The Illinois Mennonite Relief Sale celebrates its 68th Annual event on Friday, March 20, and Saturday, March 21, 2026, at Interstate Center in Bloomington, Illinois. The theme for this year’s event is “68 Years of God’s Blessings of Love and Hope!”

Preparation for this event will involve people from approximately 30 Illinois churches, serving in the name of Christ. On Friday night, March 20, a Trivia Night is planned starting at 6:00 P.M. Concessions from our traditional booths will be available for purchase, including pulled pork sandwiches, nachos, curly fries, soda, coffee, and ice cream. On Saturday morning, March 21, many volunteers will be serving all-you-can-eat pancakes and sausage breakfasts starting at 6:00 A.M. and continuing until noon. While enjoying a delicious meal, sale-goers may enjoy a time for Christian fellowship.

Among the many highlights of this annual charity event, benefiting the needy at home and abroad, will be the crying of the Grand Auction starting at 8:30 A.M. on Saturday, March 21. Volunteer auctioneers, including one Amish gentleman from Arthur, will cry the sale. 

A very special auction item is a Victorian style pump organ. It is a Clough Warren pump organ. These were made in 1880 – 1905 in the Detroit, Michigan area. This completely refurbished organ was donated to our 2012 Relief Sale, and now the owner is donating it back to the auction. 

Again this year, the Grand Auction will feature more than 65 handmade quilts and even some wall hangings. One specialty will be a queen-sized beauty donated by members of the Illinois Relief Sale Board. This gorgeous original design “Heart of Roses” quilt is hand-appliqued by an Amish lady in Pennsylvania. It has a beautiful floral border of bright pink and red colored roses. 

Another highlight of the sale is a Children’s Auction. Among many children’s joys will be dolls, trucks, outdoor toys, and much more.

Everyone enjoys the Pennsylvania Dutch Market. Here, there will be a bustling business of homemade pies, cakes, cookies, breads, candies, and much more.

A forever favorite is the opportunity to purchase fresh whole-hog sausage, both link and bulk. With the help of Eureka’s Bittner Meat Shop and some volunteer workers, thousands of pounds of fresh sausage will be packaged for the sale.

Also attracting the crowd are specialty booths such as Arts and Handicrafts, Baby Booth, Flower Box, Kiddie Korner, and others.

Another favorite each year is the Ten Thousand Villages booth. Here, sale-goers purchase special items such as baskets, linens, purses, musical instruments, and all kinds of jewelry. Ten Thousand Villages is located in Akron, Pennsylvania. Purchasing items at the sale helps to provide a fair income to Third World people who creatively make and sell their handicrafts. Income from the items sold in America goes back to artisans for more trade.

Twenty percent of the net proceeds of the Illinois Sale helps local charities by providing food for the needy. Some of these groups are the Salvation Army in Peoria, Bloomington, and Pekin. Other recipients are Peoria Rescue Mission, Peoria and Bloomington’s Midwest Food Bank, and other local food pantries.

A special benefit of the Relief Sale is sending eighty percent of the net proceeds to Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) of Akron, Pennsylvania, for international world relief assistance. This year MCC is celebrating 106 years (1920-2026) in a worldwide ministry of Anabaptist churches. Presently, MCC has 1,214 workers assisting the needy in America and in 46 countries of the world.

Enjoy an entire day with the whole family by planning to attend the 68th Annual Illinois Mennonite Relief Sale on March 20 - 21 at the Interstate Center in Bloomington. Admission and parking are free. For more information, please contact Ruthie Roth at 309-266-7704 or Brian Veeder at 309-262-4296.