Gala Auction set for Feb. 23

Tickets to attend the NASCAR Nationwide Series and Sprint Cup races in Chicago are among the items currently available for bid online and at the Northwestern College Alumni Association’s 25th annual Gala Auction on Saturday, Feb. 23.

Items on the popular silent auction will be available for browsing and bidding beginning at 3:30 p.m. in the Rowenhorst Student Center (RSC) Mini-Gym. The first silent auction section closes at 6:45 p.m. The traditional verbal auction begins at 7 in the Mini-Gym.

This year’s auction already includes over 300 items that can be browsed and bid on at www.nwciowa.edu/galaauction.

Guided deep-sea fishing off the coast of California and dude-ranching at the Tarryall River Ranch in the Rocky Mountains are on the block. Golfing at courses in Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska and Arizona will also be up for bid.

Buy a Garmin GPS system, 42-inch LCD TV, or a Nintendo Wii and Guitar Hero III. Sport enthusiasts can bid on tickets for the Iowa Hawkeyes, Kansas City Chiefs or Minnesota Twins. Food lovers may go home with Ghirardelli chocolate, Wisconsin cheese, or smoked salmon from the Pacific Northwest.

Visit the auction website, www.nwciowa.edu/galaauction, for photos, to search for specific items of interest, and to bid online if you can’t attend on Feb. 23.

But come in person if you can, encourages Rachel Van Den Broek, Northwestern’s alumni director. “You can bid online, but the bidding could go over your online limit during the live auction,” says Van Den Broek. “The only way you can be sure you’ll win your item is to jump into the live bidding the night of the auction.

“Besides, the auction is another celebration of the college’s 125th anniversary, and you don’t want to miss the cupcakes,” she says.

Auction proceeds support scholarships, student life programs and teaching excellence at Northwestern. Last year’s auction raised over $40,000; 40 students received $1,000 Alumni Association scholarships for this school year.

As a warm-up to the auction, Northwestern fans are invited to watch the Red Raider basketball teams take on the Briar Cliff Chargers Saturday afternoon. Both games will be in the Bultman Center; the women play at 2 p.m., the men play at 4.

A pre-auction meal of pizza will be served in the RSC gym beginning at 5:15 p.m. The cost is $5 for adults and $3 for kids age 6-12; children under 5 eat free. Free refreshments will be available during the auction.

Childcare is available beginning at 6 p.m. by students raising support for Spring Service Project trips. Parents can pre-register at 712-707-7134 or alumni@nwciowa.edu, or register the night of the auction.

Bidders’ books with a complete listing of the items will be available beginning Friday, Feb. 8, at the RSC desk, Orange City businesses and MJ’s Sinclair in Sioux Center.