Sasha Festival Day 4 - breakfast, raffle draws and good byes

The 2024 Sasha Festival went by far too fast! 

On the Sunday morning we had breakfast together in the conference room rather than upstairs in the top floor restaurant. Breakfast was followed by the Special Doll raffle draws plus announcements about the 2025 festival, which will take place Ohio, USA.

My daughter (Dmd) brought Laura in her Fair Rosamund outfit and her newly purchased Aurelia to breakfast, I brought toddler Louisa and my newly purchased Katie (plus Trudi in her travel bag given to me by Dorisanne 2 years ago).

We were given our final souvenir gifts in flag bags, apparently Petrana went to great lengths to obtain the doll sized trolley bags which were included in the final gift, along with doll underwear. I will do a separate blog post featuring all the festival souvenirs we received.

Aurelia, Laura (Fair Rosamund), Louisa and Katie with the 2025 festival postcard at breakfast

Awaiting the Special doll raffle draws at breakfast time

Chatting at breakfast time

A Trendon Gregor, Gotz Sasha and a Studio doll at breakfast

Sheila drawing the Baby Tally raffle

Preparing to draw Dawn's Gregor raffle

Dawn reads out 'number 19' for Gregor raffle and it dawns on me who that is!

An astonished Number 19 (my daughter) goes up to collect Gregor!

JoAnn, Dmd with Gregor and Sheila at the special doll raffle

Judith Dollydoodles draws the ticket for her Special Baby raffle

Judith reads out the winning number

Diane and her granddaughter draw the raffle ticket for the Special doll raffle donated by Petrana

Dmd's new Gregor joins Aurelia, Laura, Louisa and Katy on our breakfast table

Petrana presents gifts of a festival notebook to each of the Table Hostesses (including me)

Heidi tells us all about the plans for the 2025 Sasha Doll Festival in Columbus, Ohio

Petrana presents special gifts to all who helped at the festival

Petrana with Dawn when she gave Dawn her gift

Petrana and Janet

Petrana and Marti

Petrana presenting Sheila with her gift

Petrana presenting roses to Dawn

Petrana gave Janet some roses too

Final announcements and thanks from Petrana

Then it was time to pack up and say goodbye to people. We had the joyful and unexpected task of taking all the outfits for the Gregor Special raffle doll off the board and putting them into our bags.

Dmd with her new Gregor and his vast collection of clothes and toys

Dmd with Gregor and more of his outfits

It was sad to say goodbye to people after 3 intensely fun days celebrating Sasha dolls together. Thank you Petrana for taking the considerable financial risk of the 2024 Sasha doll festival, for the glorious souvenirs and for making it such an enjoyable event, with the help of many people who pitched in to offer their previous experience of running different elements of the festival.

Sasha Festival 2024 Day 3 - Sales tables and evening socialising

While the sales tables were set up and the sellers were arranging their wares, the rest of us congregated in the refreshments and lobby area, waiting our chance to re-enter the conference room. The sales opened and we poured in to inspect what was available to buy. 

I had been told by Gayle there were dolls which had belonged to Rosie Shortell for sale, and had a look at what had not already been snapped up by others. Janet helped me compare two blond girls, and I purchased a 1973 pumpkin stringed blond girl with lovely long two tone hair, then bought her an outfit from Judith Dollydoodles. I also visited JoAnn's stall and purchased a coat and a flag shirt, then Monica's stall from whom I purchased two pairs of her Sasha logo sandals, one for Sasha, one for toddler, plus two belts which I knew my daughter would like (she joined me shortly afterwards). 

My Rosie Shortell 1973 pumpkin stringed girl
wearing Dollydoodles jump suit and Jean Jenson shoes

Close up of my Rosie Shortell girl - named Katie after Rosie Shortell's daughter

My daughter was attracted to a waif on Rosie B's stall - the blond girl had freckles painted on her face and her hair is bobbed, also her outfit helped (tartan and sweater). I told her she would have to buy her for herself if she wanted her, and went to look at other items, before long she came to me carrying her first purchase of a Sasha doll at a festival (toddler Edmund she saved up for over a period of time, with some help).

Blond waif named Aurelia purchased from Rosie B by DollMum's daughter

Close up of Aurelia's gently painted freckles

I didn't take photos of the sales tables, I was too busy looking at what was available to buy.

After the sales tables were packed away, some of us went for a meal together then returned to the conference room to socialise. During the socialising a film featuring Sasha Morganthaler speaking about the creation of her dolls was shown on the big screen.

Our enlarged line up of Sasha dolls who attended the 2024 festival

L-R: Aurelia, Katie, Nicholas James (Colin), Miranda (Mary), Timothy (Dickon), Trudi, Laura (Fair Rosamund), Trendon Elliott, Louisa, Melanie, baby Nina, Edmund, Florence, Reuben

It has been a long, busy and interesting day at the Sasha doll festival.

Sasha Festival 2024 Day 3 - Table hostess gifts final helper raffle draws and Dress a Sasha winners

I was a table hostess for the Saturday lunchtime buffet lunch. The US based Sasha festival crew, who have organised many festivals, knew how to combat the issue of people picking a particular table hostess whom they guessed would give wonderful gifts and it worked as follows: the table hostesses met in the foyer while everyone else went into the conference room, found a numbered table to sit at and settled down. In the meantime each table hostess was assigned a number and exchanged gifts (we didn't open them). Once everyone had settled, the table hostesses entered the room with their gifts and found their numbered table, so it was a complete surprise about who was hosting each table. My daughter had fortunately managed to avoid being at my table, so she received a gift from a different table hostess.

I had provided 3 table hostess gifts for each person (we had to provide enough gifts for 10 people), two of which I had made myself and one which I commissioned from a friend. I made little Scottish tweed handbags which had plaited Shetland wool handles and lavender bags containing dried lavender from my English garden. My friend had knitted little toys for Sasha/Gregor - there were mermaids, monkeys and teddies in different colours. 

Scottish Tweed handbags I made

Tweed handbags with the knitted toys made by my friend Sue

Add the lavender bags with lavender from my garden

I was pleased with how the gifts turned out and was even more pleased when those I was hosting seemed happy with them. It is always hard to know what to make as hostess gifts, this was the second time I had hosted (the first time was at the 2017 festival). 

In the table hostess gift exchange I was delighted to receive a gift from Monica J (a pair of her beautifully crafted shoes). At the table hosted by Tricia, my daughter was very pleased to receive a fully reversible shorts and top outfit made of Liberty lawn for a Sasha baby, with a miniature floral elephant toy).

We were also given our second Festival souvenir - each of us received a reinforced envelope in which we found beautifully designed and printed paper dolls based on Sasha and outfits - these were designed by artist Janet Myhill-Dabbs. I don't think any of us can bear to cut them out!

Trudi relaxes with JoAnn's soft body baby on her lap,
with JoAnn's dolls in matching dresses and Florence looking over her shoulder

The lovely people at the table I hosted

The helper raffle draws happened on the Friday and on the Saturday, they needed to be cleared by Saturday lunchtime, to allow the long tables to be reused for the Sales tables, so the final draws took place before lunch had finished. We had placed tickets in several items (sometimes more than one ticket) but didn't win anything in the helper raffle.

The winners for the Dress a Sasha were announced. My daughter and I tied for 2nd place in our category! We took final photos of the first, second and third placed entries, then carefully dismantled our entries back into the plastic crates on the trolley and took ours back to our room. 

The Fairy won for the Teenaged entrant!

1st placed English Garden crafted by Adult

2nd placed English Garden crafted by Adult

2nd placed English Garden crafted by Adult

3rd placed English Garden crafted by Adult

3rd placed English Garden crafted by Adult

3rd placed English Garden crafted by Adult

1st placed English Garden assembled by Adult

2nd placed English Garden assembled by Adult

1st placed Afternoon Tea crafted by Adult

2nd placed Afternoon Tea crafted by Adult

3rd placed Afternoon Tea crafted by Adult

1st placed Afternoon Tea assembled by Adult

DollMum with our joint 2nd placed Dress a Sasha entries

DollMum's daughter with our joint 2nd placed Dress a Sasha entries

While the conference room was being reconfigured for the Sales tables, I had a quick trip into the shopping centre to the cash machine while my daughter found some items she needed at the shops.