Spring into Auction 2009!
Photographs by Natalie Schueller and Ulalume Zavla
The PS8 auction was in full swing the evening of April 2nd at Plymouth Church's Hillis Hall. A record crowd turned out to peruse the vast array of wonderful contributions from all sectors of the PS8 community-- from parents and friends to local businesses and organizations--all in support of great elementary education in our neighborhood. What a party!
The room was glowing literally and figuratively. Everything looked absolutely beautiful: from graphics by Eric Janssen and Gigi Dement to the clever lighting design a la PS8 by Carolanne Patterson. Live music was provided by PS8 Dad and musician Jeff Newell and his talented band to the delight of all. And the spread this year was extraordinary! No one went away hungry or thirsty!. Almost every great purveyor in the neighborhood took their spot on the hors d'oeurves table. For this our community owes a big thank you to Michael Towne Wine and Spirit and Ito Tea for helping stock the bar; to Almondine Bakery, Tutt Cafe, Sahadi's, Edible Arrangement, Fairway and Iron Chef for all the delicious food; and to parent volunteers for organizing the whole affair.
Shopping proceeded with drink in hand and the traffic was heavy. Silent auction items were limitless and appealing: play-dates with teachers; swimming, tennis, cooking and violin lessons; skin care products and fashion; wine and custom cooked meals; Cyclones tickets; children's toys, books and clothes; meals in local restaurants; and many more. All in all 169 items were up for grabs, ranging from steals to big ticket items. A very big thank you to everyone who donated something.
New to the auction this year and a fabulous contribution was original artwork made by PS8 children in their art classes with art teacher, Teresa Kravitz. Grades collaboratively conceived and executed artworks which were then framed by PS8 Parent Cristina Soto who also organized parent volunteers in the class art room, and presented the works as silent auction items. The art was truly inspirational. To see a gallery of artistic contributions made by PS8 kids, click here.
Later in the evening, auctioneer Steven Ringold, donning an engine-red pin-stripe suit, did a fantastic job drumming up action with the live auction, encouraging bidders to bid often and generously. There were some old standbys that went for record sums: baking lessons at Almondine, a week vacation on Block Island, Rhode Island, and a trip around New York Harbor with PS8 parent and Captain Nancy Webster. New items like lunch with New York's Bravest and a slide down the fire pole set a whole new standard for great Brooklyn adventure -- all made available in support of the school! Though bidding was a bit more tentative this year, the momentum picked up with a school favorite, Principal for a Day with Seth Phillips, which went for $1,500.
The PTA Executive Board gave a enormous round of applause to Fundraising Chair, Nathalie Fried, for her tremendous effort organizing the event as well as her extensive committee of volunteers who worked literally round the clock in the last days to make the event a success. Our community has no shortage of fundraising ideas. What makes the difference is people like Nathalie who take ownership of ideas and make them happen. Thank you, Nathalie for extraordinarily evening and a big step toward our fundraising goals to support enrichment programs at PS8. A final tally of the funds raised will be posted as soon as the Fundraising Committee reconvenes after spring break.
Finally, the night was topped off with a rousing rendition of "Happy Birthday" to Principal Seth Phillips! And the mob convened to collect the goods.
Thank you to the many people who made this event such a success, from volunteers and donors to the many generous bidders.
The PTA of PS8 would like to thank:
- Michael Towne Wine and Spirits for generously donating all the wine
- Tutt Café, Sahadi's, Fairway, Edible Arrangements, Iron Chef and Almondine Bakery for donating the lovely food
- Ito En tea for the delicious natural fruit tea
- James Weir Florist for the pretty flowers
- Stephen Ringold, the auctioneer of the event
- Teresa Kravitz, PS 8 Art Teacher, and Jenny Bevy from the Guggenheim Museum, who made the class arts a reality -- Amazing!
- Our Pre-K teachers and Antonella for getting the little artists involved
- The Brooklyn Heights, DUMBO and Atlantic Avenue neighborhood businesses who have donated so generously
- Daniel Squadron, our new State Senator, for participating in this event
- PS 8 Principal, Vice Principal and teachers for donating their personal time
- Blake Amos, PS 8 Parent Coordinator, for always helping out
- PS 8 Parents and Friends who donated items and services
- Eric Janssen, who is always ready to offer his expertise
A special thanks goes out to members of the PTA Spring Auction Committee:
- Nathalie Fried, the Chair of the event, and her lovely family Mark, Charlotte and Auguste for supporting her in this production.
- The Co-Chairs each of whom had specific tasks but chipped in together to help each other, to ask for some amazing donations from all the neighborhood businesses and beyond, and to assist with the logistics so the Auction would all come together:
- Susan Sellers for her expertise and design of flyers, invites and posters
- Amy Klein and Sandra Navarro for procuring and coordinating the donations
- Cristina Soto for coordinating and framing the class art projects
- Lily and Howard Kluger for writing, re-writing and printing the Auction Catalog
- Gigi Dement for getting all the frames, boards, preparing all the Auction item description sheets
- Lucia Larson and Liz McKenna for preparing all Bidding sheets
- Imke Vandenheuvel for coordinating and planning the food and drinks
- Carolanne Patterson and Laurence Moulin for creating beautiful decorations
- Becky Sternal for organizing the clean up
- And the many supportive families of our Co-Chairs who helped to make this event happen
Click here to view the more images of the auction event.
Posted on: April 24, 2009
