Southside Living Magazine Article_July
Blame the rain for dividing our annual garden party into two fun parties this year. Our big, annual garden fundraiser slated for April was rained out at the last minute. While we served the donated food and wine, the silent auction Chair, Southside Place resident Kristine Martinez, made the call to hold off on the silent auction until a sunny day. She had collected over 25 goods and services from local businesses, including Julie Rhodes Fashion & Home, Alira Salon & Spa and Glow Medical Aesthetics, so that we may put them up for bid. Historically, our silent auctions have, aside from corporate donations, generated the largest deposits to the garden’s coffers. One successful silent auction can fund the maintenance of the garden for one year.
We finally got a break in the weather on Sunday May 22 so that we could hold our silent auction party outside in the garden lot. Residents Carolyn and Bruce Nichol had donated the use of their home in case of rain, which was a distinct possibility with our season of pop-up storms in
the Gulf. The sun scorched the party planning committee setting up tables for the party but there was adequate shade by the 5pm start time. It turned to be the best day of the season and our turnout was splendid, as you can see from the photos.
Because we had distributed the donated food on April 24, we served cheese, pretzels and nuts. Lest anyone go hungry, Bubba’s Burgers food truck sold buffalo and beef burgers from the parking lot. Bubba’s waived their minimum fee because we are a charitable organization. They were delighted to meet their minimum sales in the first half-hour of the party! No wonder, as the community garden is a wonderful place for a picnic. Perhaps we should have food trucks on site monthly, calling it “First Friday Food Truck,” “Third Thursday al fresco,” or something…with City Hall’s approval, of course.
The silent auction was wrapped up at 7pm with almost all of the auction items sold. Most popular were Bryan and Claire Baker’s donated Astros Club level tickets, which generated a series of competitive bids. We would like to thank the residents and local businesses who supported us in making this fundraiser a success, including: Lam Bespoke, Julie Rhodes, Glow, Soul Cycle, Madden Dental, Chandra Stone, Massage Heights, ArtVia, Kelly Gartner Style, Berings, Michael’s Cookie Jar, Define, Tiny’s #5, Mindful Meals, Natural Expressions, Pure Body, The Weekley Family Y, The City of Southside Place, Alira, The Rooted Garden, Avenu Fitness and their soon to open coffee shop, Boomtown, garden members Jennifer Anderson, Vicki Piper, Sally Lukats, Fabiana Cuggionni, Kay Browning, Bryan and Claire Baker, Patty Tilton, and most importantly, Kristine Martinez, auctioneer extraordinaire!
Join the Community Garden by emailing me at jbabcocktx@gmail.com.
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