Elegant Edibles was first held in 1992 and netted $1,030.54. It continued to be held in subsequent years, always on the Saturday before Easter, and always well attended and appreciated by the community. Some changes began to occur as evidenced by these luncheon minutes of February 7, 1995. “The date of the event will be April 15. A chairman is needed. It was the concern of the membership present to leave the name the same; to concentrate on baked goods, to eliminate plants except for tulips; and also to eliminate collectibles.”
The committee’s chair sent this thank-you note to CATS in May, 2011:
“Thanks!! to everyone who stepped up to the plate and helped with Elegant Edibles.
- The Theatre was beautiful, landlocked like spring in a year when spring never seems to come.
- The food looked tasty and was wonderfully decorated!
- Our CATS were busy and efficient helpers during the sale.
- Clean-up was a breeze. And, we grossed $2,490.78!”
In 2012 the “Eggsquisite” bake sale ran from 10 a.m. to 12 noon at the Theatre and featured dozens of homemade treats prepared by CATS members and San Juan Island’s own fabulous “Baker Boys.” They concocted a variety of goodies, including coffee cakes, breads and condiments (sauces, jams, jellies, etc.) -- all just in time for those family holiday brunches on Sunday.
In May of 2015, Treasurer Pat Nieman reported the income figures for that year’s event. $1,399 was raised in baked goods and $577.20 in raffle sales. Expenses were $65.36 and the net income was $1,910.84. She added that an encore of thanks was due to co-chairs Carol Waxman and Joann Aberle for their efforts and hard work. CATS appreciated all they did to make this event such a success.
Fast forward to 2019 and the Theatre became unavailable for the bake sale. After much discussion by the board, the venue was changed to Mullis Center, insurance liability was completed, and CATS received some very generous donations. President Kathy Swartz said it all in the May newsletter, ”Elegant Edibles was extravagantly successful. Pat Nieman has all the numbers. There are so many factors that made it happen - Peggy Cregor's publicity, Anita Welch’s decorating know-how, the dozens and dozens of beautiful creations made by our CATS members, the 15 Baker Boys, Chuck Daldorf as our Easter Bunny, all your donations for the two raffle baskets (we netted over $600 in raffle ticket sales alone) and very generous donations from Chance Earle, Don Pollard and Dave Ralston. We can’t omit the cake auction for D&D’s cakes to the highest bidders, which resulted in two winners, Chance Earle and Susan Mazzarella. Thank you everyone for pitching in on Friday during set-up and Saturday for the sale. The sun was out and a festive good time was had by all.“