My Busy Saturday, Part 3: Can Tree Crab Fest

aturday evening was the third part of my busy Saturday.  After leaving lunch at the Rio City Cafe in Old Sacramento following a morning at the Railroad Museum, Jon and I hurried home so I could leave him off there.  I headed to the Folsom Community Center to help set up the Can Tree Crab Fest.

This was the second annual Crab Fest put on by the Can Tree Committee of the Sacramento Association of Realtors.  Perhaps you have seen a Christmas Can Tree in a shopping center near you during November and December.  In our area, that is built by this committee each year in Citrus Heights, Sacramento and Elk Grove.

If you haven't seen one, it is a huge Christmas tree built of canned food bought by the Salvation Army with some of the funds raised by our Can Tree committee during the year.  Last year we presented the Salvation Army with a check for $80,000, and through the years that we have been doing this, the Sacramento Association of Realtors has raised over $2 million for them! Now that feels good!

The Crab Fest held Saturday evening was our first big fund raising event of 2011.  In addition to proceeds from ticket sales, we had nearly 100 great items donated for the festivities.  At the Crab Fest, some were sold at a live auction, others through a silent auction, and some were raffle prizes. Some committee members circulated in the crowd selling raffle tickets.  The auctions and raffle ticket sales added a lot more to the night's total.

Anyway, I got to the Crab Fest at 2:30 to help set up and decorate tables, help organize the live auction items, and since I ran the silent auction for the evening, all items had to be numbered, described, displayed, and the dollar amounts set for opening bids, market value and Buy It Now prices.  Bid sheets had to be prepared as well.  Luckily, many of these had been prepared in advance by other committee members, but donations continued to be dropped off all afternoon until guests began to arrive at 5:30, so there was plenty to do.

The Crab Fest was a huge success and everyone had a wonderful time.  In addition to lots and lots of crab legs, the 450 guests also had a pasta dish and green salad.  Several bartenders worked all evening, a great live band played for several hours, and the dance floor was kept busy. 

I have to tip my hat to Deborah Grinnell and Liliya Mischuk, who basically organized everything, made all of the assignments to the rest of the committee members for planning and setting things up, assigning folks to seek donations and their assignments for what to do during the event, and coordinating some teens from a couple of organizations who performed community service to help their high school resumes by serving the dinners.  They did a great job too.

As the last guests left after 11:00, we began cleaning up.  All the decorations, tablecloths and tables had to be removed and floor swept so we could leave the community center as we found it. I admit that I pooped out just before midnight and simply couldn't stay on my feet any longer, so once the tables were cleared, tablecloths bagged up to be laundered and trash picked up, I left some of the guys to finish up.

It was a great evening, but next time I think I will not have such a full day before I even get to work at the event! 

We have a number of other events on the schedule for this year, and we'll see if we can present an even larger check to the Salvation Army this year!

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Susan Neal
Realtor/ Broker
Century 21 Noel David Realty

Full time real estate services in Fair Oaks CA, with friendly professionalism, 30+ years experience.

I work hard to give my buyer or seller a low-stress transaction.

"Happy clients make me happy."

For all your real estate needs or questions, call me at (916)705-8951

or visit my website at www.SusanNealFineProperties.com.