There were a lot of elephants at the annual St. Kevin – now St. Kevin/St. Benedict – bazaar held at McNally Gym at Hendricken High School. The elephants weren’t white and came in cuddly and cozy forms.

Janice Meegan, who crocheted more than 200 stuffed animals – that’s the total for two years since last year’s bazaar was canceled – said elephants are always popular. For a while, snakes were in, and then unicorns, dragons and dinosaurs. Elephants are a standby, somebody always wants an elephant.

Putting together the Meegan menagerie is a year-round effort. Janice gets help from her son and daughter, so it’s a family affair. Guided by patterns, Janice crochets sections of sections of her creations and puts them aside for assembly. If she completed them with stuffing, she said, she just wouldn’t have the space all of them.

It’s planning like that that goes into the bazaar. Loriann Bose has worked the bazaar for as long as there has been one. That’s 16 years. The planning process for this past weekend’s bazaar started in March. Parishioners bring in items that are used for prizes as well as to fill tables with everything from candles and dishware to tools, dishes, pottery and knickknacks. Then there are baked goods, lots of baked goodies, raffles and the ever-popular drawing of straws. Lucky straws contain numbers that can be matched with numbered prizes.

Bazaar proceeds over the years have ranged from $18,000 to $23,000. Bose said this year’s bazaar got off to a great start with the pre-sale of $10,000 in tickets.

Running the bazaar hasn’t gotten any easier. The ranks of parishioners are aging, and as Bose notes, “it’s harder with the younger generation. They don’t seem to want to volunteer.”

It means all the more work for her and her team. But she loves doing it to a point.

With completion of this year’s bazaar, Bose vowed, “I’m going home and getting a bottle of wine.”

Text and photos by John Howell