Mardi Gras Auction Party
Come celebrate Mardi Gras in October at our 2023 Annual Auction Kickoff. The party is being held on Saturday, October 7th from 4 pm – 7:30 pm. We want everyone to feel welcome, so we are selling tickets on a sliding scale from $1 to whatever you feel comfortable donating. Our suggested price is $13 per adult for advanced purchase to cover the dinner costs. Tickets will be available for advance purchase during Sunday’s coffee hour. You can also contact Ruth Owens to buy your tickets online. Be sure to let us know how many tickets you would like and the amount you feel comfortable donating. (View all available items at https://auctria.events/uucv)
This year we are encouraging you to invite family and friends to join us at the party. We are hoping folks will wear their finest Mardi Gras outfits. We will provide masks and beads!
Some of the amazing events that we have planned include:
- Live jazz music by the award-winning Ventura High School Jazz Quintet.
- A catered Cajun dinner of fried chicken, Po’ Boy chicken sandwiches, red beans & rice (vegan), black-eyed peas (vegan), jalapeno hush puppies and corn bread muffins from The Cajun Country Café in Oxnard with hot sauce available on the side. We will also include a green salad (vegan) and homemade cupcakes for dessert.
- An indoor and outdoor dining table will be reserved for those more comfortable wearing a mask.
- Wine and sodas available.
- Please be green and remember to bring your dinnerware.
Bring the whole family! Lily Rapaport has planned a number of fun events for the kids including a bouncy house, snow cones, and pizza.
Since the auction is our biggest fundraiser of the year, we will also be offering:
- The famous New Orleans Hurricane drink (with or without rum) for a suggested donation of $5.
- There will be a Raffle with at least 10 raffle prizes available including $50 cash – you pick what items you want to try to win! Tickets will be available for $1 each or $5 for 6 tickets.
- We will be doing a fun Flip-A-Coin fundraiser. Tickets are $5 or 3 tries for $10. For each ticket bought, you guess if the coin will be heads (hand on your head) or tails (hand on your bum). If correct, you stay in. If wrong, you lose a ticket. The last person standing will win $50 cash.
- Another way to participate is through an amazingly generous offer by Dennis Charles, to match all cash donations up to a total of $1000!
- Some of the 185+ auction items will be available for viewing during the party.
- And of course, we will also be doing a live auction of 6-8 items throughout the evening!
Come and kick off our annual auction with a great party! The online auction will begin on October 7th and continue until 8 pm on Sunday, October 22nd. You can view all available items at https://auctria.events/uucv. Once in the site, select “Auction” then “Online Auction Items.” Contact Jen Luce if you would like help accessing the site or setting up your account.