Garden Potpourri set for Oct. 16

On Oct. 16, the St. Agnes Mothers’ Club will be holding its annual Garden Potpourri.

The event, which is held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., this year at 28 Bulson Road in Rockville Centre, is the Mothers’ Club’s biggest fundraiser of the year. Since it was started in the 1970s, the Garden Potpourri has always been held in the backyard of one of the club members. This year, Carol Ruchalski is hosting.

The Garden Potpourri features a wide variety of crafts for sale (all hand-made), as well as a bake sale, painted pumpkins, fall flowers and dozens of other vendors selling clothes, jewelry and more. One vendor sells jewelry made from beads that are handmade by women in Uganda. The proceeds from the jewelry sales go back to Uganda to help the women and their village.

The event is made possible thanks to donations from all over the community. The wood used by the mothers to make the decorative signs that are for sale was donated by a St. Agnes family. Another St. Agnes family, the Creos, who own the New York Ravioli Company, run the café at the event and donate most of the food.

The Garden Potpourri has a storied history for the Mothers’ Club, going back to the late 1970s. Every year, the members of the Mothers’ Club — which number around 500 — work together to create the event. Many of the crafts that are for sale were hand-made by the members of the Mothers’ Club.

The money itself all goes back to St. Agnes Cathedral School. In the past, the money from the Mothers’ and Fathers’ clubs has purchased things like Smart Boards for classrooms and iPads for students — things that private schools can’t get without a little help. The clubs also host parties for the students and help supplement trips.

Admission to the Garden Potpourri is free and open to everyone, not just St. Agnes families. For more information, email Rory Murphy at rodeamurphy@gmail.com, Tanya Prince at princejm@gmail.com or Kristen Barry at kristenandshaun@optonline.net.