12th Annual Silent Auction to Benefit Pets in Need

On Friday night Nov. 4, the Dilboy VFW Hall hosted the 12th Annual Silent Auction to benefit the nonprofit Pets in Need. The goal was to “help surrendered pets” by selling items just in time for the December holidays. The monetary goal was to surpass $3,700, which was last year’s total.

A silent auction, of course, is essentially the opposite of a typical auction (i.e. yelling out the price you want the item for). Instead, you go to different booths, each with slips of paper pertaining to their respective items. With your designated number assigned to you at the entrance, you write the amount of money you’re willing to pay for a specific item on its slip of paper, alongside your number.

The categories of items available were: Travel & Tourism; Sports & Leisure; Miscellaneous & Holiday; Animals & Pets; and Restaurants & Dining.

Items available included: purses, cups, candles, cushions, DVDs, necklaces, bracelets, and various animal-related merchandise. Food and drinks were also available. About half of the food was free (although most guests graciously donated money for it). Desserts and drinks, both non-alcoholic and alcoholic, were sold. Raffles, as well as jewelry and clothes separate from the auction items, were also on sale.

The Silent Auction title was quite misleading, as the first (and constant) noise I heard upon entering was The Nahanton Avenue Band rocking out to various tunes. Some songs like “Jumpin’ Jack Flash,” “Sultans of Swing,” and “Hound Dog” got the 120+ bidders and guests enjoying the atmosphere of the Christmas-lighted room during the entirety of the two hours.

Sarah Rhines, a first time coordinator for this event, also mentioned that this was the first year that the event took place at a venue as opposed to their actual shelter, which was “huge.” She was pleasantly surprised by the number of people participating, considering that there were 75 people last year. Her one change towards the event would be to “spend [money] on advertising” in order to get more bidders in the future.

Near the end of the auction, the crowd and band went wild convincing guests to bid on the remaining items. As one band member put it, “This is like eBay, only in person!”

While I couldn’t interview the highest-paying bidders due to the nature of the silent auction, it was a pleasant and friendly experience all in the name of charity and good intent towards animals.

Enjoy some more pictures from the event: