The Dorchester Village Civic Center Inc. Board of Directors will host their second annual holiday celebration Saturday at the center in Midway. The center, formerly the Dorchester Consolidated School, recently underwent a complete renovation, which began in 2008.
Saturday’s free event, the Dorchester Village Civic Center’s Christmas Bazaar, will feature homemade goods, photos with Santa and a hand-crafted holiday gifts sale.
“We’ve tried to make it a coastal kind of thing,” Julie Martin, the organization’s secretary, said of the event.
The festivities run from 9 a.m.-2 p.m. and the public is invited to the old schoolhouse to peruse nine local vendors’ offerings. They will sell handmade jewelry, children’s clothes and other items.
Hand-painted ornaments and baked goods, such as a 15-layer chocolate cake and freshly baked brownies and cookies crafted by locals, also will be available for purchase.
Only cash or checks will be accepted.
Vendors will keep their profits, but proceeds from items that volunteers have collected for selling — such as wreathes, ornaments and arrangements — will benefit the Dorchester Village Civic Center, Martin said.
There will be a silent auction with items starting at $25. Restaurant gift certificates, gift baskets and local artwork will be up for grabs. Some items may have a minimum purchase price listed.
“We put the nicer things in the silent auction,” Martin said. “Just a lot of things like that to choose from.”
Santa Claus also will be available for photos with children and pets. A decorated Christmas tree will provide a photo backdrop in the center’s auditorium.
Because funding for renovations only became available last year, the school did not have central heating set up or running water for last year’s Christmas event, but the turnout was still high, the secretary said.
This year, the building is completely functional.
“In a fairly short period of time, our beloved old schoolhouse has been restored with the help of an army of volunteers — whether it be with donations or with good, old-fashioned hard work — and we appreciate every single thing that has been done,” Martin said. 
Since the high temperature is expected to hover around 60, the group of about 20 volunteers will sell hearty fare, including chili, hot dogs, hot chocolate, coffee, soda and water.
The Dorchester Village Civic Center Inc. Board of Directors is also launching a “buy a piece of history” campaign, to sell old auditorium chairs that were used when the school was in operation. Proceeds will be used for additional building renovations.
Chairs can be purchased separately or in rows of 10 at $25 per chair.
“It is going to be an ongoing thing,” Martin said of the chair sales. “Hopefully, those who have ties to this school or like history will be interested.”
Martin said she is excited about putting on the event again this year, especially since the renovations are complete.
“It is just so much fun to see people and we love to see when people haven’t been in the building for a long time to see their reaction. The whole thing is just fun.”