NOTE: “Today” and “tonight” refer to Friday, Dec. 4.
LA PUSH — An annual dinner, auction and holiday celebration will benefit children during the 14th annual Cherish Our Children fundraiser from 5 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. today.
The dinner and auction, which is sponsored by the Quileute tribe and the city of Forks, will be at the A-Ka-Lat Community Center in La Push.
The evening will begin with dinner, followed by a 6 p.m. silent auction, a children’s auction and a live auction.
A seafood dinner for $10 will have smoked salmon fettuccine, baked salmon, salad and a roll, by Eugene Fraker, chef of River’s Edge Restaurant.
Alternative meal options are available a la carte for children or for those who prefer spaghetti, fry bread, clam chowder and hot dogs provided by Perry Pullen.
This year’s auction of more than 100 items includes certificates for a $2,000 value luxury suite at a Seattle Sounders game, cold water life suits, overnight stays at resorts around the Pacific Northwest, tickets for the Port Angeles Symphony, Woodland Park Zoo passes and family passes for four to the Seattle Science Center and iMax Theater.
Handmade wood and metal items created by inmates from the Olympic Corrections Center and fresh baked pies will be included.
A group of 19 vendors will sell jewelry, Native American art and other hand-crafted gift items.
Proceeds from the dinner, the auction and vendor fees support programs that help supply holiday gifts for the children of more than 400 families in Forks and La Push.
The gifts are split evenly between the two communities.
In Forks, the food bank sponsors the Santa’s Workshop program, which allows financially struggling families to select gifts for each child.
In La Push, the Quileute Housing Authority’s program provides gifts for children of low-income families in the community.
The number of families served could be more than 500 this year, said Sharon Penn, a member of the Cherish Our Children committee.
“With the mills shut down, we will have more than ever,” Penn said, adding that it also has been a bad year for the fishing industry.
“We don’t want to lose these families from our area,” she said.
Penn said more and more of the donated items are coming from out of state, including donations from Pennsylvania, Ohio, Montana and Alabama.
People in those places read about Cherish Our Children, or hear about it from friends, and want to donate items, she said.
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Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5070, or at arice@peninsuladailynews.com.
