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Date: 6/16/2021
ENFIELD, CT – Our Lady of the Mt. Carmel Society are looking for crafters and vendors for their Christmas in October Outdoor Craft and Vendor Fair event on Oct. 23 from 10 a.m.- 3 p.m. at 93 Park Ave.
“This is our first October event,” said Coordinator Debbie Lynch. "We're looking for vendors and crafters. Crafters would have to have items that are 75 percent hand-made such as jewelry, tie dye and yard art. As far as vendors, it would be companies like Avon, Paparazzi Accessories, Color Street and Pampered Chef.”
She continued, “We had a very successful event on May 1, so we decided to go with our second one in October and already have about 40 vendors and crafters that have signed up. We know that people start shopping for Christmas early. If we offered a Mt. Carmel Society Christmas in October, we thought we would get more attention from our shoppers.”
The Mt. Carmel Society is a non-profit Catholic Italian-American social club celebrating family, faith and Italian heritage. It was founded in 1926 in the Thompsonville section of Enfield. President Carl Sferrazza said it was originally founded to accommodate the influx of Italian immigrants that were moving here in the 20th century. Most of them immigrated from southern Italy in hopes that they could find a better life for their children. When they moved to Enfield, many of the immigrants didn’t speak English, so they all tended to live in the same area and ended up forming a social group called the Our Lady of the Mt. Carmel Society.
“It was very common back in Italy every village had a patriot saint,” responded Sferrazza. “They chose the Blessed Mother Our Lady of the Mt. Carmel and they brought some property at 93 Park as a place to go and socialize.”
The main requirements for membership are either you have Italian descent or married to an Italian. Within the club are two parts, the Women's Auxiliary and the regular Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Society
“Our grandfathers, grandmothers and great grandfathers were members, so we understand the sacrifices they made,” Sferrazza stated. “They left their home country and came to a foreign land in search of a better life and with them they wanted to become American citizens working intense labor jobs to support their families. What they brought with them was a blueprint for how to live your life which is; the importance of family, giving back to your community, friendship and of course our devotion to God and the Blessed Mother.”
Mt. Carmel had 76 vendors and crafters at the May 1 event. Now, they have expanded to 90 spaces for the October fair. The proceeds of this event will go to Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Women's Auxiliary offering scholarships and serving community programs as well as national state and local charities. Through the donations they’ll receive from the booths will help contribute to those charities.
“This is a venue for people to show their craft, talents or whatever they have for their business,” Lynch replied. “My goal is to help them be successful in their small businesses and if I can accomplish that would be awesome.”
Vendors and crafters interested in participating email Debbie Lynch at pozie333@gmail.com.