Et Cetera Shop continues 50th anniversary celebration

BLUFFTON — Et Cetera Shop, Inc., Bluffton, will hold a garden tour June 29-30. The tour is one of the events planned during 2024 in celebration of the 50th anniversary of Et Cetera Shop, Inc. Tickets at $5 per person are available at Et Cetera Shop, Bluffton Ten Thousand Villages and Book ReViews. The three stores are on Bluffton's Main Street, all of which are operated by Et Cetera Shop, Inc. The gardens included in the tour will include: JP and Tim Schumacher, 127 Riley St.; Tim Byers, keeper of the Et Cetera Shop Cozy Garden, 327 N. Main St. (garden is located near the drop-off platform behind the store); Beth Boehr, 126 Jackson St.; Jodi and Dave Miller, 207 Swiss Circle; Larry and Bev Armstrong, 203 Swiss Circle; and Bruce and Keith Augsburger, 217 S. Main St. Representatives from each of the three stores will be located at the gardens on the tour. Initially opened as a thrift and gift store in 1974, Et Cetera was created by the late Lois Sommer Kreider and sponsored by local Mennonite churches. Today, Et Cetera, Inc. is operated by a nonprofit board and sponsored by local churches, including First Mennonite, Bluffton; Bluffton Presbyterian; Grace Mennonite, Pandora; Salem Mennonite, Elida; Lima Mennonite, Lima; and English Lutheran, Bluffton. Et Cetera Shop, Inc. is part of a network of not-for-profit stores that support local and global relief, development and peace projects of the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC.) Other events scheduled in the coming months include a customer appreciation day at all three stores, a comforter bash to benefit MCC on Oct. 19 at the Arthur Lugibihl Center in Pandora, a community thank-you event, and repurposing and kids' crafts at Bluffton Family Recreation. Suzann Bauman is chair of the committee planning the garden tour.