We host a range of fundraising events each year. The money we raise goes to support programming and supplies the library may not otherwise be able to afford, as well as the Berryville Library Building Project, the capital campaign to finance a new library building.
Below are descriptions of some of our annual fundraising events but we are open to new ideas and try something new almost every year. Watch our News Page for the latest information about what we have in the works.
Chicken Hop
For the past few years, the Friends have hosted an annual summer fundraising dinner. The first of these fundraisers was a pulled pork supper in July 2018. The following June, we hosted the first annual Chicken Hop. The dinner includes food, live music, and silent auction items generously donated by local businesses and individuals. The 2020 Chicken Hop was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but we are hoping to host our Chicken Hop in 2021.
We could not host the Chicken Hop without volunteers to sell tickets, cook, serve, play music, and clean up or without silent auction donors and financial sponsors to offset costs.
Our Chicken Hop logo
Bake Sales
Bake sales are the traditional foundation of our fundraising efforts. We host one large bake sale every spring, usually the week before Easter. We host a couple of smaller bake sales in the fall, usually one that ties in with our annual October membership drive and one with our Christmas raffle. Read more about that below.
We really appreciate our volunteers who bake and work the bake sales. We couldn't do it without them!
Having fun with volunteers behind the scenes of the 2019 Easter Bake Sale
The night before the 2019 Christmas sale
Cornerstone Bank Parking Lot Fundraiser
Once or twice a year the Friends are given the chance to collect parking fees at the Cornerstone Bank parking lots in Eureka Springs. These are weekend only events but require a number of volunteers available to collect fees and direct traffic to three different parking lots throughout the day on both a Saturday and a Sunday.
Christmas Raffle
Every fall, we sell raffle tickets for one or two special items throughout the fall and then perform a public drawing in mid-December. To coincide with the drawing, we have a bake sale focused on cookies and candies. And Santa joins us!
Volunteers to work the event, bake the cookies, make the candy, donate items, sell tickets, and play Santa are the only way we can maintain this fun holiday tradition.
2019 Christmas raffle winners and drawing
Carol Ann Engskov Annual Contribution
In honor of longtime Berryville Library director Carol Ann Engskov, who retired in 2011 and is an active member of the Friends board, the Friends have pledged to donate $10,000 a year in Carol's honor to the Berryville Library Building Project. When we build the library, all the money in Carol's fund will be used to name a section of the new library in her honor.
Carol and her family accepting the first annual pledge in her honor, 2019