Charity bazaar
A charity bazaar, or "fancy faire", was an innovative and controversial fundraising sale in the Victorian era. Hospitals frequently used charity bazaars to raise funds because of their effectiveness. Commercial bazaars grew less popular in the 19th century and were replaced by auctions, theaters, and dance halls. Charity bazaars remained popular throughout the 1800s.[1] Literary scholar Leslee Thorne-Murphy wrote that the charity bazaar was "perhaps the most quintessentially Victorian of all fundraising efforts."[2]: 886
This article is about the Victorian sales event. For the Histeria! character, see Histeria! § Characters.Planning[edit]
Charity bazaars were sometimes planned out years in advance, though experienced planners needed as little as four months to plan an event. For most institutions, charity bazaars were an infrequent but effective supplement to charity balls, collection boxes,[3] and subscriptions.[5] Women helped to plan charity bazaars.[1] In the case of smaller bazaars, women generally had complete control over the proceedings; with larger bazaars, men often controlled the planning committees.[5] In the case of the 1859 Leeds Institute Bazaar, a series of conflicts between the ladies' committee and the gentlemen's committee showed that the men on the executive committee seriously underestimated the importance of negotiating with women to be patronesses and to mind the stalls. When the gentlemen's committee allowed the ladies' committee to have full control over the bazaar planning, the event was successfully carried out. When the women were able to reverse control over the proceedings, it showed how important women were in planning bazaars, and how much they valued their institutions—rather than ceding control of planning to the men, they argued that they should plan the bazaar. Their overtaking this process was not subversive, but showed the women's competence as organizers and their desire to preserve their public image. Women's participation in charity bazaars showed their civic virtue.[5]
Legacy[edit]
The charity bazaar was a forerunner to the department store.[1] The charity bazaar was the first to organize entertainments such as a rooftop garden or restaurant in conjunction with regular shopping. Charity bazaars contributed to developing consumer culture and its association with women.[1]
Today, international charity bazaars are held in various locations.[6][7][8][9]