TORONTO — Judy Winberg is embarking on a labour of love. The chair of the 1995 Hadassah Bazaar is working on a display of bazaar memories in honour of the last-ever bazaar – now called the CHW Toronto Bazaar – to be held Oct. 29 at the National Trade Centre at Exhibition Place.

Perlmutter’s Bakery donated a six-foot challah to the 1937 Hadassah Bazaar.

Winberg, whose mother Doodie Libman was bazaar chair in 1979 – the only other mother-daughter bazaar chairs are this year’s chair, Barbi Benjamin Levitt, and her mother, Penny Benjamin, who was chair in 1981 – said she can’t just “let the bazaar go. Ihave to give it a proper and deserved goodbye.”

While putting together the display, she said, she noticed the changes the bazaar has gone through since its inception in 1924 at a downtown Yonge Street store.

“In 1937, the bazaar moved to Varsity Arena, and it included a fashion show, a beautiful baby photo contest, and ‘Jewish’ food, such as potato latkes and chopped liver,” Winberg said.

“They raised an incredible $5,800 that year, and the funds were directed to the Agricultural School for Girls at Nahalal, to house and educate new female immigrants in farming techniques.”

Throughout the 1940s, Winberg said, Hadassah-WIZO members were heavily involved in the war effort, and as merchandise donations fell because of the war, they compensated by adding more prizes for raffles. They also featured demonstrations on cooking with wartime rations.

“In 1943, they raised more than $10,000, ” she said.

In 1949, the bazaar moved to the Automotive Building at the Canadian National Exhibition, where it stayed until it moved to its current home in 2004. By 1957, with revenue of $87,000, it was billed as the largest annual bazaar in the world.

In honour of the 50th bazaar in 1974, then-Toronto mayor David Crombie named Oct. 23, 29 and 30 as Hadassah Bazaar Days.

Winberg said the display will be featured at this year’s bazaar, and at 2:30 p.m., there will be a cake-cutting ceremony with past bazaar chairs. “We’re inviting them all back so we can honour them.”

Lineup from early morning hours at Automotive Building in 1979.

Winberg’s own bazaar memories go back to when she was a young girl and her mother would bring her back doll clothes. “I began working there when I was in high school, and now my daughter is a Hadassah member.”

Ending the bazaar is a sign of the times, she said. “People feel sad, but 84 years is a good run. We can’t feel sad about that.”

Gail Klebanoff, who was chair in 1973, said that in those years, “we were the only game in town. There were no flea markets, no dollar stores – we were it.”

Shoppers planned their days off around the bazaar, she said, and line-ups began snaking around the building by 6:30 a.m., “and we prayed for good weather. It is sad that it’s closing, but I guess, everything has to move on.”

It’s been 23 years since Roberta Dubiner chaired the event, and as a member of the organization’s executive, she was part of the decision to end the bazaar.

“Every year it gets harder and harder to get merchandise, and there is too much competition out there.”

As well, Dubiner said, the younger members are busy juggling work and family and don’t have the time to devote to planning the event.

“I gave up one year of my life to plan the bazaar, and my husband even bought me a second phone line. It was a full-time job.”

She said she is going to miss the family aspect of bazaar. “It was a day for families to be together. Husbands took the day off work, and children took off school. It was a wonderful feeling to walk into the room and see grandmothers, children and grandchildren all working together.

“I have a lot of good memories. Icertainly expect to cry that day.”

Benjamin Levitt said she has been planning this year’s event since the day after last year’s bazaar. “I want to go out with a bang.”

She agreed that it will be a sad day, “but it is bittersweet. We’ve had 84 successful years, and we should be proud.”

Proceeds from the bazaar have supported a host of projects in Israel, she said, such as hospitals, hotlines and shelters, and locally, it has benefited Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, which is building a new neo-natal unit.