Known for its huge annual flea market and yard sale in the summer, Our Lady Queen of Peace Church in Brodheadsville is hosting its third annual Christmas Sale and Basket Raffle this weekend.

The event also includes hot foods, pies and desserts.

Diane Kasten, organizer of the Christmas event, said she came up with the holiday-themed sale because the church had so many donations. There are more than 5,000 items for sale.

Kasten and her husband, Bill, along with a team of volunteers, filled the parish hall and adjacent meeting rooms with a multitude of Christmas items all organized on the type of item — ornaments, villages, snowmen, nativities, linens, tableware, and so much more.

The event will be open from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday and 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday in the parish hall. Most prices range from $1 to $5.

Proceeds from the sale help cover the cost of the Community Monday Luncheons on the first and third Mondays, and the Men’s Breakfasts on the second and fourth Saturdays, both events are free and open to the public.

The money also helps parishioners who may be in need.

“Through these proceeds, we are able to help the community,” Kasten said.

Kasten said that each item is cared for before it’s ready for sale.

“We clean, we fix, we add batteries to make things come to life again,” she said.

In addition to items donated to the parish, the sale also includes some items made or restored by parishioners.

Kasten said parishioner Ann Kriebel and her husband collect old runner sleds. They clean them up, repair and decorate them as Christmas displays, and donate them to the church to sell.

Similarly, Thomas Schultz of Blakeslee, a friend of Kasten, makes wooden skis and then parishioner Jeanie Dillon decorates them. They, too, donate them to the church for the Christmas sale.

“Everything comes from a creation of the parishioners,” Kasten said. “It is the community, the parishioners, the church, the people that I’ve come to love that do this. Without them, this would not be, and I’m really grateful for the opportunity to head this up for three years now. It’s just amazing.”

For people who want to take a chance on winning a basket, the Christmas sale has a room full of them, as well as mystery boxes. Kasten said people can choose to purchase a regular sheet of tickets or one that includes chances for the high-end items.

Those include some specific lighted villages, a photo tree, and two Christmas quilts. The other baskets range from lottery tickets and gift certificates to local restaurants to wine baskets from Blue Ridge Winery and Big Creek Winery and an array of Christmas baskets.

In the kitchen, a team of ladies baked up cherry, apple and blueberry pies, and parishioners will be donating other dessert items for sale.

During the event, patrons also can purchase homemade soups, as well as macaroni and cheese, halushki, hot dogs and sauerkraut. The soups include: Italian wedding, harvest, chicken and rice, ham and bean, and cheeseburger.

Kasten said they also will have a sausage, apple and sage stuffing, also known as filling, for sale to take home.

“This is an amazing event and the community loves it,” she said.