Church of St. Alban raises $2,500 at annual June Fair

The Church of St. Alban in Roxborough has been hosting its annual June Fair for years, but last year, parishioners added a key element that would help to bring money back to the church.

Aside from the games, cotton candy and various activities for kids, an indoor flea market was added to the yearly roundup in which parishioners donated items to be sold to profit the church. This year, the flea market brought in about $2,500.

Among the vendor tables on Saturday was Bethani Zeller who was representing Creativeworkz Photography. Her table offered everything from originally painted portraits to photos and hand-crafted postcards.  

The Ursinus College alumnus, who earned her Bachelor’s Degree in International Relations and Art, talked about the “phases” she went through between photography and painting, ultimately bringing her where she is today.

“With photography, I just started recently,” Zeller said. “When I was in eighth grade, I started making jewelry for myself and then I moved to painting [when I got to] high school. Right now, it’s hard to find a job, so doing freelance photography for weddings, and things like that, could make [some extra] dollars and that’s pretty great.”

Aside from freelance work, Zeller is also the Arts Program Director at North Light Community Center in Manayunk, where she runs all of the art programs and teaches children the essentials of arts and crafts.

Over at Susan Zweier’s table was an assortment of unique designs for finger and toe nails on sale from Jamberry Nails.

For the eco-friendly flea market attendees, Ava Leas offered a variety of unique pins and necklaces made out of broken watches, beer bottle tops and guitar picks. 

“I admired a pin on a woman in Chuck E. Cheese’s and I asked the woman how much her pin was,” Leas said. “It was $60, [but] I couldn’t afford it. I went home that day, took my watch off, took some cardboard and some Elmer’s glue and made my sister a birthday present.”

“Twenty-six years later, I’m still doing it,” Leas said.

Her 10-year-old helper, Gabrielle, assisted her in creating the pins as the fair went on.

Aside from the unique pins, pictures and photography, crocheted items were also on display at the fair, presented by Toniah Gilliard who represented her own business “Prety Cool Crochet.” The mother of three began crocheting four years ago. 

“I noticed a few things that people liked so, two years later, I decided to see what happens,” Gilliard said. “I began making crocheted items and tried to turn it into a business.”

Frank Kenworthy, a Roxborough local, attended the fair with his wife to search for the book bargains. 

“I usually go online to look for flea markets but, with this one, I’ve been coming here for several years,” Kenworthy said. “I always find this one to have a lot of books. So, this one is much better.” 

The annual fair was organized by the church’s social planning committee.