Every two years, the Lowell Rotary Club throws one heck of a party. The biennial Denim & Diamonds auction provides an evening good food and fun. Held Friday night at Noto’s Old World Italian Dining, this year’s event was no exception.
The Lowell Rotary Club operates under the motto “Service Above Self” so you know they weren’t holding this auction to line their own pockets. Instead, the money raised is going to help rebuild the Lowell Showboat and to fund Rotary’s international projects such as the placement of wells in developing regions.
While not Rotarians, all three members of Lowell’s First Look support the Lowell Rotary Club’s mission, and we were happy to volunteer for the event. We spent the night selling 50/50 raffle tickets, helping with the live auction and checking people out at the end.
Bob Rogers was also on-hand to man the grab bag table while his wife Amanda Rogers coordinated teen volunteers.
Teen helpers were all members of the Lowell High School Interact Group. It’s a Rotary club for students that is intended to develop leadership skills while also promoting volunteerism. Thanks to the Lowell Rotary Club, there are Interact and EarlyAct groups in almost every building within Lowell Area Schools.
These Interact students made some people’s night by drawing the winning tickets for the 50/50 and necklace raffles.
More than 200 people turned out for the special event.
First on the agenda was dinner. There were several stations doling out main dishes.
Plus, there were plenty of appetizers to enjoy.
Between courses, people could browse the many silent auction tables set up in the back of the room. There were goodies from local merchants, homemade treats and plenty of Showboat memorabilia.
You could even bid on this replica Showboat made entirely of Legos.
As dessert was served, the live auction began. Attendees had the chance to bid on everything from handyman services to once-in-a-lifetime vacations to, yes, more Showboat memorabilia, including the smokestacks taking from the boat prior to its demolition.
Tony Gates, whose name and voice you might recognize from the radio station WLAV, was the night’s auctioneer. Here, he is chatting with an artisan from Ability Weavers about an auction item she created.
Whether attendees were wearing denim or wearing diamonds, the Lowell Rotary auction was a good time for all. If you missed it this year, mark your calendar, and we’ll see you in 2021!
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