Tommyknockers bazaar: The annual Tommyknockers Holiday featured food, crafts, and various contests such as a children’s coloring, Victorian costumes, cookie decorating and gingerbread house decorating. Above, Alina Ntynski brought toy bears in tiny houses and tree ornaments made from Ukraine. PHOTO BY ANNE SCARFFE[/caption]

The annual Tommyknockers Holiday Bazaar from Saturday, December 3, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday, December 4, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., at the Teller House in Central City. The event featured food, crafts, and various contests such as a children’s coloring contest, a Victorian Costume contest, cookie decorating and gingerbread house decorating.

Organizer Barbara Thielemann, dressed as Ms. Santa Claus, helped organize the event with co-chair Shirley Vorheese. She said they had about 28 vendors at the event. Father time also attended the event and took photos with children.

The Elks Lodge Auxiliary provided food for lunch including soup, chili and sandwiches. Upon entering, children could decorate cookies. Vendors were set up in the halls of the Teller House.

A display inside promotes saving the Belvidere Theatre. Central City has a plan in place to restore the theater. Plans to redevelop the theatre include a redesign that facilitates a multitude of diverse uses through which it can become a self-sustaining community building and income producing facility.

From the outside, the two-story 12,000 square-foot building, which opened in 1875, was once the focal point of a booming town. The building fell into disrepair and has been vacant. The organization is looking for donations.

The Belvidere Foundation has events coming up including the Holiday Dance on Saturday, December 17 at 8 p.m. at the Elk’s Lodge, 113 Main Street. For more information to Belvideerfoundation@gmail.com.

The Peak to Peak Rotary Foundation attended the event and donated funds for the Tommyknockers children’s parade on Thursday. They sold baked goods and a mix for baking cookies.

Phil Kolterman, president of the rotary, said they brought a full sized photo of Dolly Parton because they are raising funds for Imagination Library,

It includes a book per month for children at the Gilpin County Library. Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library is a gifting program that mails free high-quality books to children from birth to age five. Go to https://imaginationlibrary.com/us/affiliate/COEVERGREEN.

The Peak to Peak Rotary also offered cookie and soup mixes, and 100 percent stays within the community. They are trying to raise $2,000.

Mixes come in sets of three and include a set of quarter cookie mixes for $26 or a pint of soup mixes for $24. Go to http://bit.ly/3AcK5qd.

“We are trying to raise money to give it away,” Kolterman said.

Alina Ntynski brought toy bears in tiny houses and tree ornaments made from Ukraine. She said she was born in Ukraine and has family members there. She started selling the ornaments after the war started. She has raised $17,000 since she started. Go to frankandbubbly@gmail.com.

Kathryn Balfour, dressed in period outfit, brought Sentry, which is a wax burner with no flame and no smoke.

Julia Morris brought her hard Jelly. Her Wine Jelly has no sugar. She brews the wine and converts that into the jelly. She does the whole process in house. She lives in Bailey and has attended the Tommyknockers event for 14 years. Flavors include crab apple and pumpkin spice. She has three wines going that are raspberry chipotle, sour cherry and peach with pepper. Go to JEM@totalspeed.net.

Fire House Farms returned again with their handmade soaps. They also do meat goats and fire and week mitigation. They are at firehousefarmsco@gmail.com

Eureka Street Popcorn, owners Jonathon Hays and Brian Cook, returned with their gourmet popcorn in several flavors. They are located just across the street at 115 Eureka Street.

Go to popcorn@eurekastreet popcorn.com.

According to Thielemann, the vendors had a good day on December 3 and were hoping for another good day on December 4.