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ATTLEBORO -- If you've been in the Attleboro area over the past 35 years and beyond, you might be familiar with the St. Stephen's Holiday Bazaar.

Homemade French-Canadian meat pies, clam cakes and chowder, baked goods, crafts and raffle items, all surrounded by larger-than-life holiday scenes are among the features you would have encountered.

Parishioners volunteering at every aspect of the event would have been another. That's the way it has been since the event began at least 35 years ago, and this year will be no exception. The fair will take place Friday, Nov. 2, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturday, Nov. 3, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

With proceeds going to help support the church, parishioners are more than happy to do their part, according to Sue Donovan, who has organized the event the past three years and is co-organizing it this year with longtime parishioner Vivian Dugas.

"We couldn't put on this bazaar without their help," Donovan said of the volunteers. "It takes a joint effort and without their help, St. Stephen's wouldn't be having this on a yearly basis. And, it just seems like the enthusiasm is getting better each year, and more people are volunteering to do things." Helping to make the event's popular meat pies is just one way parishioners come through in their volunteer efforts. For weeks, about a dozen parishioners have been meeting in the church basement early on Wednesday mornings to help prepare the 360 French-Canadian meat pies that will be available for sale during this year's bazaar.

Although exact ingredients may vary from cook to cook, the pies are made with ground beef, ground pork, potatoes, onions, all-spice and other seasonings - all sumptuously sandwiched between two pie crusts.

The tasty pies are a highly popular item both for their convenience and their longtime tradition. After they are freshly made, the pies are frozen, and then sold frozen during the bazaar for $10 a pie, with directions on how to cook them. They also are sold by the slice for $4 during the event, accompanied with french fries and green beans.

Among those of French-Canadian descent, such as Dugas, who has been a St. Stephen's parishioner for all of her 73 years, the meat pies are best known as a holiday treat on New Year's Eve. "I have grandsons in Texas and some in Virginia, and they're coming up this year just to have the meat pies," she said. "I think we might have them at midnight because we stay up all the time."

Dugas has been helping to make the pies for the bazaar since her cousin, Connie Heap, added the tradition to the bazaar close to 30 years ago, and she says tradition or not, they are always a good food item to have on hand, whether eaten as part of a meal or by the slice with a cup of coffee or other beverage. "They're good whenever you want them because they're so handy, and everybody likes them," she said.

The volunteer efforts that go into making the bazaar a success each year also include the many hours spent making crafts and baked goods to sell, soliciting raffle items, setting up tables, cooking during the event and much more.

The efforts will include those of community members, such as Bristol County Savings Bank, which has donated two of the special raffle items this year - two pairs of tickets to the New England Patriots vs. Miami Dolphins game, which will be sold at $10 a chance, with each winner receiving one pair of the tickets.

Janette Sears can be reached by phone or fax at 508-222-2442 or by e-mail at janette@janettesears.com.