"THE MAGIC OF CHRISTMAS" CATS FESTIVAL OF TREES 2001

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CATS Festival of Trees 2001 entertainment photos

"The Magic of Christmas"
CATS Festival of Trees 2001

The 13th Annual Festival of Trees presented by the Community Arts and Theater Society (CATS) was a sell-out event Saturday, Dec. 1. The live and silent auctions raised more than $47,000 for San Juan Community Theatre. The program honored Andrew V. McLaglen.

Auctioneer Trish Lehman and her assistants Susan Grout and Dan Paulson kept the bidding lively. The highest bid of the evening was $4,100 for a bronze statue of pelicans by Jason Napier. The second highest item was "Floating,"an oil painting by Cynthia Church (photo second from bottom), which sold for $3,100. Farhad Ghatan's offer of a Persian dinner for ten created a flurry of bids. He interrupted the bidding and added two more dinners. The three sold for $900 each.

The festival has evolved over the years and now offers a variety of auction items besides the traditional trees and wreaths. This year the items ranged from a trompe l'oeil toilet seat (which raised $275) to a wrought iron and soapstone credenza ($900) to a quilted vest ($450) to 10-day stay at a Palm Desert condo ($1,700) to a paper maché crocodile ($1,400). The gross proceeds for the sale will exceed $56,000, a 40% increase over last year's record setting event according to festival organizer Jennie Inch.

The Festival of Trees is CATS biggest annual fundraiser. The volunteer group raises money for capital improvements to the theater. Raffle tickets for Missy, the very large stuffed bear, were sold at CATS fundraisers throughout the year. As the drawing was about to be held, more than one ticket holder was overheard saying "Please God, don't let me win Missy."

Dennis and Cindi Roquet who had resorted to placing an ad to try to obtain tickets to the sold-out festival were happy to have the winning raffle ticket. Missy will join Cindi's 300 other bears at their San Juan Island home.

Before and after the auction, festival-goers were treated to entertainment by talented islanders. In a first this year a preview night was added to the event. CATS member Joan Miller said the preview was sold out. The attendees which included many children watched the entertainment and viewed the auction items on display.

Festival of Trees coordinator Jennie Inch (center) thanked her fellow volunteers (left to right) Marcy Hahn, Sondra Bayley, Patti Pratt and Chance Earle at the close of the successful auction.