Posted by the La Isla team · June 1, 2014 · Tagged: events
Friends of La Isla, we need you. This summer we are hosting a silent auction to support youth folkloric arts here in Seattle — helping local kids learn bomba y plena drumming and dance, the heartbeat rhythms of Puerto Rico, from teaching artists in our own community. The drums, the skirts, the workshop space, the festival travel: none of it is free, and we want every kid who hears that rhythm to be able to follow it.
What We're Asking
The auction only works if the tables are full of things worth bidding on. If you run a business or have a talent to share, please consider donating:
- Goods — artwork, gift baskets, books, handmade crafts, that gorgeous thing you make that everyone always asks about
- Services — photography sessions, design work, massage, lessons of any kind, an afternoon of your expertise
- Gift certificates — to your restaurant, shop, salon or studio (we will happily seed the pot with La Isla dinners)
- Experiences — sailing trips, cooking classes, behind-the-scenes tours; the memorable items always start bidding wars
Every donor gets a thank-you in the auction program and our eternal gratitude — plus the warm glow of knowing a ten-year-old in Rainier Valley is learning to play a barril because of you. To pledge an item, just send us a message with what you would like to contribute, and we will arrange pickup or drop-off.
The Big Night
The auction itself takes place on a Sunday afternoon at our Ballard restaurant, alongside a proper lechón asado feast: slow-roasted pork, arroz con gandules, tostones, maduros, and live music to keep the bidding lively. Tickets cover your plate; every auction dollar goes to the arts program. Watch the blog and our newsletter for the confirmed date — and read about everything else happening in this month’s roundup.
How the Bidding Works
Never been to a silent auction? It is painless and slightly addictive. Every item gets a bid sheet; you write your number and your offer, and the highest bid when the tables close takes it home. We will close tables in waves through the afternoon, so you can guard your favorites while the lechón does its job of distracting your rivals. Bring cash or card — checkout happens on the spot, and every dollar raised goes straight to the program. Pro tip from auctions past: the quiet items in the corner are where the bargains live, and the gift-certificate table is where the bidding wars erupt in the final minutes.
What the money buys is wonderfully concrete: drums and drum repairs (barriles take a beating — that is the point), dance skirts and performance costumes, workshop space rental, teaching-artist stipends, and travel to festivals where the kids perform for crowds that include very proud grandparents. A single well-bid weekend can fund a season.
Can’t make the event itself? You can still bid by proxy: send us your maximum offers on up to three items through the contact form, and a staff member will bid on your behalf right up to the table close. Several of last year’s winners never left their couch — though they missed an excellent lechón.
Why It Matters
Bomba y plena isn’t background music — it is living history, a call-and-response between drummer and dancer that has carried Puerto Rican stories for three centuries. Passing it to the next generation, 3,000 miles from the island, takes a village. Ours happens to be a village with very good empanadillas.
Thank you, Seattle. Let’s fill those tables. ¡Mil gracias!