Help our Oracle preschoolers, and have a great time

Maria Menconi

The Oracle School Foundation’s gala, Champions Helping Children, is right around the corner! The gala takes place on Sunday, Oct. 20, at 5 p.m. at the Vistas in SaddleBrooke One. It’s important to note that the deadline for purchasing tickets has been moved up to Oct. 6. And, seats are going fast.

To purchase tickets, visit www.oracleschoolsfoundation.com. You may purchase tickets directly online or download and mail in the registration form with a check. On the website you also can view the complete description of fixed price, live, and silent auction offerings. While many of the offerings are previewed in this article, you will want to keep checking the website as more may be added or categories may change.

It is the fixed-price, live, and silent auction offerings that inspired our headline, “Help our Oracle preschoolers, and have great times…” We know how much everyone values experiences with friends, and so there are many available for purchase or through bids at the gala. The fixed-price events are full of chances to buy tickets to parties and outings that will be held between November and next spring.

Here’s a quick preview. If you like learning, you can opt for a mosaics class, swimming lessons, bridge lessons, acrylic pouring, a sourdough bread making class, or a stargazing event. If you enjoy spirits, you can indulge in either a wine tasting with Arizona’s first certified winemaker or a Scotch tasting (or both!), or an evening of piano playing, name that tune, and drinks. But if it’s a good game of chance you want instead, you have an opportunity to play Texas hold ’em, or choose a day at the races.

If, like me, you happen to be a foodie, there’s a homemade dessert of the month purchase, a Fourth of July barbecue on April Fool’s Day, a French feast, a Lombardi pizza dinner, or a homemade soup and bread monthly delivery. Whatever you desire, you can purchase a ticket to a fixed-price event, make memories with your friends and neighbors and help the Oracle School District at the same time! Fixed-price events are great as there is no bidding involved—you simply buy your tickets for the events you choose, and then show up at the appointed day and time. It couldn’t be easier! For a complete description of these events, visit the website at www.oracleschoolsfoundation.com, and you can purchase your tickets to the gala while you’re there.

For those of you who love the excitement of bidding, there will be a live auction as well! We know Oracle Schools Foundation Champions have helped to make the gala a huge success with their generous bidding the past four years. So once again, we will have an exciting live auction!

Here are some of the live auction items. You can indulge your adventurous inner self with a visit to Arizona Zipline, the Planetarium, the Mount Lemmon Sky Center, the Mirror Lab, or an hour-long flight over beautiful SaddleBrooke and the surrounding mountains. Or, if sports are your passion, how about some priority University of Arizona men’s basketball tickets or some Vital Moves fitness training sessions? We have items for foodies in this category too: homemade cookies, a murder mystery dinner, a Latin American dinner, a private and exclusive SaddleBrooke One Library dinner, a soup of the month delivery, brunch for two at Hacienda Del Sol, and even a custom dinner cooked in your home! We have theater tickets for theater lovers, and you can indulge your inner travel bug by bidding for a week in San Diego, a stay at the 3 C Ranch, or a stay at a dude ranch.

If it’s decorating your home or yourself that intrigues you, you can purchase a magnificent cactus garden, a one of a kind pottery design, a unique handmade necklace, or a specially designed book cover for a book that is special to you. There will be some gorgeous and entertaining baskets up for grabs again this year too. These include a spa basket, a doggy collection, a whiskey basket, and an Oktoberfest basket with locally made beer. Sportsters will have a unique opportunity to bid for golf and tennis lessons, golf swing analysis, and rounds of golf both inside and outside of SaddleBrooke in a silent auction setting. Items for the silent auction are continuing to come in, so opportunities abound. Descriptions of these items and more are on the website at www.oracleschoolsfoundation.com!

And once again, remember, you can help the children in your school district, enjoy great times with friends, and make wonderful memories all by attending the Oracle Schools Foundation Gala!