The Independent Day School, located in Middlefield CT held their annual auction this year on April 1st 2017. ( all proceeds goes to the school) The Alice in Wonderland themed auction was no joke, this beautifully put together event included amazing donations from local vendors and showcased the school’s wonderful community. Doors opened at 5pm to the whimsically decorated Galluzzo theater where you checked your coats, picked up a paddle and walked through ‘Wonderland’ before starting your evening with some passed hors d’oeuvres, an open bar, and a silent auction. Before passing through the doors of another dimension you couldn’t pass up the opportunity to put your name into a raffle for 2 Orchestra seat tickets to Hamilton. The silent auction had a wide variety of donated items that would please anyone, from handmade items from the Beginners and Pre-K classes to local restaurant giftcards, signed sports memorabilia, apple watches, fitbits, giftbaskets full of books, wine, and coffee, just to name a few. Disney park passes, firetruck rides to school, timeshare rentals and probably the most valuable item of the night, a Janet Sisson bobble head. There were over hundreds of generous donations.
Once the silent auction closed at 7pm, and you either rejoiced or cried over what you had won and lost, everyone headed back to the Galluzzo for a delicious buffet dinner and candy bar. If anyone knows me, they know I am a huge Alice in Wonderland fan, so you can already imagine how in love with everything I was in. Imagine my surprise when we headed to dinner and I saw The Red Queen and Mad Hatter dressed to the nines. Don’t worry, their pictures are below, I was blown away with how much of a resemblance they had to the Tim Burton characters in Disney’s live animation film.
Once dinner was over the live auction commenced. Now, I have never been to a live auction before, so I had no idea what to expect, but if every live auction is as animated and fun as this one was, I can understand why one would go. The cream of the crop items were saved for the live auction, and man, were there bidding wars. A Janet Sission birthday party, BBQ with Jim Rumberger, Soccer Party by Charlie Mitchell, Head of School for the Day, Front row seats to the 2018 Middle School Musical, and the most sought after item.. The Front Circle parking space.
After a long fun night of madness and curiosity, my feet killed ( never listen to your husband on what shoes to wear when you’re going to be on your feet all night, he probably picked my most uncomfortable heels.), we walked away with some pretty special silent auction items, a priceless experience, met some fabulous people, and was reminded on why we LOVE the IDS community.
Shauna is a fine art, natural light, lifestyle photographer based out of Connecticut. To book a session contact Shauna at:
shauna@shaunadaiphotography.com | 860-268-2588 | www.shaunadaiphotography.com