Faith Evangelical Lutheran Church held a successful basket social March 7 and 8 in the social hall of the church, 3355 MacArthur Road, Whitehall.

Margy Muthard, basket social co-planning director, and her daughter Erika Miller said they were pleased with the steady stream of patrons attending the two-day event, which featured countless well-stocked baskets. Muthard said her large team of volunteers did a great job coordinating and staffing the event.

Ticker sellers Cathy Haller and Claudette Nia, both of Whitehall, sold tickets to attendees upon their arrival, while Jen Egolf, of Emmaus, and Miller sold tickets in the basket staging hall. They all cheerfully sold tickets and warmly greeted attendees.

More than 100 beautiful baskets were donated for the raffle. The baskets needed to have a value of at least $25. Nearly 70 baskets held gift cards, some of which were valued as high as $100.

A special area was designated the “WOW tables,” which held 18 baskets. These tables were for baskets with a value of $75 or more.

A “Grand WOW” prize was a Nintendo Switch 3 Mario Kart Bundle, valued at $499.99, donated by Cathy and Ernie Haller.

The luring aroma of food emanated from the kitchen and permeated the halls. This surely stimulated an urge among many attendees to check out the food offerings. The happy, large volunteer kitchen team was busy serving a variety of menu items to hungry patrons.

On the menu were turkey and hamburger barbecue, haluskis, macaroni and cheese, lasagna soup, hot dogs with sauerkraut or chili sauce and more.

Pat Masonheimer, of Moore Township; Linda Johnston and Fran Brigidi, both of Whitehall; and April Spaits, of Coplay, staffed the homemade baked goods tables. There were six tables full of a variety of baked goods designed to draw in those with a sweet tooth.

The event was multigenerational, as demonstrated by grandparents, their kids and their grandkids all attending the basket social together, walking around the room to choose which baskets to bid on and then going to the dining hall to have a tasty meal together.

Lisa Dieter and Adele Lemak, of Whitehall, ogled a large coffee-themed basket. Sierra Dorschutz, of Northampton, also found a basket that captured her attention.

Basket social or tricky tray events gained popularity during the 1950 and 1960s. Back then, these events were called Chinese auctions, but today, the names basket social, tricky tray or penny social are more commonly used.

A palpable spirit of goodwill was evident at this annual church-sponsored event. It served not only as a fundraising effort for the church, but also allowed people to get out, mingle in a positive social setting, partake in good food, have some fun and strengthen the social bonds of the community.