Lord’s Acre Tips
Tip #1 - We have a reputation to uphold. Please do not bring anything to the sale that would be in place at a yard sale or a white elephant sale. Please no used items. We’re looking for handmade crafts, homegrown produce, quilts, afghans, baked goods, etc. It doesn’t necessarily have to be made by your hands or grown at your home, but you get the idea. A few new store-bought quality items are all right but not our main auction emphasis.
Tip #2 - Look at the old pictures. For more of an idea of our bazaar and auction, visit the church website at www.hardinschapel.org. We’re waiting to be approved for a new server before updating the site a great deal, but you may follow the Lord’s Acre link to a photo gallery of the 2002 and 2003 Lord’s Acres bazaars, meals, auction items, and the size of the event.
Tip #3 - Do your own baking. See above about our reputation to uphold. Do not bring in store-bought cakes, pies, cookies, etc., for the auction or bazaar. People pay unbelievably high prices for homemade specialties, and that’s what they expect to get.
Tip #4 - Be kind to the dishwashers. Disposable pans are cheap and even better, disposable. You won’t have to be searching around for your dishes and it’s so much easier on the dishwashers.
Tip #5- Don’t come juicy. For items such as green beans and corn, please drain all the juice before bringing them. This makes it much less likely to make a mess.
Tip #6 - Smaller is better. For some reason, people choose more often to get their food out of smaller containers. For disposable aluminum pans, the best choice are the round pans with cardboard lids that may be found at the Stockpot in Johnson City (3215 Hanover Drive, 283-4751). They are the size that you get your Mexican take-out in and can be easily labeled and stacked and are more likely to get empty before they get cold. Two smaller containers of something would be preferable to one larger.
Tip #7 - Don’t be late. Please have your items for the bazaar, I mean, Country Kitchen, here no later than 1:00 on Saturday. Nonperishables may be left at the church or community center earlier in the week. Your food for the supper should be here between 3:30 and 4:00 so we can have everything ready to serve by 4:30. The earlier auctions items are here the more we’ll be likely to attract to stay.
Tip #8 - Have it hot. Please bring all food piping hot and ready to serve. There’s simply not enough room to reheat or microwave anything.
Tip #9 - Keep your lids at home. If you bring a dish you want back, cover it with aluminum foil instead of the usual lid. That’s one less thing to keep up with.
Tip #10 - It ain’t over till it’s over. After the auction finally ends, we still have cleanup to contend with, so don’t be too anxious to get gone.
Tip #11 - Label your items. Things sell better if people know who made them and it’ll speed up the auction considerably if everything that has been made has the name of who made them on the item as well as what the item is (for less common things) or any history or background information so the auction isn’t held up having to ask who made it or what it is.
Tip #12 - Don’t price the label. Label all your Country Kitchen items and the more decorative the better, but don’t put a price on the label. Put the price on either the box (for multiple items) or on the item with a separate sticker.