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The first Plains Public Schools Holiday Bazaar was a big success, according to Debbie Brown, who coordinated the event at the school's new gym and multipurpose room Saturday.

It was a bazaar put on by the school's National Honor Society to raise money for an educational trip, said Heather Worrall, the NHS advisor for the second consecutive year. The group had hoped to fetch around $4,000, said Worrall, but they raised only $800. Worrall said they take the trips every other year, and the next one would be for the 2023/2024 school year, but because NHS has a senior in the group - Kallen Burrows - Worrall would like to do some type of trip in Montana this year. Burrows and Emory Ercanbrach represented the NHS assisting in the direction of vendors to their spaces and had a booth of school swag.

The NHS plans to have other fundraisers and Worrall said they'd like to participate in a bazaar again next year, but instead of selling school swag, such as T-shirts and key chains, she believes a bake sale would raise more money. People can also donate money to NHS. "The people of our small community give us a lot of support and I love that," said Worrall.

Brown was pleasantly surprised at the size of the crowd for the all day event, guessing that maybe between 250-300 people showed up. She also had 42 vendors, with sellers from Plains, Trout Creek, Thompson Falls, Charlo, Ronan and Dayton. Brown said she had to turn down some vendors due to space limitations. "I was hoping that I could fill 15 spaces. This is great," said Brown.

Thirteen booths were student vendors with a variety of products. Students paid $10 for a booth while others paid $20. Thirteen-year-old Shay Nelson had a forest of hand carved wooden trees that he'd been working on over the past year. The trees ranged from a two-inch carving for $2 to a 20-inch tree with a $30 price tag. He even autographed each of his trees.

Sixth-grader Nevaeh Needles sold wildlife and scenic watercolor and acrylic paintings. Cooper, 11, and Kendall, 9, Spurr sold Lotus drinks. Ninth-grader Montana Taylor made and sold knitted hats and beaded and threaded earrings. Carter Goins, a freshman, helped his mother, Jessica Tickner, make Christmas ornaments, candles and decorative plates. Seniors Lily MacDonald and Shylah Flynn shared a booth with ornaments, signs and shelves. Zoey Halden of the sixth grade made dog treats, hot chocolate and coffee. Autumn Leckey made hand painted ornaments, coasters and signs, while her mom, Jordan Chamber, made gnomes.

Senior Ocean Hyde had custom made wood jewelry while her brother, Arrow, helped in different booths. Gavin Schrenk, a 10th grade student, set up a booth to sell wreaths and Christmas trees to raise money for the Little Guy Wrestling program in February. Brown said that senior Joe Pullen showed up early to help bring in vendors' items before heading off to Hamilton for a basketball tournament.

There was a myriad of products - jewelry, metal signs, antler art, candles, Christmas ornaments, decorative plates. The St. James Catholic Church of Plains sold raffle tickets for quilt made by MaryAnn Spiekermeier. Food products were big sellers for student and non-student vendors alike, such as brownies, fudge, white chocolate, cookies and freeze dried candy. Brown had a booth that offered soups, scones and microwave baked potato bags. Student Briauna Kulawinski made reindeer rice crispy treats, white chocolate melted snowmen and candy cane sleighs.

"I would describe it as a complete success," said Brown, a para educator at Plains School. "Our student vendors did well, and several vendors sold out, myself included. Everyone had a great time, a lot of visiting with old acquaintances, laughter, shoppers amazed at our students' talents, which says a lot about our school," said Brown, who added that the bazaar was important for NHS because it is a self-funded organization. Brown said she already has people that want to have booths next year.