Harvest Moon Gala

Registration & Break Down

The evening was the annual fundraising dinner and silent auction to support our local employment support network, Junction 505. This is their largest fundraising effort every year and has come to be a popular event over the years. The largest attraction is their implementation of “celebrity servers” that actually serve the attendees meals along with refreshing their drinks. They often recruit local figureheads along with some state officials to volunteer their time to be these servers, and it is customary to “tip” them as another form of donations.

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I really enjoyed how efficiently they set up the silent auction by labeling the gift certificates in envelopes held at the front that corresponded with the items they had on display for bidding. This allowed for easy retrieval for the attendee upon purchase. They also provided trademarked gift bags to take the items home in that added a great personal touch. The only things that I thought were lacking were the musical entertainment selection, along with the choice of a cash bar. The musician that played was very dated, in my opinion and I wish they were able to bring in a real piano rather than the key board he brought with him. However, I do understand how hard it is to find donated performers for charity events. Also, I just thought that it might have portrayed a higher quality event by providing beer and wine bar, but again I understand that the goal is indeed to raise money, not spend it. Yet, it is still said that you need to spend money to make money.