Silent Auction

St. Stephen's Episcopal Church will hold a holiday bazaar and silent auction from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at the church, 1110 St. Stephen's Church Road in Crownsville. Highlights include handmade items, holiday decorations, theme baskets, baked goods, Annapolis Symphony tickets, Toby's Dinner Theater tickets, Sundance Carwash, and football and baseball game tickets. Call 410-721-2881 for more information.

Artists looking for a place to display their work can do so for one day at the Maryland Art Place. For a contribution of $10, you can bring one ready-to-hang art work in any media, measuring 40 X 40 inches or less, to the gallery, where it will become part of the annual Out of Order benefit exhibition. All artists must do their own installation, but MAP provides the nails and hooks. There is one day set aside for installation -- artists can stop by between 7 a.m. and midnight on April 2. It's first-come, first-served in terms of location in the gallery (and, for sculptors, in terms of available pedestals)

Chesapeake Math and IT Academy Public Charter School , located at 6100 Frost Place, in West Laurel, will hold a silent auction on Nov. 12, from 1 to 4 p.m., at the school. Items up for bid include 15 themed baskets, hotel stays, one week at a villa in Costa Rica, gift certificates and electronics. Light refreshments will also be served. Proceeds from the event will go to the purchase of a large oven for the cafeteria to warm up food, which range from $9,000 to $12,000, and for the purchase of a school bus, which can cost between $10,000 to $50,000.

The Homecoming Project Inc. will hosts its 4th Annual Stiletto Dinner & Fashion Show on Thursday, March 14 beginning at 6 p.m. at the Maryland Golf and County Clubs. The Homecoming Project Inc. is an eight-bed, female-only recovery facility in Bel Air. With a well-established and active recovery community, Bel Air offers many opportunities for the women of the Homecoming Project to build a solid foundation of recovery and reintegration as productive members of society. This year's Stiletto Dinner & Fashion Show will feature father/son, mother/daughter fashions in addition to elegant evening wear.

The Laurel Regional Hospital Foundation is looking for businesses to donate items or services for the silent auction at its fundraiser "September Soiree," to be held Saturday, Sept. 8, at 7 p.m., at the Riggs Alumni Hall at the University of Maryland in College Park. Gifts to the silent auction qualify as a business tax deduction. More than 500 physicians, business leaders, government officials and other hospital supporters are expected to attend the fundraiser. Deadline for inclusion of donations in the silent auction is Friday, Aug. 10. To request a donation form or to have an item picked up, contact Lisa Hardesty at 301-497-7963.

Chesapeake Math and IT Academy will hold its second annual silent auction on Saturday, Nov. 17 from 1 to 4 p.m. in the cafeteria at the school, 6100 Frost Place (across from WSSC on Sweitzer Lane). A variety of themed baskets and items donated from area businesses will be on display for auction. Music, light snacks, and refreshments will be served. The school is raising funds to build a gymnasium. For information, call 301-776-2135.

It is a story about faith, friendship - and perhaps a little fantasy. It is about three people whose ages span 30 years, but whose careers and experiences led them to find this historic town on Maryland's Eastern Shore as the perfect spot to start the next phase of their lives. Ultimately, they also found one another. Given the size of St. Michaels, with a little more than 1,000 full-time residents according to the 2010 census, it's not unusual that Mike Kerrigan met Peter Paris.

WHAT WAS that groundhog thinking? It's been an unbelievably mild winter with no snow or ice to speak of and spring flowers up and ready to bloom.Local soccer, lacrosse and baseball practices are starting shortly. Kite-flying, leprechauns and the official start of spring are just weeks away. Winter has been nice. Spring should be better.Get out and enjoy while you can.Silent auctionCommunity Christian Pre-School will have its annual silent auction fund-raiser next weekend at Community United Methodist Church, 8680 Fort Smallwood Road.

The student council of Burleigh Manor Middle School will hold a silent auction from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Nov. 3 to raise funds to upgrade and purchase advanced technology for the school. Advisory classes will assemble baskets of products and certificates for services to be auctioned. Donations of products, certificates for services, coupons and other items are needed by Oct. 22. Monetary donations also are welcome. Information or to make a donation: Tony Miceli, 410- 313-2507 or tmiceli@hcpss.

The Columbia Festival of the Arts winds down this weekend with the fourth annual Baltimore/Washington Jazzfest, featuring the Jimmy McGriff/Hank Crawford Quartet, Barry Enzman, the Frank Foster Quartet, Rumba Club, Big Jesse Yawn and the Army Blues Jazz Ensemble.The three-day event will include a "House of Jazz" concert in Columbia's Historic Oakland building, which houses the African Art Museum of Maryland; jazz workshops; music along Lake Kittamaqundi; and a silent auction, proceeds of which will go toward the museum's building fund.

Two special fundraisers took place at the Port Deposit VFW Post 8185 last weekend. In the big hall was a "celebration of love and support" for the Kessler Family, featuring several bands, a silent auction, raffles, food and door prizes. The proceeds of that 12-hour fundraising marathon will benefit local wounded veteran, Jeffrey Kessler. Jeffrey will soon move into the home provided for him by Homes for Our Troops, but donations of materials plus private and corporate monetary funding is still necessary to make his home a reality.

The Howard County Library System's biggest fundraiser is this weekend. What: Evening in the Stacks: Sparkle and Spurs When: Saturday, Feb. 23, 7-11 p.m. Where: Howard County Library System's Miller Branch, 9421 Frederick Road, Ellicott City Cost: $125 per person Details: Live music by Dave Chapell and the Lone Stardusters; presentation by bestselling author Mary Doria Russell; silent auction; gourmet fare; celebrity bartenders include...

Mildred E. "Millie" Banwell, an artist who was a longtime supporter of the Light House shelter and an active member of Calvary United Methodist Church, died Sunday of pulmonary fibrosis at Hospice of the Chesapeake in Pasadena. The longtime Annapolis resident was 75. "I have a very high regard for her and we will miss her terribly. She was a great Christian lady and a leader at Calvary," said the Rev. Byron P. Brought, who pastored Calvary in Annapolis from 1992 until 2010, when he retired.

The fifth annual Ecoball is scheduled for March 22. The event is the major fundraiser for Baltimore Green Works, which produces Ecofest and the Sustainability Speaker Series. The Ecoball will again include a cooking competition, inspired by "Top Chef," in which students from Stratford University's culinary program will use locally grown and sourced ingredients to prepare appetizers, entrees and desserts. The evening also includes a silent auction and dancing. Guests are encouraged to re-use or reinvent their gala attire by shopping consignment shops or creating their own evening wear.

On Nov. 16, Venture Crew 307, the co-ed Scouting unit chartered to Catonsville United Methodist Church, held a successful steak dinner and silent auction fundraiser. On behalf of the crew, I would like to thank the more than 200 people that came and supported this effort. Our silent auction was a success because of the many donations by local businesses and friends of the program. They are: A.W.O.L. Skate Shop, U.S. Barber, Sam's Bagels, Smyth Jewelers, Sarafino's, Phoenix Emporium, Roy's Restaurant and Play it Again Sports.

Chesapeake Math and IT Academy will hold its second annual silent auction on Saturday, Nov. 17 from 1 to 4 p.m. in the cafeteria at the school, 6100 Frost Place (across from WSSC on Sweitzer Lane). A variety of themed baskets and items donated from area businesses will be on display for auction. Music, light snacks, and refreshments will be served. The school is raising funds to build a gymnasium. For information, call 301-776-2135.

On the sample board of a glass tile product line, Martha Bubert saw the colors of sunlight reflecting off snow. For months, the Westminster artist, who is a designer for a downtown flooring store, collected the 1-inch tiles that would otherwise be discarded, storing them in a kitchen drawer at home. This fall, when she began to work on a handcrafted holiday wreath, Bubert dumped out a rainbow of 900 tiles on her dining room table and spent hours arranging an inspired tile mosaic called "Winter Reflections."

Good weather, good crowds and a host of attractions — from rides to a dunk tank, food to raffles — combined to make a successful 2012 edition of the St. Pius X Carnival, hosted this past weekend at the church and school on York Road in Towson. During the three-day event, from Friday to Sunday, carnival patrons enjoyed rides and games, appearances by sports mascots, raffles, a silent auction and food that included pit beef, crab cakes, baked goods, fudge and lemonade. The event also included sales of collectibles, used books and other items.

Gilchrist Hospice Care raised more than $218,000 to help pay for uncompensated care at its 27th annual Taste & Auction of Howard County. The money will benefit patients at Gilchrist Center Howard County, which opened last year. Nearly 500 people attended the event Sunday at Turf Valley that featured food tastings from 23 Howard County restaurants that included Aida Bistro, Clyde's of Columbia and Tersiguel's. There also was a live auction and a silent auction for such items as gourmet wines, gift baskets, Ravens tickets and a trip to Hawaii.

Turning bologna, dry milk and rolled oats into gourmet cuisine is the challenge behind a special fundraising dinner being held this week for the benefit of Carroll County Food Sunday. The dinner — dubbed "Off the Shelf" — will be held Thursday, Oct. 25, at Carroll Lutheran Village, 300 St. Luke Circle, Westminster The retirement community's chef, Chris Spear, and his crew will use food pantry staples to create a gourmet meal, with proceeds raising money for Carroll County Food Sunday, the nonprofit that helps families in need throughout the county.