What a grand opportunity awaits everyone who make plans to attend The Grand Auditorium’s annual benefit auction, with activities beginning at 1 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 7, at The Grand Auditorium of Hancock County on Main Street in Ellsworth.

New to the fund-raiser this year is the fact that it will begin with appraisals at 1 p.m.

The appraisals will be conducted by highly respected appraiser and auctioneer Kaja Veilleux of Thomaston Place Auction Galleries of Thomaston with John Bottero-Holmes and Ken Rosenberg. The appraisal portion of the event runs through 6 p.m.

The next segment, the silent auction and auction preview, runs from 3 to 7:30 p.m., with a delicious feast of food and wine being catered by Maidee’s International Restaurant of Ellsworth at 6 p.m.

The live auction begins at 7:30 p.m.

Tickets are $10 for the auction only, $20 for auction admission and one appraisal and $30 for auction admission and two appraisals, which is the maximum allowed.

Tickets can be purchased at The Grand Auditorium box office, 165 Main St., Ellsworth, or by calling the box office at 667-9500.

Those who want appraisals done must call the box office to schedule appraisal appointments.

Jean Eysenbach and Gudrun Tarr, both of Brooksville, are co-chairmen for the fund-raiser.

Eysenbach said tickets also can be purchased at the door on the day of the event, and some appraisals may be scheduled at that time if there are time slots available. It is requested, however, that those appraisal appointments be made ahead of time to make sure everyone who wants to be served can be.

There is a lot to expect and plan for when attending this event, which is a major component of The Grand’s fund-raising effort to fulfill its reputation as “The Cultural Center of Downeast Maine.”

Last year’s proceeds, for example, helped pay the operating costs to bring live performances to 20,000 schoolchildren and helped support the annual children’s School for the Performing Arts.

The Grand also produces two musicals each year, and hosts performances of the Gilbert and Sullivan Society, the Robinson Ballet and nationally known blues, country and folk artists.

The public also is able to view several first-run movies at The Grand.

Items that will be appraised include antique clocks, jewelry, paintings, sculptures, rugs, quilts, toys, firearms, furniture, documents, books, photographs, silver and glass items. Appraisals will be conducted by appointment until 6 p.m.

Bidders participating in the silent auction can choose from language lessons, art objects, courses from Wooden Boat and Haystack schools, sea kayaking trips, a Narraguagus Bay or whale-watch cruise, and certificates for local restaurants and other fine dining opportunities.

The auction also includes artwork by several well-known area artists and crafters, antiques, of course, and items such as a gas cooker and a slab of polished Deer Isle granite.

You also can bid on a week’s travel in the United States and elsewhere as well as visits to bed-and-breakfasts throughout our region.

Eysenback, Tarr and all those working so hard to make this event a success cordially invite you to join them in this endeavor that helps ensure all the great work of everyone associated with The Grand continues for years to come.

To help with the purchase of items that need to be replaced at Phillips-Strickland House, that facility is hosting a benefit spaghetti dinner at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 26, in the activity room of Phillips-Strickland House, 21 Boyd St., Bangor.

Staff member Annie King reports the meal includes spaghetti, salad, breadsticks, drinks and dessert. The cost is $7.50 per person or $20 per family of four.

“We invite all our friends and neighbors in the local area, and anyone who wants to stop by, to attend,” King said.

Tickets can be purchased in advance in the Phillips-Strickland House lobby, or at the door the day of the event.

Lynn Boulger of United Cerebral Palsy of Northeastern Maine has written to announce that UCP’s celebrity golf benefit featuring professional baseball player Mike Bordick, which was to be held Wednesday, Oct. 3, at Penobscot Valley Country Club in Orono, has been postponed until Monday, May 20, 2002.

Boulger wrote that University of Maine alumna and tournament director Lynn Coutts of Mashpee, Mass., and members of the tournament committee, “felt now was not the appropriate time to host such a special event.

“Everyone’s thoughts are in New York City, Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania.”

Information about the tournament can be obtained by writing to Coutts at 86 Polaris Drive, Mashpee, Mass. 02649, or calling her at (508) 539-4739.

Maryann Flewelling reports the nonprofit volunteer Bucksport Christmas Decorating Committee is ready to meet the decorating needs of that community this holiday season.

Now in its third year, the committee raises $5,000 through a variety of activities such as 50-50 raffles, drawings, bottle drives and merchant donations.

Most recently, Sharyn Betts of Bucksport was the winner of a picnic table raffle.

“In the past we have worked hard to gather the necessary funds to make this project a success,” Flewelling wrote. “We are rewarded by seeing the town lit up for the holiday season. We’ve had two successful years, and look forward to this year’s season.”

The committee thanks the individuals and merchants “who help make this project possible each year,” she wrote.

New volunteers and donations are always welcome.

If you can help, call the Bucksport Town Office, 469-7368, or send a donation to Bucksport Christmas Decorating Committee, Drawer X, Bucksport 04416.

Joni Averill, Bangor Daily News, P.O. Box 1329, Bangor 04402; 990-8288.