By NEAL WAGNER / Managing Editor

PELHAM – Those looking to get a jumpstart on their Christmas shopping while helping to raise money for local charities will have a chance to do so in late October at the Alabaster-Pelham Rotary Club’s annual Southern Christmas Bazaar.

The Bazaar will be held on Saturday, Oct. 29, at the Pelham Civic Complex and Ice Arena from 9 a.m.-6 p.m. This will mark the fifth-straight year the Rotary Club has hosted the Bazaar, which has attracted thousands of shoppers in the past several years.

The event will feature more than 45 vendors from across the southeast selling everything from handmade jewelry and clothing to collectibles, food, decorations, crafts and more.

From 1-4 p.m., Santa Claus will take a break from his holiday preparations at the North Pole to greet local children and give them a chance to have their photo taken.

Refreshments and concessions will be available throughout the day.

“A Southern Christmas Bazaar has become a Shelby County tradition, and organizers are already answering calls and inquiries about the date and time, what vendors will be there, and is there any way to sneak in early,” said Rotary Club member and event organizer Debbie Parrott. “It is exciting for us to hear that people all over the southeast are clamoring for booth space, and how much people look forward to this event.”

The Bazaar is one of the Rotary Club’s major annual fundraisers. In past years, the club has used proceeds from the events to provide Christmas gift bags for elderly shut-ins in Shelby County, books for schools in the Alabaster and Pelham communities and support BackPack Buddies and Manna Ministries in Shelby County.

The club also provides funding and support for local groups such as the Alabaster YMCA, The Developing Alabama Youth Program, and the Shelby County Senior Centers.

Tickets for the Bazaar are $7 for adults and $3 for children 7 and older, and are available in advance at IBERIABANK in Pelham and from Alabaster-Pelham Rotarians. All tickets will be discounted to $6 with a canned food donation to Manna Ministries.