2026 Benefit Auction

Visit the Special Auction website where you can buy dinner tickets and find out anything you want to know about this fun event!

• Once there, look for the gold Sign In or Register button in the upper right hand corner.
• If you already have a GiveSmart account, log in using your username and password.
• If you are a new supporter of the Festival, click Register Now and fill out your contact details in the form.
• When finished, click the Create my GiveSmart account button at the bottom of the page.

Hooray!
You are now registered for the Festival of Music dinner and auction.

1. Visit the Special Auction website or click on the Buy Tickets button above.
2. Make your ticket selection by indicating number of tickets you’d like to purchase. Early bird pricing is $150 per person until March 8th ($150 after). Even better, put together a table of eight for only $1160, or a table of ten for $1450. Don’t delay – early birds are automatically entered into our Early Bird RSVP Raffle drawing!
3. Once you have selected your desired number of tickets, click Next.
4. Fill out the attendee(s) information, including Meal Choice from the drop down menu, including whether you have any dietary restrictions or not. Click Next to continue to payment information.
5. Select your payment method, then click Pay to complete your order.

Bidding opens on March 14th at noon for the Online Auction. Once registered (online auction registration is free), you can create your online Wish List of items you wish to bid on. When bidding begins, anyone placing a guaranteed bid on an item is the guaranteed winner. All bidding on Online Auction items will close at 5:00 PM on March 22nd. All sales are final, no exchanges or refunds. Please note, there will be no Online Auction bidding opportunities offered at the Live Auction on March 21st, 2026.

How Do I Place a Bid on an Online Auction Item?

1. Click here to go to the Auction Bidding Website. Once there, follow the remaining steps below. Note: Online Silent Auction bidding opens March 14, 2026, Noon.
2. Click on the image or title of the item to view the details and bid box
3. Enter a value in the bid box which equals or exceeds the suggested next bid
4. Click Submit Online Bid. You must be registered and signed in.

You will then see your bid in the current bid box and a confirmation message that you are the top bidder.

How to Determine Whether I Still Have the Top Bid?

Please click the My Bids link near the top right of the screen to display all your bids. If any of your bids are still the highest, they will be highlighted in red.

What is the Purchase Now Link For?

PURCHASE NOW: The auction offers a few items at a guaranteed purchase price, and these items are available for purchase now. Auto Bid is not available on Purchase Now items. If you want to buy a Purchase Now item, and are willing to pay the guaranteed price, click the Purchase Now link or enter the corresponding guaranteed price as your bid.

What is Auto Bid?

AUTO BID: The auction website is designed with automatic $15 incremental bid steps. Auto Bidding will automatically store your designated maximum bid (which is at least two bid steps above the current bid) for you and only increase your actual bid as needed to win the item. For example, if you enter $150 as your maximum bid for an item that is currently bidding at $100 and has a suggested Next Bid of $115 (bid steps of $15) then the website will submit a bid on your behalf of $115 and store your maximum bid of $150. If a competing bidder enters the suggested next bid of $130, the Auto Bid system will automatically increase your bid to $145 and the competing bidder will get an indication that they’ve already been outbid. If the competing bidder persists and enters the next bid of $160, then the Auto Bid system will email you to indicate that you’ve been outbid for this item. This email will include a link to your Auto Bid page, which allows you to increase your existing auto bids at any time. You can also reach this page directly by clicking the My Bids link in the header of your site and selecting Auto Bids from the drop-down list.

When is the Auction Finished?

The time remaining for any item is always displayed in the top right-hand corner of the corresponding bid box.

What Happens When the Auction is Finished?

When the auction is finished, all purchased items will automatically indicate that they’ve been SOLD. If you are the lucky top bidder for any item(s), you will receive an email confirmation with pick-up and payment instructions.

How To Pick Up Items:

Gift certificates will be mailed to winning bidders approximately two weeks following the auction. To pick up your other online auction purchases please contact Jan Vereen at janvereen@gmail.com. Winning bidders living outside the area should call the Festival at (360) 201-6621 to make shipping arrangements at their personal expense.

The opportunity to donate to these two programs is open NOW and will continue through Sunday, March 22nd. As an alternative to donating with your credit card on file, you can select to donate through your Charitable Fund account or IRA account as a tax-free Qualified Charitable Distribution provided you are 73 or older. To do this, go to the Special Auction Website and click on the Donate button and enter your payment information. You must have a GiveSmart account and be logged in to donate.

Gift certificates will be mailed to winning bidders approximately two weeks following the auction. To pick up your other online auction purchases please contact Jan Vereen at janvereen@gmail.com. Winning bidders living outside the area should call the Festival at 360.201.6621 to make shipping arrangements at their personal expense.