MCC Relief Sale 2016

Two separate auctions – quilts and crafts – are major attractions to the Nebraska MCC Relief Sale being held on Friday and Saturday, April 1 and 2, at the Hamilton County Fairgrounds in Aurora. Proceeds from this 37^th annual sale go to the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC), a relief, service, humanitarian, and peace agency.

The double auction will be the place to purchase quilts, original artwork, handcrafted wood items, as well as some agriculture related items and processed beef and pork. Merchandise available for sale includes cash-and-carry priced items such as small crafts, garden plants, kids’ toys and games, and home baked foods as well as cheeses, meats, dried fruit, and nuts.

All buildings open on Friday at 4:00 p.m. for viewing of sale items. Friday night will feature musical entertainment (beginning at 6:00) and a mini-auction (beginning at 7:00) in separate buildings. The Friday night auction features agriculture items, processed pork and beef, and other miscellaneous items. All priced-item booths remain open until 8:30 p.m. On Saturday morning, the auctions begin at 8:00 a.m. continuing all day until all items are sold. A more specific schedule may be found on the website.

There are plenty of meal and snack options available during the two-day event. Full meal options include the Friday night soup supper and BBQ pork sandwich meal (both days).  Saturday begins with an all-you-can-eat pancake breakfast, followed by several noon meal options. Besides the BBQ pork sandwiches, there is a verenika and ham noon meal as well as windsor loins or BBQ chicken dinner. Snack options include: ice cream sundaes, baked goods and candy, pizza, hotdogs, nachos and pop, and ice cream bars. Sale visitors will also want to try some of the delicious ethnic Mennonite foods available including New Year’s cookies, apple prieshka, and kleine zweibach. 

Admission is free to this great event for all ages. The Hamilton County Fairgrounds are located at 8^th and A Streets in Aurora. Parking is also free.

The theme for this year is “Relief, development, and peace in the name of Christ.” The purpose of the Nebraska MCC Sale is to raise funds to meet human need. MCC is the relief, service, and development agency of North American Mennonite and Brethren in Christ churches. MCC seeks to demonstrate God’s love through committed women and men who work among people suffering from poverty, conflict, oppression, and natural disaster. Volunteers work to remove barriers that separate people from each other in a ministry of reconciliation.

Information and photos ay be found at www.nebraskamccsale.org or the Nebraska MCC Relief Sale Facebook page. Questions may be emailed to sale chair Will Swartzendruber at willswartzendruber@gmail.com or to publicity chair Kathryn Goertzen at kgoertzen@mainstaycomm.net.