Cathey’s Valley Elementary Parent Teacher Improvement Committee is holding its annual Sweetheart dinner, raffle and dessert auction at McKay Hall on Saturday, Feb. 6, from 5 to 8 p.m. The price of dinner is $8 for adults and $5 for children. Tickets can be bought in advance or at the door.

The dinner includes deeppitted beef served with new potatoes, baby carrots, salad, choice of lemonade, water, or coffee. “We want to keep the dinner price low so that everyone can come,” said PTIC President Annette Palmer. “We typically just make back what we spend on the dinner part of it.”

The real fund raising begins with the dessert auction starting at 5:30 p.m. “We used to call it an old-fashioned pie auction, but the variety of desserts has branched out considerably in recent years” said Palmer.

The fund raiser is well attended not only by elementary school families, but the community at large. “Some families are known to bring certain desserts,” said Palmer, “and other families want to be sure to bid high enough to get them.” Last year, desserts sold from $20 to the top seller of $170.

The children walk around with the desserts during dinner, enticing bidders with their goods and their personalities. “Who can resist these children when they smile sweetly and say ‘Wouldn’t you like to bid on this special dessert I made?’” said Principal Carol Fincham. “It really is difficult to refuse. The children are what make this such a successful fundraiser for us.” The auction will continue until all the desserts are gone.

Another popular aspect of this fund raiser is the raffle. This year, Cathey’s Valley PTIC is raffling a navigation system, a $100 gift card, and $100 cash. The children start selling the raffle tickets now for $1 each. Tickets are also sold at the dinner itself. The winners, who need not be present, are picked at the end of the evening. “As added incentive,” said Palmer, “for every five tickets the children sell, we’re giving them a free ticket of their own for a chance to win a separate, student $100 gift card. A lot of the kids really want that gift card.”

For more information, or to purchase dinner tickets or raffle tickets, contact Palmer evenings at 374-3470.