St. Joseph residents experience 'Christmas in July'

Jul. 23—Hundreds of people gathered at the St. Joseph REC Center for Saturday's 'Christmas in July.'

The event featured a wide variety of vendors from St. Joseph and the surrounding areas, ranging from name brands to mom-and-pop side businesses.

Prices across the event ran an average of roughly $30 an item, with some being as low as $5.

Mary Vanvickle, a vendor at the event, discussed the products and services that her business brought to the table.

"I have original photography that I've taken and printed on glass and metal and some on plates," Vanvickle said. "I make posters and mouse pads, bags, and I do custom work as well if people want their own pictures. I do a lot of Christmas ornaments with the year [labeled on the ornament] and I do a lot of custom photos."

According to Laurel Sprague, a member of The Southside Business Women, the 'Christmas in July' event idea was born out of a desire to continue an over 30-year tradition of giving scholarships to St. Joseph high-school seniors.

"The Southside Business Women have been around since the 1980s with the mission of being able to provide scholarships for local high school seniors," she said. "Historically, we have always done the Sweet Shop at the Southside Fall Festival, but as our membership aged, that became a lot of work. So, during the year of COVID when they canceled the Southside Fall Festival, we decided we needed to find a new fundraiser for the scholarships, and thus theChristmas in July idea was born. So, every year we've added a little bit more space, a few more vendors and it has actually become a very successful event allowing us to continue to give scholarships."

Sprague also stated that those interested in signing up as a vendor for future events should do so by submitting to the group's Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/SouthsideBusinessWomen, or by contacting an individual directly.