Tickets on sale for benefit motorcycle raffle

MOSES LAKE — Tickets are on sale for a fundraising raffle for the Big Bend Community College Foundation. The winner of the “Wheels for Education” raffle will take home a 2013 Harley Davidson Softail Blackline motorcycle.

(Bikers may know this, but for those who don’t, a “softail” has shock absorbers hidden in the bike frame.)

The bike was donated by a foundation supporter, said BBCC public information director Matt Killebrew. All proceeds from the raffle go to student scholarships.

The winner will be selected and announced during Cellarbration, the foundation’s annual fundraiser, scheduled for May 20.

Motorcycle raffle tickets are $20 each and are available at the foundation office in BBCC’s ATEC building; the foundation office is in the building’s university center. Tickets also can be purchased by calling the foundation office, 509-793-2006.

Cellarbration is the foundation’s main fundraiser each year, a semi-formal dinner that’s based around the menu and its pairings with Washington wines. The evening also includes silent and live auctions, and a cake auction was added last year, said Dawn Geiger, the foundation’s office manager.

Cellarbration has been raising money for the foundation since 2002. Cellarbration and other fundraisers like the bike raffle allow the college to provide scholarships for graduating high school seniors, professional/technical scholarships and for returning students, people who have been out of college for a while but want to resume their education.

Cellarbration also raises money for a special emergency fund, for qualifying BBCC students dealing with financial emergencies that might force them out of school without help.

Timothy Grayson, executive chef at Whitworth University, prepares the menu. A panel of volunteers picks wines to accompany the food. Traditionally one of the prizes at the auction is the opportunity to be on that panel.

Other items that will be auctioned include a one-night package for Cave B winery, Quincy, and a one-night package at Northern Quest Casino. There’s also a one-night package at the Coeur d’Alene Resort. There’s an antique secretary (a desk with a fold-down top), a snowboarding trip in the Leavenworth area and a whitewater rafting trip, among others.

Following tradition, “pack your pantry” will be the last item in the live auction. “Pack your pantry” is a ton of donated vegetables, potatoes and onions for example, that are purchased during the auction and donated to a food bank of the buyer’s choice.

Tickets are $100 per person, $1,000 per table, and can be purchased at the foundation office or by phone.