PORT ANGELES — Char-grilled sirloin steak, pan-seared salmon or chicken marsala — these plates of choice offer the dining ambience of a ballroom Saturday night, plus the opportunity to support low-income children and families.
Paris will meet Port Angeles in the ninth annual “Midnight in Paris” dinner and auction at 5 p.m. Saturday in the Red Lion Hotel’s ballroom, 221 N. Lincoln St., to benefit the First Step Family Support Center.
Tickets cost $80, including one of three dinner options. They can be purchased at www.firststepfamily.org.
As of Wednesday, 115 tickets had been purchased, volunteer coordinator Rhonda Raymond said.
Raymond said the organization hopes to exceed last year’s event proceeds, which totaled $55,538.
It’s the largest fundraiser of the year for First Step, which provides various cooking and parenting classes, maternity support services, child safety programs and drop-in centers in Port Angeles and Sequim with such resources as free clothing, emergency diapers and formula, access to phones, computers, fax and copier, healthful snacks, children’s play area and free children’s books. To read about each program, visit www.firststepfamily.org/services.
In addition to dinner, two presentations, a silent auction, live auction and three raffles supplement the evening’s theme, “Making Dreams Come True.”
Becca Larsen will talk about the maternity support services program, which provides professional nursing services, social services, and counseling and nutritional services to pregnant women and postpartum women up to two months after the birth of their child.
A woman who received support from First Step 11 years ago as a pregnant 16-year-old also will speak of her experiences in the program, Raymond said.
Then, attendees can participate in a silent auction, “fast-paced” live auction and three raffles.
Among the auction prizes, Raymond named a wine pairing gourmet dinner for eight people, various golf packages, a weekend stay at Hobuck Beach Resort in Neah Bay and a massage package at Renaissance Massage in Port Angeles.
Many of the prizes in the silent auction came from community members or board members who donated dinners in their own homes, for example, she said.
Some of the raffle prizes include cash, a freshwater pearl necklace and Paris-themed trunk of wine.
First Step started in 1972 to provide support and education services to Clallam County families.
The center serves more than 1,700 families each year, according to a news release.
For more information about First Step’s services, call its office at 360-457-8355.
