Wild bidding at PNA’s annual fundraising auction

Would you pay $700  to brew five gallons of beer with a Phinney neighbor in his “garage-Mahal?”
Two people did.
And two bidders paid $1,000 each for reserved tables for 10 at the Greenwood Senior Center’s wildly popular monthly Karaoke Bingo.
And that’s how it goes at the Phinney Neighborhood Association’s annual fundraising auction. Lights! Camera! Auction! was the theme of Saturday night’s event, and plenty of people dressed up as their favorite movie characters, including Pete and Lauri Serafin as Glinda the Good Witch and the Scarecrow.

About 300 people packed the Phinney Center for the silent auction, with hundreds of items to bid on, from massages and home remodeling consultations to jewelry and furniture.

Then everyone moved outside to the huge white tent in the parking lot for the live auction, with the chance to bid on vacation destinations, special chef dinners at Carmelita and Stumbling Goat Bistro, and sailing trips.

The dessert auction, which usually raises about $5,000, this year raised more than $7,000.
 
Denise Kitchel made these tiramisu and raspberry lemonade cakes to look like film reels.
One of the highlights every year is the visit from the firefighters from Fire Station 21. One lucky bidder spent $550 to win a dinner at the fire station.

Auctioneer Jerry Toner introduces four of the firefighters from Station 21, the “Defenders of Greenwood.”
The “fund a need” item – where bidders raise their paddles at various dollar amounts – brought in a whopping $15,700 for the PNA’s soup kitchen.
The live auction alone brought in more than $45,000 for the PNA’s programs. The total amount from ticket sales and all auction items sold won’t be available for a few days.