The Event of the Season

          When I was packing for Ketchikan last month, I remember looking at all of my pretty dresses and saying "well, can't pack these, it's a shame I won't need them in Alaska!" Little did I know that I'd be attending a fundraising gala through work and would need to look semi-decent for it. Luckily, I used the excuse of not bringing any of my nice dresses to justify the purchase of one for the event, the "Sole-stice shoe fundraiser party. The party involved fancy finger foods and a series of auctions to raise money for a chemotherapy infusion suite at the city hospital, the PeaceHealth Medical Center. My manager Sarah and her family help run the auctions every year, so she had people from the Lumberjack Show help set up and run the event. I got to set up the displays for the shoes and bags that were up for auction and then determine the winners of the silent auction bids.

I didn't even know we had this many people in Ketchikan until the event

 
         It was fun to be at such a classy party and to meet the very motivated folks who arrange the fundraiser every year. There were three rounds of silent auctions and a live auction event as well- over four hundred items were bid on. I was pretty tired by the end of setting up the event but not too tired to enjoy the fancy shoes and drinks.

The middle display of live-auction items

The cost of this drink basically blew a hole in my alcohol fund for this week

Another fun part of the event was that they somehow got the lumberjacks to participate in the event as well (as much as I'd like to believe in their kind-hearted and charitable spirits, I'm a little skeptical that they willingingly attended a shoe party without any compensation or bribery). They sold chocolates and trinkets to the event-goers. Each one of them had to buy or borrow clothes for the event as none had such frivolous niceties as khackis or a shirt with a collar that's not plaid.

My coworker Erika and I with two of the lumberjacks, Lurch and Tyler

All in all, it was a fun night and perhaps the only valid excuse I'll have this summer for getting dolled up and spending $10 on drinks in Alaska!

'Til next time,

Bridget