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St. Paul’s Fair Scholarship

Established 1992

By St. Paul’s Church

A Brief History of St. Paul’s Fair, written by Diane Heavens, March 2010

On a hot August weekend in 1947, the first St. Paul’s Fair was held as a 3-day event and netted almost $1,200 in proceeds. There has been a Fair every year since then, and the average net proceed nowadays is $17,000.

The purpose of the original Fair was to begin a fund to build a parish house so that the church would have a suitable building to meet the needs of a modern, growing congregation. That goal was achieved in 1961. But even with that accomplishment, there was never a thought given to discontinuing the Fair because by that time it had become an annual institution which attracted several thousand people from near and far who had made it clear that St. Paul’s Fair was a “must go” event on their calendars.

What is it about this Fair that has made its popularity grow greater very year? First and foremost, it’s the shopping. Thousands of donated items are sorted, polished and priced in such diverse departments as White Elephants, Books, Treasure Chest, Crown Jewels, Electronics, Baked Goods, Fine Furniture Gallery, a huge general tag sale, and 3 or 4 additional sales areas that change every year. Without question, much of the fun of St. Paul’s Fair is the incredible serendipity of the shopping!!

Add to this a concert in the church, a strolling barbershop quartet, wonderful, old-fashioned children’s games, and delicious food, and you have the perfect formula for a marvelous summer Saturday in a beautiful community.

Once the parish house goal was achieved, the proceeds from the annual Fair became dedicated on a 50/50 basis to the following: The Christian Stewardship Fund, which is our vehicle for outreach to many charities and worthy causes, and our Capital Maintenance Fund used for the maintenance of our beautiful and historic church properties.

For over 30 years, a scholarship has been given from the Christian Stewardship Fund to a graduating senior from Nonnewaug High School. This $1,000 award comes from St. Paul’s Fair and is managed for us by the Woodbury Scholarship Fund. This scholarship represents the deep gratitude of the people of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church for the enormous support of our annual Fair which the people of Woodbury have so generously given since 1947.

The Woodbury Scholarship Fund, Inc.
P.O. Box 716
Woodbury, Connecticut 06798-0716