BY LINDA HULL
Vice President
Rotary Club of Los Alamos
“Bid now, bid high, and bid often!” These are the encouraging words shared by Rotarians Laura Loy and Jean Gindreau, the online auction coordinators for the Rotary Club’s 13th Annual Crab Fest.
You do not need to buy Crab Fest tickets to participate in the auction, which runs through Sunday, February 13, 7:00 p.m. (But we’d be so happy if you did! They are selling fast!)
To accommodate Covid-19 restrictions, the traditional Crab Fest auction has once again gone online for its auction. To access the auction, please go to galabid.com/crabfest2022, register, and click on Silent Auction. If you registered last year, you do not need to register again this year.
At the Galabid site, you will find a great number of tempting treasures, all donated by generous members of the community.
If you enjoy wine, you’ll find one-half case of red wines from Hillcrest Winery and Reustle Winery of the Umpqua Valley in Oregon, as well as another half-case of fine wine. There is an Old Dutch copper-and-brass multi-bottle wine chiller available, as well as a certificate from Blue Window Bistro and dinner for six from Pig and Fig.
If family experiences are more to your liking, please consider bidding on a hummingbird banding outing in Bandelier or on a trip to Disney World in Orlando—or even a trip to Tuscany. Take up bird-watching as your feathered friends enjoy the refreshing waters of an artisanal glass birdbath/feeder, or share time with family over the puzzles offered.
Give into temptation with bids on two tickets to next year’s Hamilton at Popejoy Hall, a stunning framed photograph of sandhill cranes by photographer Jim O’Donnell, sterling silver dragonfly earrings and a pair with Swarovski crystals, salon products, a Cabi fashion consultation and gift certificate, and a romantic one-night lodging for two at Pueblo Canyon Inn and Gardens here in Los Alamos.
If entertainment on a grand scale is more your style, bid on a private movie screening in one of the Reel Deal auditoriums. You provide friends, family, refreshments, beverages, and choice of DVD. It’s a movie experience you won’t forget and a perfect choice for a retirement or graduation celebration, a special birthday or anniversary, or any memorable occasion.
There are also opportunities to bid on a ride-along with a Los Alamos Police Officer or take drone classes.
You’ll find gift certificates for the Los Alamos Daily Post advertising, Oasis Landscape spring yardwork, and financial and estate planning with Attorney Phil Dabney. Bathtub Row Brewery and the Los Alamos Co-op are also on board with certificates.
Everyone needs a wine cork bulletin board or a Ferrari keyring. (Car not included.)
And, no one will be able to resist the chance to bid on homemade pies from the kitchen of Liddie Martinez, author of the award-winning cookbook, The Chile Line: Historic Northern New Mexican Recipes.
To purchase Crab Fest tickets now and to participate in the free Auction, please go to galabid.com/crabfest2022 Credit card payments only, please, for tickets and auction purchases. Please check the Crab Fest site often, as items will be added regularly! You may also buy tickets for a 50/50 Raffle or make a donation to Rotary.
If there’s still nothing that piques your interest, give your heart to Rotary through a Valentine donation to our Club. Your gifts in the past have helped fund such projects as Meals of Hope, which, in its two years, has provided tens of thousands of family meals to northern New Mexico food pantries. Your giving has also made it possible for Rotarians to assist the Navajo Nation’s most vulnerable families with much-needed food, water, and supplies to protect against COVID-19.
You will find all these opportunities, and many more, to support Rotary’s humanitarian service at galabid.com/crabfest2022.
Remember, the Rotary Club of Los Alamos, a 501(c)3 non-profit, enthusiastically urges you to bid now, bid high, and bid often!