Dublin Service League holds 65th annual Fair & Marketplace

The Dublin Service League decked the hall with Christmas music and cheery decorations this week for an annual event that has been kicking off the holiday season for more than 60 years. 

Dublin Service League’s Fair & Marketplace was held Tuesday and Wednesday inside the DuBose Porter Center on the campus of Oconee Fall Line Technical College. Service League president Jennifer Davis said this event was once held at the Dublin National Guard Armory, but they are happy and feel “lucky” to have it at the current location.

“This is our 65th annual event,” Davis said. “We just have a lot of resources here and we can spread out. We have over 60 members of young females in the community who pitch in and help. All of them are so talented. We try to get our bakers to handle our cakes, and the ones who really enjoy cooking to be back in the kitchen and the ones who enjoy decorating and have creative minds to do the creative piece of it. They choose which part of the fair they want to contribute to. It’s great to have that number of people and it’s great to have retired members come back to help.”

One of those retired members was Shirley Miller, who was checking off people’s food orders as they made their way to a table.

“Mrs. Shirley Miller is an icon,” Davis said. “She always is there at the end of the table helping us fill out tickets. It’s always great to see the retired members who enjoyed doing this years ago come back to help us.” 

Miller served 10 years as an active member. She was the Antique Fair chairman from 1985-1986 and president the following year. She is now what they call a “True Blue” member.

“I’m a retiree with all privileges of attending meetings and volunteering to help in any way,” Miller said. “I just love to continue being a part of such a fun event that continues to fulfill our motto, ‘Make us ever mindful of the needs of others,’ as they use all profits from the fair for scholarships. 

“This is a good time to bring people together, young and old. It’s great for an event to be going on 65 years. It’s a wonderful thing. I wouldn’t want to miss it.”  

Just down to the left from Miller was a table of cakes. Service League members either bake a cake or have someone help them. They have classic cakes, along with their feature cake which was a S’mores cheesecake described as capturing the nostalgic flavors of campfire nights with rich layers of chocolate, marshmallow and graham cracker crust.

“It is kind of sweet and chocolatey all in one,” Davis said. “You can’t go wrong with that. There are so many good choices over there.”

The event has a number of vendors, from not only all around Georgia but a few from out of state, selling their crafts. Davis calls them the heart of the reason people return year after year.

“The food is great, but people love to come here and see all of the vendors in one place,” Davis said. “They can come and look around. There are toys, clothes for men, women and children. We’ve had some men come through and say they are looking for something for their wife for Christmas.” 

The club was holding a 50/50 raffle for former member Kimberly Price, who passed away a year and a half ago. All proceeds collected will go directly to an individual scholarship in her name. A member of the club also made a quilt that was used in a silence auction to raise money for the Kimberly Price Memorial Scholarship.

“Kimberly was a member of Service League and she worked at the VA,” Davis said. “We have a target of $4,000 this year. We are real happy to be able to contribute to Kimberly’s memory.” 

The Fair & Marketplace is usually one of the first Christmas-type events to happen in Laurens County each year. Davis said OFTC plans to start setting up for its Festival of Trees soon.

“This event kicks off a lot of the Christmas season for us,” she said. “This is a fundraiser and everything that we raise here goes to it. Last year alone we made over $30,000 and gave that in scholarships and gave it to all four high schools in the community.” 

Entertainment, including some school groups, was scheduled throughout the event.

“We try to give it a festive fill with having music the whole time,” Davis said.

And of course, Santa made a visit on both days, and many young kids were predicted to not only have their picture taken but have the chance to converse with the jolly old Saint Nicholas. 

“He comes in with the presents, and he’ll be wearing jingle bells,” Davis said. “It is really great to see the families in this family environment.”