Rittenhouse Senior Living of Valparaiso hosted their annual Holiday Bazaar on Saturday which featured a variety of vendors that helped to jumpstart the holiday shopping season. Handmade crafts, crocheted apparel and homewares, cosmetics and baked goods could all be found in the beautifully decorated senior living facility.
“We’ve got eleven different vendors out today,” said Natalie Reisen, Marketing Director at Rittenhouse. “Our ‘Holiday Bazaar’ consists of handmade vendors, craft vendors and business vendors as well as a bake sale. The vendors are people from the community, some relatives of our residents and other local businesses. We try to get more cash and carry items. We have a lady who does crochet and another who makes fudge. There’s also other make-up vendors and that kind of stuff.”
Click here to see more photos from the Holiday Bazaar!
“We do this every year,” Reisen said. “We do a big bake sale and try and get into the spirit! The reason we’re doing this today is to raise money. Through all the proceeds that we collect from the vendors as far as booth fee and from the bake sale will be donated to help the Banta Senior Center.”
One of the many vendors at the Holiday Bazaar was Dotty Slussar who was there to sell her crocheted apparel and housewares.
“I started knitting about six years ago,” Slussar said, as she modeled one of her handmade hats.
“This is the third bazaar or craft show I’ve been to and it’s just so fun! I’m always looking for new patterns and projects, and the free ones you can find online are great. There’s so many!”
There selling small decorated wooden trunks and boxes and looking for gifts from among the many other items for sale was Donna Becker, a receptionist at Rittenhouse of Portage.
“I’ve already bought a bunch and you wouldn’t believe what they’ve got,” said Becker. “Six years ago my daughter, Suzanne Dille, who is the Director of Nursing at Rittenhouse of Valparaiso asked me to work reception when they first opened for just two weeks. Six years later I’m still working as a receptionist with Rittenhouse but now in Portage. This is just so nice though.”
Among the many vendors were representatives from Thirty-One, Mary Kay and Scentsy as well as handmade craft items, candies and sweets and homemade candles. The bake sale featured a variety of homemade goodies all sold to benefit the Banta Center.
The Banta Center is part of the Porter County Aging and Community Services. The mission of the PCACS is to extend a helping hand to seniors and the disabled by providing compassionate services to improve their quality of life while maintaining their dignity and independence.