RIS bazaar showcases crafts from students and others

ROYAL CITY — Earrings, slime, T-shirts and tamales were just a few of the things on offer at the holiday bazaar at Royal Intermediate School on Dec. 6.

“We had about 37 vendors this year, which is more than we've had in the past,” said Liesel Hall, a teacher at RIS who helps organize the bazaar. “That's our greatest number.”

Hall wasn’t sure how long the bazaar has been going on but thought this was at least the fifth or sixth year. Students drive a lot of the business, she said; some students sold homemade slime kits and one student made large marshmallows with sprinkles in Seahawk and Cougar colors, as well as festive red and green for Christmas. A couple of stands selling homemade tamales sold out quickly, she added.

Royal High School sophomore Taylor Webb had an array of handmade earrings on offer. She’s been making them since she was 12, she said.

“They're made of clay, polymer clay,” Webb said. “I'll use a cutter and I'll cut them into different shapes and sand them after baking. And then I use a special resin to assemble them.”

Not far away, Tawnee Hebden and her kids were selling Royal Knights T-shirts as a fundraiser for the Royal Parent-Teacher Organization.

“All the money that we make goes back, we put it back into the school,” Hebden said, “We've gotten authors to come and teach classes, and I think an illustrator came one year. We just get together as an organization and vote on the things that we want to bring in for the kids.”

Angelina and Angel Ruiz or Royal City were also selling T-shirts, printed on the spot from designs selected by the customer. Angelina Ruiz has been building the business slowly, her husband said, starting with small bazaars like Royal’s and hoping to move on to larger venues.

Hall spent the bazaar helping the students who were selling pizza, she said. She also said she hopes to see even more participants next year.

“Kids selling things is my favorite part,” she said, “that we have students that get to make a product and share it.”

Joel Martin may be reached via email at jmartin@columbiabasinherald.com.

    Tawnee Hebden and her daughter offer Royal Knights T-shirts at the Royal Intermediate School bazaar Wednesday. The proceeds go toward extra educational activities for Royal students, Hebden said.
  

    Fifteen-year-old Royal student Taylor Webb shows some of her handmade earrings at the Riyal Intermediate School bazaar Wednesday. Web has been making the jewelry since she was 12, she said.
  

    Santa Clause, whose non-holiday identity is retired teacher and Royal City Council Member Rick Kanelly, has a chat with 5-year-old Mia Estrada at the Royal Intermediate School Christmas bazaar Wednesday.