USA 2017 - Sasha festival part 4

After viewing all the Dress a Sasha entries and voting on Friday afternoon, some of the children asked to be allowed to swim in the hotel pools - there was an indoor and outdoor pool.  So Fran and I went to watch and chat as they had fun in the outdoor pool. 

Having fun in the Marriott hotel swimming pool

Then after a quick shower and hairwash for my girl, we had an early dinner in the hotel restaurant, though I went to pack away our Dress a Sasha entries while we waited for our food as the voting had finished and the rosettes were being put out.  Each entrant was given a tiny Sasha necklace in a clear ziplock bag to thank us for entering.  I will blog about the other entries in another post.

The Children's Fund Auction is the event which most people at the festival look forward to keenly as it is fascinating to see how high the bids go for all the wonderful donations.  We came in to the ballroom where it took place just as they were finishing announcing the Dress a Sasha results - my girl won First prize for her entry (she had no competition, however people said many kind and complimentary things about her scene and creativity).

Pin the Tail on the Donkey with its first prize rosette

I had taken some photos of the first few CFA entries but didn't manage to complete the set (see Theresa's blog for the whole set).

Lots 1, 2 and 3 of the Children's Fund Auction

Lots 4, 5 and 6 of the Children's Fund Auction

Lots 7 and 8 of the Children's Fund Auction

The children love to help with the Children's Fund Auction which this year was conducted by Sheila as Marti was unwell so unable to attend.  The children take it in turns to bring up an item and hold it up for all to see while the bidding takes place.

Sheila welcomed us to the Children's Fund Auction

Expectant audience for the CFA

View of the first lots in the Children's Fund Auction from my table

My girl holds up lot 6 (doll not included)

I hoped to bid on a couple of items but the bidding went so high on the items I wanted (mainly anything smocked for my girl!) so my paddle went down.  I hadn't managed to look at or photograph all the items either, however Theresa did a great job of blogging every item after the festival.  I sat and recorded in my list what each item went for as I had brought over donations from Lorraine (Henry's Yearbook) and Gregorpolis (knitting by Lorraine) and my own donation of hand made toys for Sasha.  It was interesting to watch and sometimes when the bidding went very high, it became very exciting.

Holding lot 16 (doll not included)

Lot 41 (Henry's Year book for 2016)

The slides for Lot 41 (Henry's Year book for 2016)

Evening dress outfits - Lot 52 (dolls not included)

Lot 55 was Halloween themed

The toys I had donated to the auction (in lot 57) were the 3 kits from the Sasha Celebration weekend (2015 train engine and tender, 2016 marionette, 2017 push-along duck), a wooden sailing boat (Horizon) and an item I had made specially for the Festival, which is one of only two I have made.  It was described in the list as a wooden rocking horse, however it was not a rocking horse, it was a 'Little Wooden Horse' on wheels, along with a new hardcover copy of the Ursula Moray Williams book 'The Adventures of the Little Wooden Horse' which had inspired this creation.  I made one horse to donate and one to keep for my Sasha family.  It is entirely made from wood, with brass screws to hold the wheels on, stiff thread for its tail, and is painted in bright enamel paints.  Below are the photos I took of it to send to Marti for her slides.

The little wooden horse, right side

The little wooden horse, left side

The little wooden horse, right diagonal view

The little wooden horse, left diagonal view

The little sailing boat Horizon

The sailing boat with its box

The Little Wooden horse with its box and the book

The complete set of toys for Sasha by DollMum in Lot 57

At the festival my daughter took lot 57 up for the bids.

Lot 57 on display

My daughter holding Lot 57 (with a towel over her shoulders as her hair was still damp!)

Sheila auctions Lot 57

I was delighted to see the bids go up and up for lot 57 to $95 and was very pleased that Anne S (who had restrung Mabel for me earlier in the day) was the winner.

The Children's Fund Auction raised over $11,000 for children's charities, which was fantastic. 

After the auction, my girl could be found playing chess with her two Sasha festival friends in the hotel lobby with the giant set of chess. I could imagine the Sasha dolls using that set to play 'Wizard Chess' from Harry Potter but we didn't set this up as there wasn't any time during the festival.

The girls playing chess

It had been a long, fun and interesting Friday at the 2017 Sasha Festival.  The next post will be about Saturday at the Festival.

You can read Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3 of the 2017 Sasha Festival in separate posts.