Forand Tenants Association's bazaar keeps on giving

WHEEL WORK: Fran Capozzi and Linda Duhamel enjoy a lighter moment before spinning the popular wheel where people could win food baskets during Saturday’s Aime J. Forand Tenant’s Association Bazaar.

SUPER STAFF: Among those volunteers who helped make Saturday’s Aime J. Forand Tenants Association bazaar a success were (from left) Claire Magnani, Joann Antonucci and Ann Izzi.

POPULAR PRIZES: Bev Williams (left), president of the Aime J. Forand Tenant’s Association and Lee DeVito show off some of the many valuable prizes that people won during Saturday’s annual Holiday Bazaar. (Sun Rise photos by Pete Fontaine)

Posted Friday, November 16, 2018 1:23 pm

By Pete Fontaine

By PETE FONTAINE

Although foot traffic was on what Bev Williams called “the light side,” the Aime J. Forand Tenants Association’s annual Holiday Bazaar was without question a success.

The event took in $2,500 that will be used for the Tenants Association’s annual expenses and events, and also helped fill the void at two food cupboards.

Once Saturday’s fun and food event concluded, there were a total of 20 food baskets that weren’t given out as prizes for people who put down chips and hoped to win a basket by playing the spin-the-wheel game.

So Williams, who serves as the Forand Tenants Association president, checked with her fellow officers and everyone agreed to donate 10 baskets to St. Patrick’s Church in Providence and Saint Robert Bellarmine Church in Johnston.

“St. Pat’s is a poor parish,” Williams said. “So we wanted to help those people there who need food, especially at this time of year. The Food Shelf at St. Robert [Bellarmine] does such great, great work we decided to give the other 10 baskets to their Food Shelf.”

Perhaps as equally impressive was that the Forand Tenants group was going to send other items to cross-town neighbors at the Claiborne Pell Manor whose residents group will hold its annual Christmas Bazaar this Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. inside the facilities Community Room at 1609 Plainfield Pike in Johnston.

“We’re really, really satisfied with today’s result,” said Williams after Saturday’s bazaar. “We didn’t get as much traffic as in past years, but we’re happy with what we were able to make; especially since there are bazaars all over the place at this time of year.”

Williams thanked women like Lee DeVito, who worked hard in the planning and set up for Saturday’s bazaar, and Fran Capozzi and Linda Duhamel for their tireless efforts in picking up the chips and spinning the wheel.

“We had lots of help,” Williams said. “Thank you to Ann Izzi, Joan Antonucci and Claire Magnani for working our main table and that’s always a popular stop that offers so many different prizes from a turkey basket to food baskets and holiday items and baked goods.”

Saturday’s Forand event also had a nice touch of family, as Ann Izzi’s son and daughter Lori Romano worked the food concession that featured delicious sausage and pepper sandwiches and hot dogs.