LAPUSH — Christmas shopping and Christmas giving will be the themes of the eighth annual Cherish Our Children festival at the A-Ka-Lat Center on the Quileute reservation on Friday.
A silent auction is planned at 5 p.m. and a live auction at 6:30 p.m. at the center in LaPush.
Vendors will sell goods and food, and Santa will pose for photographs with children.
Admission is free.
The event is a collaboration between the Quileute tribe and the city of Forks, and all of the proceeds will be equally divided between the city and tribe, city event coordinator Pat Soderlind said.
Each group then takes the money and purchases gifts for underprivileged families, said Sharon Penn, tribal event coordinator.
“Then we let the parents come up and pick out a gift for their kids, and they can have something to put under the tree,” Penn said.
Auction items include everything from local artwork to packages from the Kalaloch Lodge.
“Also this year, the Clallam County Literacy Council has donated a whole bunch of really nice books,” Penn said.
The books will be given to children when they are photographed with Santa — in lieu of candy canes, she said.
The books also will be available at the auction.
“We’ll have a special auction for the kids, so in some cases if they bid a penny, they can go home with a really great book,” Penn said.
$10,000 last year
Last year’s event raised $10,000, and the group hopes to make a similar amount this year, Soderlind said.
Penn added: “We know it is a tough time in the economy. That means that the need is greater, but it is also more difficult because everyone’s budget is tight this year.
“We know it is a tough time to be asking people to donate, but we are hopeful that people will continue to give.”
“A lot of people come through and just do all of their Christmas shopping right in one stop,” Penn said.
Indian tacos will be sold for $5, hamburgers for $3, cheeseburgers for $3.50 and soup — including clam chowder and chicken noodle soup — is $3.
For more information, and to inquire about making donations, phone Soderlind at 360-374-5412 Ext. 263, Sandy Heinrich at 360-374-6262 Ext.256 or Penn at 360-374-4278.
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Reporter Paige Dickerson can be reached at 360-417-3535 or at paige.dickerson@peninsuladailynews.com.
