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MAY THE FORCE OF POETRY BE WITH YOU - For the 125 people at the Skagit River Poetry Foundation's May 4th fundraiser at Mount Vernon's Hillcrest Park, it was wine, music, food, cookies and song, and a few costumes. There was auctions, of course, both live and silent. – Photos courtesy of
The Cincinnatus Duo, Michael Wheatley and Barb Hunter, provided music at the Skagit River Poetry Foundation's May 4th fundraiser.
"The Force" was with the Skagit River Poetry Foundation on Saturday May 4th, Star Wars Day, as 125 community members gathered to support our nonprofit at our fourth annual auction at historic Hillcrest Park Lodge in Mount Vernon. We want to thank everyone who celebrated with us and our donors who could not attend as we hosted our Star Wars-themed fundraiser – even Darth Vader made an appearance.
We are happy to announce that in only three hours the love and support of our guests raised over $36,000! Our auctioneer and emcees brought the party to life with the night's exciting live and silent auction items. Your support of our organization means we may continue our dedication to our community! The funds raised will help keep poets visiting our local school districts throughout the year in Skagit and Island counties, teaching kids in K-14 classes poetry and encouraging their creative voices to shine.
We had a poet from our Poets in Schools Program, Jeffrey Morgan and one of our Student Poet Laureate's, Natalie Lahr, share their personal stories of how the Foundation makes a difference. A video highlighted how writing poetry is visceral - touching each person uniquely and encourages a creative space for freely expressing your own voice.
The funds will also support our 2024 Skagit River Poetry Festival, Oct. 3-5, as we bring poets from all over the world to converge in La Conner for three days of community workshops and speaking engagements.
This generous support will keep our starship and mission flying high through the poetic galaxies as we continue bringing literary arts to our community, uplifting voices of all ages and enriching lives as people explore their own stories, one another and their communities through the powerful practice of the written and spoken word.
Our executive director, Molly McNulty, board President Kathleen Bisagna and our board of directors would like to thank all the corporate and individual donors who donated auction items, Aaron Klesick from Stokes Auction Group, our caterer, Josh Van Hine from Simply Sound Catering, emcee David Johnson from Funds for Fun, emcee Georgia Johnson (board vice president), the Cincinnatus Duo, sound by Kyle Blevins, PEO Chapter JG La Conner, Hillcrest Park and all our volunteers that made this night possible. May the Force of Poetry Be With You, Always.
If you missed the event, but would still like to support us, donate online at SkagitRiverPoetry.org/Donate or mail checks to P.O. Box 238, La Conner, WA 98257.
Cora Thomas is executive assistant and poets in schools coordinator for the Foundation.
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