On June 10, ANS held its first silent auction at Woodend. More than 200 people attended, and the 150 donated auction items, many from ANS members, attracted enthusiastic bids. Items ranged from hikes with star naturalists, hand knit scarves and jewelry, to boat trips, jazz lessons, massages, and weekend getaways. A particularly wonderful offering was artwork and personal memorabilia from the Shirley Brigg’s estate.

ANS members and friends enjoyed the opportunity to reconnect while surveying a wealth of items and keeping tabs on bid sheets. The festive atmosphere was made even more enjoyable with donated live performances of classical guitar and a folk ensemble

Thanks to some generous help from our volunteers, guests were well-served with food and drink over the course of the evening. Less visible but no less important was the volunteer time that went into mailing invitations and setting up the many auction items.

Preliminary figures indicate the auction netted $20,000 which will provide significant support to ANS conservation programs that help protect our regional natural resources.

From the ANS Conservation staff and all of us at the Audubon Naturalist Society, a big thank you to all individuals who participated and donated and to the following businesses that donated items and services:

Audubon Sanctuary Shop, Coalition for Smarter Growth, Whole Foods, Trader Joes, Green Mountain Coffee, Cactus Cantina, Honet Tea, The Comus Inn, Red Dog Cafe, Smokey Glen BBQ, Fessenden Ensemble, Washington Revels, Strosniders Hardware, Bodmer Pottery, Sterling Photography, Poplar Spring Animal Sanctuary, Burnett Thompson Music, Greentree, Chesapeake Bay Foundation, For the Love of Wine, LLC., Mount Harmony Fine Herbal Soaps, Appalachian Mountain Club, Mill Creek Massage Therapist Elizabeth Elkins, Massage Therapists Karen McGovern & Terrel Hale, Center for Physical and Massage Therapy, Louisiana Express Restaurant, Blanken Photography Studio, Jafra International Cosmetics, Sport Rock — Indoor Rock Climbing Centers, Arthur Murray Dance Studio, Freed Photography, Studio Theatre, Waygoose Fine Crafts, and Wings and Wildflowers.

A special thanks to Greentree, a new musical group dedicated to celebrating the natural world through song, for donating a wonderful performance during our recent silent auction. Featuring four of the D.C. area’s best-known folk and contemporary performers, Greentree also donated one 40-minute set of music for a house concert fundraiser, celebration or other special event, which received many enthusiastic bids.

A big round of applause goes to Burnett Thompson Music who provided one of the region’s premier classical guitarists, Giorgia Cavallaro, to play during the auction. Burnett Thompson also generously donated three piano/jazz lessons. We hope you will consider BTM for your special events. www.pianojazz.com