Oh What A Night! An Evening in the Stacks was a Huge Success
Oh, what a night,
Hypnotizing, mesmerizing me,
It was everything I dreamed it would be.
Sweet surrender, what a night!
Lyrics and song by Franki Valli
Oh what a night, indeed for nearly 300 people who attended The Friends of the Presque Isle Community Library’s second annual fundraising event July 8. While final figures are not yet tallied, it appears that the event will raise approximately $18-20,000 toward the costs of finishing and furbishing the library’s lower level into a multi-use state of the art space including proposed classroom, media center and meeting space in addition to topping off the fund to pay for an elevator to provide access to the lower level for all of the library’s patrons.
The highlights of the evening included a complimentary winetasting hosted by the Wine Barn of Manitowish Waters and Howard Hasselkus from the Wisconsin Vintners Association. The silent auction bidding was spirited as attendees enjoyed the fabulous appetizers prepared by some of Presque Isle’s best cooks. Wildlife prints, a quilt retreat, catered gourmet dinners, an overnight stay at Bayview Lodge, a guided fishing excursion, beautiful planters and gift certificates to many local attractions were some of the items available in the silent auction. Raffle items included a kayak, an airplane excursion, a log carrier and a variety of wines. The evening culminated with professional auctioneer Arnie Lange from Merrill, WI as he entertained the crowd and coaxed out ever higher bids on the 22 items featured in the live auction. Items included a carved bear, a kayak, a diamond pin, rare wine, a painted deer hide, Green Bay Packer tickets, a day with John Bates, a catered rib dinner, an airplane adventure to Madeline Island, a Weber grill and a collection of spices from Penzy’s.
Once again, the more than 50 volunteers helped to make this event such a success led by Kathy Trzesniak, event chair and Linda Christiansen & Cheryl Bowen, donations; Elaine Kuehnl, Jorja Burke, Marlene Armata & Kathy Vogt, kitchen and food, Sharon Specht, the silent auction, and Judy Dickert, raffles. Plans are already underway for next year’s event which is tentatively scheduled for Thurs. July 7, 2011. Don’t miss out!