St. Mary’s School auction coming up

Time to bid.

Not that online, eBay kind of bid.

This kind of auction requires a raise-your-hand, in-your-face dedication that raises the adrenalin level of bidders while it raises the money needed to run a local school.

St. Mary’s Catholic School will hold its 33rd annual auction next Saturday at the Mirabeau Park Hotel.

“This is our primary fund-raiser,” Principal Lauri Nauditt said. “We’re expecting about 450 people to attend – in the past we’ve had to try and squeeze in an extra couple people at the last minute.”

The event begins with a silent auction at 4:30 p.m. – think of it as a transitional phase for those with only online bidding experience. Once the bidding urge has been created, attendees will be fed before they begin the live, dog-eat-dog auction of donated items.

And, since it would be impolite to allow all that built-up adrenalin to be squandered, the evening will conclude with dancing to the music of Jimmy Finn and the Rhythm Method.

Attendance, which costs $35 per person, is not limited to parents of St. Mary’s students.

“We have people who don’t have students at the school attend,” Nauditt said. “And we have a lot of parents of former students attend. Everyone is welcome.”

The more the merrier.

St. Mary’s was founded in 1958 and hosts 245 students, from pre-kindergarten through the eighth grade. As a parochial school, fund-raising is a way of life.

“We do have to pay our own way,” Nauditt said. “We’ll have separate parts of the auction that will to go special projects. For example, part of the auction will go toward replacing the lighting in our classrooms.”

Nauditt said events like the live auction are part of what brings the school community together.

“We have four events spread out through the year,” she said. “It’s actually pretty great to see the community come together for an event like this.”

Items up for auction include vacations, jewelry, dinner parties, vacation home rentals, sports memorabilia and travel packages.

“Our students get involved and will raffle off things like yard work,” Nauditt said. “Everyone helps.”