Whether looking for jewelry, clothing, condiments, glassware, home décor, books, toys or something else, vendors at Golden High School were selling thousands of possible holiday gifts.
The school and its PTA hosted the 8th annual holiday bazaar on Dec. 3, as more than 50 local vendors sold their wares. The event raises about $2,000 every year, which goes toward seniors’ college scholarships and grants for staff and students, PTA members Carole Goodspeed and Edmond Toy explained.
GHS band members provided holiday music in the library, as visitors from the nearby wrestling tournament and other locals wandered up and down the main hallway.
Bailey’s Jennifer Hulin, who grew up in Golden and attended GHS, was hosting a shared stand for her Chakra Healing Jewelry wares and her stepmom’s Glass Gal pieces.
Hulin has participated in the holiday bazaar before and said it’s always a nice day to visit with family and friends. She likes coming back to GHS and seeing her high school classmates as well. Plus, she has a good response from customers at the event.
Indian Hills-based Alpacas of Sans Souci returned on Dec. 3, after seeing a good response from customers at its first GHS bazaar last year, assistant Michele Rubio said.
Overall, Rubio described the Golden event as a well-organized show. The only downside’s the lack of internet access inside the school, which made electronic transactions tricky, she and owner Michelle Releford said.
Releford has been keeping alpacas in Indian Hills for 11 years and taking alpaca-fiber products to shows like the holiday bazaar. Rubio has been helping over the last 18 months, saying she enjoys talking to people about the alpacas and showing them new products.
The two worked at a lot of high school events last year, like GHS’ bazaar, Rubio described. However, Golden’s was the best, so they decided to return.
Among the vendors participating in their first GHS bazaar was Lakewood’s Tracy Thomson of Gypsy Dreams, which sells repurposed clothing and handmade home décor.
Thomson said she used to do big markets like this before the pandemic, and while she lives in Lakewood, she’s become part of the Golden Women in Business community. So, the GHS holiday bazaar seemed like the perfect event to attend.
She encouraged people to support small, local businesses this holiday season and beyond, adding, “And this is a great show to do that at.”
