General auction:                                                        $14,000
Quilt auction:                                                             $22,260
Silent auction:                                                            $2,767
Children’s auction:                                                    $273
Auction “blessing bids” and other donations:     $7,569
Penny Power:                                                             $10,953
Country store:                                                            $6,958
Marta’s Haus:                                                              $4,943
Fair trade:                                                                    $3,300
Books:                                                                          $1,862
Garden shop:                                                              $1,317
Quilt table:                                                                  $930
School kits:                                                                 $543
Apples and cider:                                                       $4,635
Baked goods:                                                              $2,895
Bulk sausage:                                                              $692
Food and drink booths:                                            $14,525

Sale day total:                                                         $100,423

Pre-festival fundraisers:

Chorale:                                                                       $3,680
Albany Barbecue:                                                       $5,860

Total for year:                                                         $109,963

Thanks be to God for the blessings of the 30th annual Oregon Mennonite Festival for World Relief. And thank you for making this day a success. Through our joined efforts, more than $100,000 was raised to serve people around the world through the ministry of Mennonite Central Committee. Here’s a starting list of things we’re thankful for:

1. God’s grace and protection: The rain held off. No one was hurt. And it was a great day.

2. Volunteers, volunteers, volunteers: You stepped forward to set up chairs and display quilts, organize books and fabrics, record bids, sell tickets and fair trade gifts, staff booths and compost stations, paint faces, wash silverware, sweep floors, oh my, and so much more.

3. Quilters, crafters, and woodworkers: It would have been a small auction without you and your skill with needle and thread, wood and tools. The countless hours you gave will give hope to countless people worldwide. Special thanks to our school kit bag sewers and the young artists who decorated shopping bags.

4. Cooks and bakers including Kris Krabill of Kris’ Kitchen, spring roll experts Booney and Chanh Syravong, Gary and Brenda Burch, Wanda Sheeler, Albany Service Adventure, whoopie pie bakers from Zion Mennonite, cookie baking youth, pie bakers George and Aimee Cairati, the apple dumpling gang, and so many others: Exemplifying our 2013 theme of “Food for All,” you made the festival a “feastival.”

5. Generous donors: You provided goods for the auctions, garden shop, Marta’s Haus, country store, book booth, and school kits. And through “blessing bids” in the auction and other direct gifts, donors collectively gave more than $7,000 straight to MCC.

6. Generous bidders and buyers: You know how to shop for a better world!

7. Penny Power ambassadors who collected coins in our churches: You helped raise $10,953.41!

8. More volunteers: Our incredible auctioneers and auction coordinators! The Et Cetera Shop team! Appleman Alan Frost, children’s activities leader Heather Gingrich, and all the store managers! Photographer Don Bacher! The Festival String Band!

9. Behind-the-scenes business partners: Cascades Case, which stores our equipment from year to year. Loaners and movers of straw bales. Mennonite Village, which provided the great soups as well as golf carts this year. Cascade Printing, Lee Newspapers, and Darkside Cinema, which provide nonprofit discounts.

10. And even more volunteers who work year-round on planning: Webmaster and graphic designer Curt Weaver! Board members! Special thanks to Kiara Yoder, who has been our foods director for the last four years and helped make our food service more environmentally friendly. ■

Each year congregations collect coins in the months preceding the festival, showing how small change can make a big difference for people around the world. It’s a great way to involve children in the festival.

For our 30th sale, congregations and families are invited to participate in a special Penny Power Challenge that supports Mennonite Central Committee food projects. During the 30 days of September, your group can choose a goal and raise funds for:

• 30 food shipments of MCC canned meat, dried soup mix, and dried apples to North Korea ($70 per shipment, total goal of $2,100)
• 30 units of seeds for farmers in Nicaragua ($43 per unit, total goal of $1,290
• 30 pairs of rabbits for Palestinian farmers ($24 per pair, total goal of $720)
  

Penny Power resources have been sent to each congregation, and more can be ordered or downloaded from MCC by clicking HERE.

 Here’s a cheer for all our wonderful quilters, whose work stars in the festival auction. Special thanks to those who attended the quilting bees this summer, working on a king-sized quilt pieced at the West Coast MCC Center. Work on the quilt continued at Hope Village in Canby, where Frank Howard worked out that it contains approximately 65,000 stitches!

Please take your completed quilt to one of the pick-up locations by the date noted so it can be lovingly displayed at the Oct. 12 auction:

Portland area: Monday, Sept. 16, Portland Mennonite Church (503-234-0559); contact Alice Hill (503-771-2421) or Joan Imhoff (503-288-4354).

Hubbard, Canby, Woodburn area: Tuesday, Sept. 24, Zion Mennonite Church (503-651-2274); contact Louise Gingerich (503-651-2816).

Salem area: Wednesday, Sept. 25, Salem Mennonite Church (503-390-2715); contact Phyllis Lind (503-304-3860), Mary Boshart (541-928-8218), or Karen Graber
(503-623-3197).

Sweet Home, Lebanon, Albany, Corvallis area: Thursday, Sept. 26, Albany Mennonite Church (503-926-1443). Contact Tina Kauffman (541-926-5046).

This summer kids at Portland Mennonite Church worked on two fun projects for the festival. 

THE PEACE KIDS HONEY PROJECT
John Hess Yoder had the idea of having kids help him with his honey harvest this year and donating the money to Mennonite Central Committee. Over the course of one summer evening, a group of six children ages 5 to 10 (with several parents) helped to cut open the comb, put it into the extractor, fill jars, and put on labels – yielding about 100 pounds of honey.

“It was a big sticky mess, and the kids loved it,” said Curt Weaver, who helped to coordinate the project.

The children sold the honey at church, and a few jars were reserved to take to the festival. Get ready to bid!

MCC ART BAGS
This year a supply of sturdy, decorated shopping bags will be available, thanks to participants in Portland’s Peace School.

The children were given art supplies and free rein to express their creativity. Heather Gingrich, who is coordinating children’s activities at the festival this year, also was at hand to talk with the kids informally about MCC and how their efforts would help other kids around the world.

Thanks to everyone who participated in these fun summer projects!

News is coming in of some terrific donations to this year’s auction. Click here to see photos and read descriptions.

The generous gift you make to the auction will help MCC feed the hungry, promote peace, and help develop sustainable communities around the world. It’s a great way to make a real difference! Ideal auction items may include antiques and collectibles, event tickets, vacation packages, vehicles, hand crafted wood items as well as power tools,

furniture, or most anything in new or excellent condition. If you don't have anything to give but would like to participate, consider buying something that you like or enjoy to donate. Or get together with friends or family to make a donation together.  Storage is available prior to the festival.

Please consider what you would like to give and notify auction director Tim Steiner (503-381-6436; steinertm@comcast.net) your donation can be publicized and attract more bidders to the festival. Thank you!

Portland Mennonite Church used their PEACE SCHOOL this year to make bags for the Festival. Below is a Video that was made by four 4th and 5th graders who attempted to capture the essence of the day. We think they did a great job and are excited to see kids catch a vision for the Festival and what it means.

Are sustainability issues close to your heart? Do you travel with your own fork so you can skip the plastic-ware?  Do you love recycled paper? You can make a big difference at the Festival for World Relief!

A volunteer is needed to help make the 2013 festival – our food service in particular – more environmentally friendly. You can help manage composting, ordering “green” supplies, and coordinating a group to wash the silverware. It’s a perfect job for a dedicated young adult or other friend of creation. 

For more info, contact festival food services coordinator Kiara Yoder at 503-278-6243 or kiara.yoder@gmail.com.

The Fourth Annual Challenge is On!

The 2013 festival quilting challenge invites our talented quilters to create a hand- or machine-quilted kitchen apron or table runner (aprons need not be completely quilted but must have quilted work on it). Any combination of fabrics, colors, or other non-fabric items and techniques may be used. Creativity is encouraged! Festival visitors will vote on their favorite entry, and the winner will be announced when auctioned with the second group of quilts. 

Some details:

• On the back of your entry, please sew a label or use a quilt permanent marker pen to include “MCC 2013” and your name (if you are comfortable with that).
  
• When your item is finished, send an email to msbarkman@canby.com with your name and a description of your entry (type of item, size, dominant colors); attach a photo if possible.
  
• Finished entries and other quilted items can be taken to an area church collection point (Albany, Salem, Zion or Portland) in September (dates TBA); if all information and a picture have been sent in advance, the entry may be delivered to the festival on set-up day.
  

Questions? Contact quilt coordinator Margery Barkman at 503-266-7854. Or EMAIL