Midcoast Community Chorus thanks all in our generous community who supported our first ever auction. Our mud season Food, Fun & Foolery event was a great success, with close to 300 attendees in spite of the April Fool's snow storm. The Elks Lodge was a welcoming venue with wonderful ambiance for both an auction and our musical entertainment. Bruce and Becky Gamage volunteered their talents as auctioneer and auction manager.

MCC choristers provided abundant food in addition to volunteering at the auction. They offered creative auction donations and solicited them from the wider community. Thanks to PenBayPilot.com for advance coverage. We want to encourage all of you to thank the area businesses who made donations, with more information about their generosity available at our website, mccsings.org/content/concerts_events/auction_items.

Among the 216 items up for auction were donations from area businesses, artists, and craftspeople:

Alan Winick Tidepieces; Archer's on the Pier; Archipelago; Astrology and More with Ananur; Asymmetrick Arts Gallery; Barley Joe Greenhouse; Bay Chamber Concerts; Beauty Mark Salon; Brenda Cotton Massage; Bridal Bouquet Florist; Café Miranda; Caldbeck Gallery; Camden National Bank; Carrabassatt Coffee; Carver Hill Gallery; Cashmere Goat; Center for Maine Contemporary Art (CMCA); Clan MacClaren Restaurant; Clean Bee; Coastal Maine Art Workshops; Coffee on the Porch; Cone Home/Home Bakery; Cordwainer Shop; Country Inn in Camden; Coyote Moon; Cuzzy's Restaurant; Cynthia Anderson Massage; Deer Foot Farm & Café; Down East Magazine; Eastern Tire and Auto; Eve Hupper Photography; F.W. Webb; Farnsworth Art Museum; Fireside Pottery; First Bank; Flowers by Hoboken; Grasshopper Shop; Green Store; Greg Mort; Hannaford's; Harbor Square Gallery; Hartstone Inn; Heart to Harp Music; In Good Company; James Zoller; Jess's Market; Just Friends Hair Design; Liberty Graphics; Lois Anne Studios; Lucy Goulet Massage; Maine Boats, Homes and Harbors Magazine; Maine Sport; Martha Jackson Massage; Marti Stone Photography; Maxine Freedman Jewelry; Midcoast Maine Closets; Mid-Maine Forestry; Miner's Creek Bluegrass Band; Mr. Wat Sushi; Mussel Ridge Market; Myrtle Street Tavern; Nature's Choice; Neal Parent Studio; Ogunquit Museum; Owl and Turtle Bookstore; Park Street Grille, Primo, Puffin's Nest, Reflections Hair Salon, Rheal Day Spa, Rhumb Line Restaurant, Rock City Café; Rockland Café; Salt Water Farm; Samoset Resort; Schleppinghurst Garden; Schooner Appledore; Schooner Heron; Schooner Isaac Evans; Schooner Lewis French; Schooner Mary Day; Schooner Surprise; Sidecounty Sports; Slipway Restaurant; Staples; State of Maine Cheese Company; Strand Theater; Susan Barnes massage; Sweet Sensations and 3 Dog Café; Tess Gerritson; The Good Table; The Wine Seller; Theo. B. Camisole; Time Out Pub; Todd's Lawn & Landscape; Trackside Station; Trellis House B&B (Ogunquit); Uncle Willy's Candy; Washington General Store; Waterfront Restaurant; Windjammer Angelique; and Woodshaper Workshop of Maine.

In keeping with our mission "to sing as a community for the community,” we look forward to supporting Meals on Wheels at our June 17 benefit concert. Proceeds from the concert will go to support them, and we are grateful that they supported our auction. Please support the businesses who are such generous supporters of our Midcoast community. And join us for our concert at the Strom June 17.

Chris Williamson is chair of the Midcoast Community Chorus Development Committee