By Leone Dyer
All fundraisers start with a vision of soliciting income through
selling a craft. Whether it is selling tickets to a concert, lecture, or raffle, asking people to run three miles, or trading food for cash, it all starts with a vision of what can be created to sell. Each year, the Fryeburg New Church (FNC) engages in the mega of all fundraisers—the Fryeburg Fair. The Fryeburg Fair is an agricultural fair that attracts more than 225,000 people over eight days.
In the fall of 1953, the Fryeburg New Church Women’s Alliance, led by President Ola-Mae Wheaton, supplied and managed a food booth at the Fryeburg Fair. The Alliance made a profit of $324 in one week of their first Fair. Since then, all people within our church, young and old, along with relatives and community friends, have donated their cooking abilities and time so unselfishly that, today, the New Church Booth at “The Fair” is our most significant source of income. Our reputation as “the place to go to get good, home-cooked food,” prepared under clean conditions, necessitates the need for 1,000 plus volunteer hours for the nine-day period the Booth is in operation. Those hours are over and above the time spent in the church kitchen preparing baked beans, chili, and pies.
However, the Booth has spread its wings to incorporate our church’s mission: “The purpose of this church shall be to devote ourselves and our resources to nurturing the soul, growing in community, and fostering heaven on earth….” We have created a fundraiser that sells the vision of community, unity, and love, along with some burgers, beans, and pies. Now, I will admit that there were a few moments and possibly one full day that several of us felt the furthest removed from Heaven. This low did not cover the immense community building and nurturing we all experienced in the Booth, the Church Kitchen, and our community. This year, we opened our doors to other community-based non-profit groups. This served in two facets: one, it gave our FNC community a bit of help filling the work schedule, and two, it allowed non-profit groups to share their mission.
When we gauge the Booth’s success of the current year, it is always viewed through a financial lens. And yes, this makes sense since it is the purpose of gaining funds and is why we endure the many hours of The Fair, before, during, and after. While we are on a financial par with the past three years this year, our meter of success created another bullet point: how we serve our community. We provided a space for other non-profit groups and donated our leftover food to a local food pantry. Not only does our Fair Booth continue to be a major source of funding for us, but it also serves as the heart of our church every year for a week in October, when we welcome friends—old and new—to enjoy our hospitality, our famous “Fayah Burgahs,” (fair burgers) and our commitment to the hard work on which our future and community depends.
Read the full issue of the November/December 2024 Messenger
Meet Leone Dyer
Leone Dyer wears many hats at the Fryeburg New Church. She is the chair of the Board of Trustees, Fryeburg Fair Booth coordinator, and A/V chair. Lee, and her husband Dan, enjoy hiking in the White Mountains of Maine and New Hampshire.
