Project Graduation. While it may sound like a government experiment on 18-year-olds, it’s actually a fun-filled evening, historically at Main Event, for the whole senior class. This year’s committee of class of 2023 parents, led by Paula Hufford, hosted their annual Holiday Bazaar in the cafeteria over the weekend to raise money for the event.

“Project Graduation is an event that we put on the night of graduation to allow the seniors the ability to go out with their friends and enjoy that evening in a safe manner, versus everybody going to different parties and having access to alcohol and drugs,” Hufford said. “We provide an event where they can be safe.”

The Bazaar is the committee’s largest fundraiser to help put that event on, and a bulk of the income comes from hiring outside vendors to sell their wares at the event. Jewelry crafters, woodworkers and public services came from all around Cedar Park to connect with each other and offer their talents to the community.

“We have quite a following,” Hufford said. “We’ve been doing this since 2012, and so some of the vendors have actually reached out to us. A lot of them have been here year after year, [but] some of them are new. Some of them are [current] students or previous students, so they’re familiar with the event, and now they’ve started their own businesses.”

One such vendor was Laura Holst, who had a table set up for her business which she started in 2018 called Laura’s Smiles Quilting. The Holiday Bazaar allowed her to get her brand and products out there, while also supporting Project Graduation.

“I have three children that have graduated from Cedar Park High School,” Holst said. “And they were all athletes, so this was a great way to preserve all of their t-shirts and everything that they’ve collected. And once I got started, I just loved it.”

Another vendor, however, was less than thrilled with his experience. Max Romero of Renewal By Andersen, a window repair company, recounted his experience with a customer.

“No business today,” Romero said. “I just had a woman [come by] and she just put us through the paces. You know, she had all kinds of questions, really had us thinking she needed windows, but she was just too busy. Something about kids with art all over her house or something like that.”

While mainly created as a fundraiser for Project Graduation, Hufford says the Bazaar serves not only as that, but also a way to bring the people of Cedar Park together.

“It’s definitely a community event,” Hufford said. “We had Santa here earlier, we’re doing a cakewalk, so we got something for the kids. We have a whole array of different types of vendors, and then we have our silent auction. We’ve had a great turnout of vendors, [and they’ve] said that it was a nice event that they got a good crowd through and got some good sales, so we’re here to support [and] help them, and they’re helping us as well.”

Project Graduation will be on May 26 after graduation and free for seniors. Details on the location will come later.