First Assembly of God in Clanton reeled in an impressive turnout with its first outdoor vendor show on May 5, which replaced the annual ladies’ tea formerly hosted by the church.

The event featured 28 vendors from across the state.

“Everything went smoothly,” event coordinator Delonna Hutto said.

Hutto said she selected the outdoor venue to allow space for shoppers to browse and for future growth of the event.

She said several guests expressed that they missed the ladies’ tea, but they had enjoyed the outdoor vendor show and suggested methods for enhancing next year’s event.

“My goal is to make it larger each year,” Hutto said.

The church exceeded its fundraising goal.

All funds will support the church’s “greatest-need” projects, Hutto said.

Carnival food sold by the children’s ministry will benefit their programs.

Guests also enjoyed barbecue, funnel cakes and more from food vendors.

Hutto said the vendor show was easier to host than the ladies’ tea, which required more hands on deck and more extensive planning and preparation.

Hutto had created the church’s former ladies’ tea as a means to express her gratitude to the women who had warmly taken her and her children into the church family upon her first visit many years ago.

The idea was sparked when she noticed a newspaper article detailing another church’s ladies’ tea event, and the inaugural ladies’ tea was initiated.

That was 11 years ago.

Recent years’ tea events featured vendors, door prizes and fashion shows. But this year’s event presented a new angle aimed to provide a greater variety of vendor merchandise and better room to move around and browse items in the fresh air.

“A lot of the vendors said they’d like to come back,” Hutto said. “They see us getting bigger and bigger.”

Plans are already underway for a repeat event next year.

“Once it was over, everybody was just thrilled and commented on how well it ran,” Hutto said. “They can’t wait for next year.”

First Assembly of God is located at 1106 Seventh St. S. in Clanton.

For more information about the church, visit clantonfirst.org.