Acrylic painting artist Brenda Reagan of “The Artistic Side.” Photo by Steve Hibbard.
About 5,300 people attended the 20th annual Holiday Bazaar at McLean High School on Saturday, Dec. 8, 2018. The “indoor McLean Day” sponsored by the McLean High School Boosters Club featured 81 craft vendors, including school clubs and local businesses. Money raised helps support student athletic programs, academic clubs and activities and programs at the school.
According to Forrest Stieg, President of the McLean High School Boosters Club: “The McLean Boosters Holiday Bazaar is an event where we bring in vendors and the local community to come in to celebrate and begin the season through shopping and supporting the McLean High School activities, clubs, and sports programs across the board to better the high school, enriching the student’s activities. We raise funds for events that go back to the school’s programs that help improve the students’ learning capabilities from a high school perspective.”
The vendors offered everything from scented soap, leather bags, jewelry, and custom painted baseballs, to candles, beauty products, scarves, hair bows, home decor and more. The event included a roaming Santa as well as performances by the McLean High School Orchestra. Most of the vendors had some connection to McLean High School -- some are former students or parents, and all wanted to give back to the McLean community.
This year’s goal was to raise funds to be used for McLean Athletic Boosters, going beyond supporting the sports teams to include the entire high school population. The goal of the MHS Fund is to bring the entire MHS campus into the 21st century. In the past four years, it completed a new electronic scoreboard, new weight room, the turf field, an initial step in developing a comprehensive campus improvement master plan. Plans include an improved track, a sixth tennis court, and a second artificial turf field.