Our Bazaar's History

In May 1991, the American Women’s Club of the Philippines (AWCP) held its first Charity Bazaar at the San Antonio Church Hall. Two months later, the next bazaar was held in the Magallanes Village gym. In September 1995, the bazaar moved to the Bonifacio Naval Station where it stayed until February 1999. These places were hot, some had holes in the roof and rain came in, but we managed. After Bonifacio, the bazaar moved to its first air conditioned location, the World Trade Center where it stayed for many years. In 2015, the bazaar moved again to the SMX Manila Convention Center. Keeping the bazaar afloat during the COVID-19 pandemic was not possible, but we were able to host a few smaller bazaars at the Salcedo outdoor market. Through the hard work of our determined volunteers, we relaunched our bazaar at SMX Manila to shoppers in September 2022. In May 2023, the bazaar moved to its newest location at SMX Aura Convention Center in BGC, Taguig. 

 

We do not know how many local vendors the bazaar started with in 1991, but by the time we moved the World Trade Center in 1999 there were 200 vendors. Today we have approximately 250 vendors and even more during the Christmas holiday shopping season, commonly known in the Philippines as the “Ber” months. In 2022, Yooekka named AWCP’s Charity Bazaar as one of the seven best bazaars in Manila during the holiday season! 

 

Many of our shoppers have been coming to our bazaar for years, even bringing other generations to partake in this shoppers paradise. AWCP's Charity Bazaar began as a way to support our host community. Artisans from all over the Philippines bring their goods to the bazaar to sell. There are many village outreach programs and charity organizations that are vendors at the bazaar. The success of the bazaar has also afforded AWCP the ability to contribute to over 25 local charitable organizations. This is our largest fundraising event from which our proceeds go to our local charities. 

 

The success of these events would not be possible without our committed volunteers. Our volunteers engage with shoppers, chat with friends, take a break to eat fabulous food, and of course do a little (or a lot) of SHOPPING! After all, our motto is "Volunteer a little, shop a lot"!

 

We hope to see you at the next bazaar to help us raise funds for local organizations. 

Be sure to invite a friend!