he said.
"Some of the criteria: They must take a break, and they must go and eat, and they must have a good time," he said. "And we hope make a new friend."
Where and when to visit a church bazaar in NEPA
The interest in church bazaars is real and intense, Deabill said, and spread throughout the diocese.
When he started in his current role seven years ago they were listed in The Catholic Light newspaper, "but I noticed there wasn’t a single place where families could easily find information online about all of the festivals taking place throughout the 11 counties of the Diocese of Scranton," he said.
"That’s why we create our online festival listing each year and invite every parish to submit information about their events. It has become an incredibly popular resource," he said. "During just the first two weeks of July this year, nearly 2,000 people have already visited that one landing page on the Diocese of Scranton website."
A full summary, with details, can be found here. A basic calendar follows below:
JULY
● 16,17,18: St. Nicholas-St. Mary Parish, Wilkes-Barre
● 16,17,18: Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church grounds, Pittston
● 17-18: St. Eulalia's Parish, Roaring Brook Twp.
● 17,18,19: Exaltation of the Holy Cross Parish, Buttonwood, Hanover Twp.
● 23, 24, 25: Moscow Country Street Fair/St. Catherine's rummage sale
● 24, 25: Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Lake Silkworth, Hunlock Creek
● 24, 25, 26: Christ the King Parish, St. Mary of Czestochowa Church grounds, Eynon
● 30: Church of St. Luke, Stroudsburg
● 30, 31, Aug. 1: St. Al's, Wilkes-Barre/Hanover Twp.
AUGUST
● 1,2: Our Lady of Victory Church, Tannersville
● 2: St. Ann's Basilica Parish chicken bbq and car show, Scranton
● 6,7,8: Communion of Saints Parish at St. John the Evangelist Church, Pittston
● 7,8,9: St. Matthew's, East Stroudsburg
● 7,8,9: St. John's, Larksville
● 7,8,9: St. Rocco's, Dunmore
● 7,8,9: St. Jude. Mountain Top
● 7,8,9: St. Joseph Melkite Greek-Catholic Church Lebanese-American Food Festival, West Scranton
● 7,8,9: Our Lady of Peace Parish at MPB Church, 127th Annual Madonna del Monte and the Saints of Cilento Festival, Hazleton (Grounds not open Sunday; Rosary recitation, procession of the Cinti and Sunday pasta dinner)
● 15,16: Flea market and bake sale, Ss. Peter and Paul Parish, Plains Twp.
SEPTEMBER
● 2-7: St. Mary of the Lake, Lake Winola, Fall Festival at Wyoming County Fairgrounds
● 27: Gate of Heaven Birthday Tea, Apple Tree Terrace, Dallas
OCTOBER
● 24: Fall Festival, St. Patrick, Nicholson
