Euclid Art’s Christmas Party Raises Money for Art Scholarship Fund

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Euclid Art’s 2017 Christmas Party, Potluck Dinner, and Chinese Auction Fundraiser was held on Monday evening December 4th at the Henn Mansion.  We made over $420 for our art scholarship fund.  We award a deserving senior art student from Euclid High School a $500 scholarship each year.  Our members and their guests enjoyed an evening of great food, fun and friendship.

Immediately upon entering the beautiful Henn Mansion, you feel like you are being transported back in time....to Christmas in the 1920’s.  The atmosphere inside was warmly festive and very impressive.  As members and guests arrived, we sold tickets for our Chinese Auction, browsed through the back porch and sun room to see what auction items to bid on, enjoyed a cup of Christmas punch, nibbled on goodies from the appetizer table, and resisted stealing a cookie off the dessert table.

Our president, Lee Peters, who looks just like Santa, gave the invocation and read The Night Before Christmas....an EAA tradition.  Then, we lined up on both sides of the entree table to fill our plates with so many good things.....a selection of salads, stuffed shells Florentine, Ina Garten’s mac & cheese, scalloped potatoes, honey baked ham, chicken breast pieces, candied sweet potatoes, veggie lasagna, vegetable enchiladas and so much more.  After dinner, Lee said “last call for auction tickets”.  As we headed off to the dessert table set up in the breakfast room, we stopped to buy more tickets....increasing our chances of winning items like a Black & Decker Drill or an Eddie Mitchell original oil painting.

We enjoyed an assortment of desserts....delicious Merry Christmas cake from a bakery in Painesville, 7-Up cake and an orange crush cake, chocolate peppermint bundt cake, peppermint brownie tartlets, caramel chocolate chip cookies, even fortune cookies and more.  Our plates were stacked high to overflowing!  You could see smiling faces all around.  And, thanks to Greg Lawrence from Lake Shore Coffee House, there was lots of coffee to go with all those amazing desserts.

Soon after, the auction got started.  Our auctioneer, Rozenia did an excellent job, along with her helpers, Jaden and Joan.  We auctioned 32 amazing gift items, ranging from art books, to art wine, to gift baskets, to original artworks and more.  We were all anxious to see if we won the Eddie Mitchell painting this year....it was the last item auctioned off.

It was nearing 9:00pm and we had to leave the Henn in perfect order before 10:00.  With everyones help, we cleaned up quickly.  Eleven year old, Jaden, was a big help moving chairs and tables back to where they belonged and he even vacuumed the carpet in the living room for us....a task his mother says he enjoys doing!

We appreciate everyone who helped us get ready for the evening’s events....those who arranged and set the tables, who worked in the kitchen getting the food ready to serve, who sold auction tickets, who set up the auction items and called the winning numbers, and to everyone who came to the party.  A BIG THANK YOU to all!

Our next monthly meeting is Monday, January 8, 2018 at 7:00pm in Fellowship Hall of East Shore United Methodist Church, 23002 Lake Shore Blvd., Euclid.  Guests are welcome for a $3.00 donation.  Every year we like to feature several of our members and we ask them to Show & Tell us about their artwork.  In January, William Kless, Barb Greenwood, and Diane Rogazione will present their artwork.  Plus, our president, Lee Peter, will have a surprise presentation for us to see.  We have very talented people in our organization!  Please come and enjoy a fun evening of art and refreshments afterwards.