PORT ALLEGANY — Get ready to mingle in your flip flops during the 35th Annual S.W. Smith Memorial Library Dinner Auction. This year’s beach party theme is “It’s 5 o’clock somewhere!” The library will hold this event from 4 to 9 p.m. Saturday at the Star Hose Company 1 Fire Hall.
Tickets for this adults-only event are $40 per person. Gather up your friends and grab a reserved table at $100 for 10 adults or $150 for 16 adults. Guests who are seated at a reserved table will receive extra perks.
For the cost of their ticket, guests will enjoy an evening of delicious food, entertainment and games of chance. There will be appetizers, dinner by CJ Bar-B-Que & Catering and desserts by Cindy Knapp. Throughout the evening entertainment will be provided by musician Alex Cole. There will be a cash bar available with a variety of drinks including beer, wine, margaritas and a selection of non-alcoholic beverages.
Guests will be able to place paper tickets in the lot of their choice during a bucket auction, at $5 for 25 chances.
Of course the main event will be the silent and live auctions.
“When you buy a ticket you get a bidding number and that will be the number you write down next to your bid for the silent auction,” said Mary Grace Collier-Kisler, library director.
“Then we have a live auction at the end of the night where people will hold up their paddle to place a bet.”
Many local businesses, community organizations and private citizens have donated to make this year’s auction better than ever. There are 24 lots for the live auction and even more for the silent and bucket auctions.
This is an important fundraiser for the library as almost 60 percent of its operating budget comes from donations and fundraising.
“All the money raised from these auctions will go right into our operating budget,” said Collier-Kisler. “Having a good, solid operating budget helps us know where we stand and what kinds of programs we can offer for the next year.”
Money from the operating budget pays for all kinds of things, from utility bills to book covers.
“This money helps us keep serving our community,” Collier-Kisler said.
There will also be two raffles and several games of chance to be enjoyed. Money from these games of chance goes into the library’s small games account, which funds technology costs throughout the year.
For libraries, technology cost goes beyond the actual price of the devices. There are continuing costs associated such as software and cybersecurity upgrades.
And sometimes, patrons just need somewhere comfortable to sit.
“One of the things we are talking about replacing depending on how well the auction goes are the chairs that are at our computers and behind our circulation desk,” said Collier-Kisler.
“The chairs we have now no longer move up and down and the vinyl is peeling off of them.”
A couple of raffles are presently available online and open to the public. An auction ticket is not necessary to enter.
The first raffle features a pizza oven package that includes an Ooni Karu 12 Multi-Fuel Pizza Oven with all the accessories. Only 150 chances for this will be sold at $20 per ticket.
The second raffle is “Painting, PJs and Pampering Weekend,” an all-inclusive stay for two guests at Frosty Hollow Bed & Breakfasts in Coudersport. The weekend will feature two nights in the Raspberry Room with meals included. There will be a paint n’ sip activity, massage, facials, foot baths and more pampering. This auction is also $20 per chance.
The winners of both raffles will be drawn during the live auction.
