37th Annual Mennonite Country Auction on Saturday

The Mennonite Country Auction and Relief Sale takes place at the Menno Mennonite Church Grounds on Saturday, Oct. 4.

Admission is free and the public is invited to attend all events. The church is located at 1378 North Damon Road in Ritzville.

Saturday events start with breakfast at 7 a.m. until 9 a.m., with the booths opening at 10 a.m.

A large variety of booths are onsite at the event.

The booths include: Ten Thousand Villages, Country Store (homemade baked goods and garden produce), Quilter’s Corner Plus, Great Gatherings, freshly made New Year’s Cookies, pies, freshly made apple cider, apple butter, Amish cheeses from Ohio, sausage, Christmas hams, and bacon made in Montana, sausage and hamburger sandwiches, barbecue ribs, African ground nut stew, a hummus plate and other vegetarian options, Greek Gyros, and the Etcetera and Crafts booths.

There will be coffee mugs and water bottles with a special design on them for sale. Purchase a coffee mug or travel tumbler and get free coffee all day.

The “Penny Power” this year is to gather pennies, and other coins, to help MCC with the Philippines Typhoon Haiyan relief project.

Pennies will be collected in the churches prior to the sale, with an opportunity to donate spare change on the sale day as well.

More information can be found on MCC website at http://www.mcc.org/stories/rebuilding-philippines.

Activities for the kids include a kid’s booth, bounce house, and a basketball shoot.

At 10:30 the pastors will explain, “Who are the Mennonites?” in the church sanctuary and answer any questions.

At noon the auction starts with the traditional auctioning of the “loaf of bread” that will be used for the following day’s worship service communion.

Quilts, handcrafted items, collectables, four tickets to the U of W/WSU Apple Cup, two tickets to the Seahawk/Rams game Dec. 28, more quilts, and other items of interest, are just a few of the items at the auction.

The auction is known for the high quality and detailed quilts, which typically bring in the most money during the live auction.

Some of the quilts come from the MCC Quilt Room, Ephrata, Pennsylvania, others come from Canada, and local quilters as well as quilters from other states.

The best parking is found earlier in the day, with limited handicapped parking available to cardholders.

There is free parking for cars, buses and RVs, but no hookups are available.

Since 1978, when the sale was first started, over $2.5 million has been raised for Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) and their projects of peace, relief and development around the world. The Mennonite Country Auction & Relief Sale is one of over 47 relief sales held in the United States and Canada. It has a long history of addressing natural disasters and issues relating to food security and food injustices. It also helps work as an advocate for just trade and fair economic polices.

MCC was born in 1920 in response to hunger and related human need brought on by war and revolution in Russia and the Ukraine.

Today MCC has about 1,000 workers serving in 53 countries and sends assistance to around 70 countries.

MCC’s programs include providing material aid, such as wheat, beans, clothing and medical supplies to meet emergency needs, and agricultural development and water conservation projects to improve life in communities around the globe.

For more information about this event, call the church at 659-0926 or 347-6847.

The church can also be contacted by email at [email protected] or visit http://www.mennonitecountryauction.mennonite.net