Pine Hills Adventist School, located in Auburn, Calif., hosted its second annual fundraiser, “One Enchanted Evening Under the Sea,” on Nov. 16. The theme captivated the senses with dinner, music and an auction that raised more than $26,000 for the school.
A beach scene with a setting sun greeted attendees as they entered the school’s lobby. Participants appeared to be walking through glittery blue seaweed as they transitioned through the “underwater tunnel” leading to the gymnasium, which was decorated as a secluded undersea grotto.
Black lights illuminated fluorescent fish, three-dimensional sea anemones and coral. Emerging from the darkened passageway, guests entered the grotto under billowy waves formed by a giant parachute suspended from the ceiling over candlelit tables. Candles nestled in mini sand dunes covered with fish netting and sprinkled with shells adorned each table. Individual fish bowls with live Japanese Fighting Fish complemented the arrangements. A sea grotto mural by Brenda Fenderson, a constituent church member, dazzled the eyes and formed the backdrop for the center stage.
Students provided romantic dinner music throughout the meal while more than 250 guests whispered quietly at their tables. Teams of tuxedo-clad high school students waited tables. Joe Lynch and Steve Lach, the chef and food and beverage director from “Lake of the Pines,” a private, gated community between Auburn and Grass Valley, cooked all the food.
A musical concert followed the dinner. Violinist Katie Jaeger and pianist Marissa Roberts played Cazardas by V. Monti. Nicole Toppel and Dave Hull, father and daughter, sang “All I Ask of You.” The audience especially enjoyed the Pine Hills Select Men’s Choir, directed by Dave Dunkin, with Drew Culp soloing “In the Still of the Night.” Next, the whole choir filed on stage, with young ladies in long, shimmering black dresses and young men in black tuxedos.
Todd Christensen, master of ceremonies and parent of a Pine Hills student, auctioned gift baskets and specialty items donated by each of the classrooms. The items included Titleist golf clubs; four rounds of golf at the exclusive Winchester Country Club Estates; and a 24-hour rental of a Porsche Boxster, Carerra or Cayenne, complements of the Niello Porsche/Audi dealer in Sacramento. An anonymous donor pledged $3,000 if three other individuals matched his gift. Four donors rose to the occasion and matched his pledge to raise $15,000.
Ten percent of the proceeds will go toward the choir tour and the rest will be put into a reserve fund, which is crucial to help meet the NAD requirements for senior academy status.
Pine Hills Adventist School could not have created such a memorable evening without the help of Debbie Christensen, Todd Christensen, Lanni Assen, Lori Baril, Beverly Crain, Judy Crumb, Shelly Freed, Lisa Nuss and Kendall Porco, as well as the musicians, students, and the guests who gave so liberally.
