The sun shone. Temperatures inched upward. It was a picture-perfect day for Boothbay Region Garden Club’s outdoor Winter Market. The market, featuring everything one could possibly need or want for the holiday season, had been held at the Festival of Trees in the Opera House but due to COVID and its variants the BRGC members decided to hold it on Boothbay Common on Saturday, Nov. 20, Boothbay Harbor’s Early Bird Sale & Pajama Party Day. And, yes, a few shoppers showed up in their bathrobes to pick up a few items.

The Garden Club booths on the Common were the ETC shop (eclectic mix of items), Table & Mantle; Nature’s Gifts; and Santa’s Sweet Shop.

The wreaths were very popular, and there was a small group of trees, from a potted baby evergreen to white and standard green artificial including a palm tree decorated for Christmas in a warmer clime and Jimmy Buffet fans! There were holiday-themed place settings, and decorations galore. Some very cute Rudolph faces on long pieces of tree bark with hanging wire on the back were popular. And, unlike in “It’s A Wonderful Life,” where we learned that every time a bell rang an angel got its wings, when a bell rang another item was bought and on its way to a new home.

“Dinners to Go” were popular. Garden Club member Kevin Bowler said Camden Garden Club had offered home-made, packaged meals to go and it was a success. So, the Club thought it would give it a go. The menu included pea soup, Brunswick stew, quiche Lorraine, beef chili with red beans, lasagna, butternut squash bisque, meatball veggie soup, and chicken and broccoli noodle casserole, among others, for $10. Each meal included all the ingredients in consideration of allergies; and some cooks included the recipe with the meals that contained up to four servings. It was a holiday steal. 

A trip to Santa’s Sweet Shop provided desserts for the Dinners to Go, another day, or while shopping to satisfy shoppers’ sweet tooths. There were also yummy homemade pet treats on hand, including pumpkin and peanut butter crunchie bites.

Gloria Wakefield and Vanda Yonge were in the Nature’s Gifts booth. “We used to be at Festival of Trees and this is just the one-day event so we are crossing our fingers,” Wakefield said.

All proceeds supported the club’s mission “to promote interest in the art and practice of gardening, education, and the beautification of the Boothbay Region.” Club members have the beauty of the region and the seasons in mind when adding plantings to window boxes and delivering wreaths to adorn public buildings. The Club also provides scholarships for the YMCA summer camps and to graduating seniors going on to environmental studies, and much more.

To find out more about the 90-year-old club, visit https://www.boothbayregiongardenclub.org