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The Live Auction
Friday, December 5, 2008
Abromson Community Education Center - Portland campus

Plan your bidding now on these twenty spectacular items that will be auctioned off the evening of the gala.
 

• Sports
  • 4 Box Seats for a 2009 Red Sox Game
  • 4 Box Seats for a 2009 Red Sox Game
  • 4 Luxury Suite Seats for a 2009 Celtics Game
  • Golf

   

• Outstanding Get-Aways
  • Migis Lodge
  • Two nights - The Inn at Ocean's Edge and Bay Chamber Concerts
  • Casco Bay Cocktail Cruise
  • 2009 Casco Bay Sail for Four on "Boheme" with Pam and Peter Plumb

  
  

• For You!
• 18k Gold Leaf Pin by Michael Good
• Original Oil on Panel by Holly Ready
• Renovate a Room




• Fine Dining, Music and More...
• Soiree! - Catered Dinner for Eight from Churchill Caterers and Event Planners and Live Music
• Dining for Twelve at the Renowned White Barn Inn
• Catered Dinner for Six from Browne Trading Company
• Catered Dinner for Twelve from Cinque Terre
• Catered Dinner for Ten at a Private Home
• Dining for Eight at the Elegant and Historic Black Point Inn

 

• Exciting Travel
• Ten Days in Tuscany for Four!
• South Africa Photo Safari for Two

Sports

THE SOX! 4 Box Seats for a 2009 Red Sox Game from ARAMARK! Round-trip transportation to South Station from Concord Trailways Don't' miss this opportunity! - Four Box Seats for a Red Sox vs Yankees Game...  coordinate your date during the 2009 season in a row behind home plate. ARAMARK, the company that donated these superb seats, is the vendor that provides all dining services for USM, including the outstanding cuisine for the annual music gala. ARAMARK is the official concessionaire for Fenway Park. Now you can just imagine how good these Fenway seats are! Round-trip ground transportation for four to South Station on Concord Trailways will be the frosting on the cake of this tremendous prize package.

THE SOX! 4 More Box Seats for a 2009 Red Sox from ARAMARK! Round-trip transportation for four to South Station from Concord Trailways Did you miss the Red Sox/Yankees tickets? Not to worry. Use your bidding energy on these fantastic box seats, also donated by ARAMARK, for a Red Sox game at Fenway. Coordinate your date during the 2009 season. Invite your friends for this adventure and leave the driving to Concord Trailways.

THE CELTICS! - Four Luxury Suite Box Seats to a Celtics game from TD Banknorth - Four Round-trips to North Station on the Downeaster The Celtics - More Champions – More Fun! Coordinate your desired date with TD Banknorth and you and three friends will experience an unbelievable evening.  Step out of the Downeaster and walk to the TD Banknorth Luxury Suite where you will have a superb view of the game.  Amenities such as comfortable furniture, a flat-screen television, bar and food service, all complimentary, will be yours.  Cheer on the Celtics and then step onto the Downeaster for your trip back to Portland.  The Downeaster arrives at Boston's North Station, located within the TD Banknorth Garden.

GOLF A Round of Golf for Three with Lunch at the Portland Country Club with your Host, Christopher Emmons  No box seats needed here!  Just gorgeous terrain, stunning views and exciting golf.  Join your Host, Chris Emmons, at the Portland Country Club located off of Rte. 88 in Falmouth Foreside, Maine.  Start with a delicious lunch and then proceed to the first hole where you will find it hard to “keep your head down” so beautiful is the scenery with stunning ocean views in front of you.  Don’t worry, it only gets better as you travel all eighteen holes.

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Outstanding Get-Aways

Two Nights/Three Days at Migis Lodge during the 2009 Season Your stay at this award winning property includes hearty breakfasts, delicious lunches and elegant dinners.  Once you experience Migis Lodge, you’ll want to make your visit a yearly tradition.  $1,100.00  “Our luxurious Main Lodge and 31 cottages nestle amid 100 acres of pine forest, stretching along 3,500 feet of Sebago Lake shoreline in southern Maine. Come see why our guests return year after year, generation after generation.  Whether you’re lunching on our private island, enjoying golf or tennis or our spa, or gazing at dramatic sunsets, take all the time and space you need – it’s all waiting for you, at Migis Lodge.”

Two Nights at  The Inn at Ocean’s Edge, Lincolnville Dining at The Edge Restaurant Two Tickets to a Bay Chamber Concerts Accommodations and Dinner The Inn at Ocean's Edge in Lincolnville, Maine, just north of Camden, is your destination for a fabulous 2009 weekend, or mid-week vacation.  Enjoy two luxurious evenings, deluxe accommodations, with a gourmet breakfast each morning, and enjoy all that this marvelous inn and the surrounding area have to offer.  Your $100.00 gift certificate to The Edge, the Inn’s renowned restaurant, will lead you to a superb evening of fine dining. The Music Located in Rockport, Maine, Bay Chamber Concerts brings to the midcoast some of the most respected names in classical, jazz, world music and dance. Visit its web site to read about the current season and dream about the superb musical experience you'll have in 2009 with two excellent seats to a concert to be coordinated with you and Bay Chamber Concerts.

2009 Casco Bay Cocktail Cruise with Jennifer and Craig Cooper  Join Craig and Jennifer Cooper in the summer of 2009 on their thirty-six foot cabin cruiser, Prime Time. Meet them at Port Harbor Marina in South Portland, Maine and embark on a fun-filled tour of Casco Bay. While sipping wonderful wine and nibbling delicious hors d'oeuvres, you might pass by a cruise ship on its way in or out of port, or perhaps glimpse a lobster boat crew pulling up its evening's reward. You'll wave to the sea kayakers and inhale the scent of the Atlantic - an experience that is so Maine, so invigorating, so beautiful. Whichever "course" the captain chooses to take, this cruise, the date of which will be mutually determined, promises to be memorable.

2009 Casco Bay Sail for Four on “Boheme” with Pam and Peter Plumb A magnificent opportunity to enjoy a two to three hour sail among Portland’s natural jewels, the Islands of Casco Bay, on Boheme, a 46’ sloop. Cocktails and hors d’oeuvres are included. Pam and Peter look forward to sharing the magnificent coast of southern Maine up to six guests. You will coordinate your schedules with them for your summer, 2009 sail.

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For You!

18k Gold Leaf Pin by artist, Michael Good    $950.00 Exquisite!  This wearable work of art is hand-formed using Michael Good's signature technique of anticlastic raising.  You will love wearing this exquisite 18k matte finish gold leaf pin, which measures four inches from end to end. If you prefer, visit Mr. Good's studio in Rockport, ME by December 31, 2008 where you may exchange your pin for another item of equal value or apply it toward the purchase of an item of greater value.

Original Oil on Panel by artist, Holly Ready Late Day Reflections     Oil on canvas 21” x 25”  Framed in a handcrafted, solid cherry floater frame Value:  $2,800.00   As with most of Holly Ready's paintings, light is the subject of this piece.  In a warm palette of yellows, oranges and violets, Late Day Reflections captures the light of the late day sun on clouds that overhang a quiet cove and then on the still water beneath.  It's a fleeting time of day where one minute the sky is a warm orange and the next it turns to cooler blue grays.  “Living in Maine, near the ocean, with it's abstract shapes and constantly changing light and reflections have provided me with much inspiration. The surfaces of water, land and sky are so diverse and the use of light in each, unique. Hour by hour, day by day, the light is constantly changing.  Light and color are avenues I use to seduce the viewer and instill a lasting impression. I want color to convey the inner experience, to transcend the viewer.  "My palette is not only made up of colors that I'm seeing, but also of colors that I'm feeling and their relationship to one another.   My work is a reflection of emotions felt while painting each piece.  The layering and building of oil paint allows me to get beneath the surface and create the depth and luminosity that I crave in paintings.  From the very first day I applied a stroke of paint to canvas, I’ve been compelled to express myself through this medium.    "Although my work is strongly influenced by changing light, I’m constantly exploring different formats and compositions to further enhance the moment felt.  I hope never to be too comfortable so that I feel I’m not constantly  challenged and growing with my art.”  Holly Ready

Renovate a Room $1,700.00  Everyone seems to have a room that needs some sprucing up. Excellence is the hallmark of all the following companies, each of which have donated product or service valued at $350, and you'll be delighted with all that they have to offer.   Win: a $400 gift certificate from Rainbow Construction for "A Carpenter for a Day.' a $350.00 gift certificate from each of the following: * Michael Morse – Morse and Sons Painting * Fashion Floors – Floor or wall covering * House of Lights- Lighting fixture  a $250.00 gift certificate for services at:  * Bowdler Electric, Inc.       Bowdler Electric, Inc.  Serving Greater Portland, Maine

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Fine Dining, Music and More...

Soiree Catered Dinner for Eight from Churchill Catered Events with Live Music from the USM School of Music Work with the USM School of Music in identifying Music Faculty members or students, your preference, who will perform a concert, or perhaps entertain you during cocktails, at your home or place of business.  A date in 2009 will be agreed upon excluding the month of December, for this exceptional opportunity to host your own Musicale  Churchill Catered Events is again donating an elegant catered “Dinner for Eight.”  Widely recognized for his fine cuisine and white glove service, Craig Williams, owner, will work with you in creating a unique and grand evening.   1037 Forest Avenue, Portland, ME 04103 207.878.2277 PHONE, 207.878.9014 FAX Email Us

Dining for Twelve at the Renowned White Barn Inn * Champagne and Hors d'oeuvres at the Piano Bar * Four-course Dinner Elegant Round-Trip Transportation in a Stretch Limousine from Atlantic Limousine and Yacht Charter  At the White Barn Inn Restaurant in Kennebunkport, Maine you can experience the only AAA Five Diamond, Mobil Five Star restaurant dining North of New York City. The warm welcome from the maitre d’ provides you with just a hint of the unique dining experience to come.  Gather your friends and bid on this tremendous live auction item.  Champagne with hors d’oeuvres is included in this package; gratuity and  alcohol with dinner are not.  Start your special evening by leaving the driving to Atlantic Limousine & Yacht Charter of Gorham, Maine. Your party will board a luxurious stretch limousine and be transported to and returned from the White Barn Inn. It doesn't get better than this!

Soiree! Catered Dinner for Six from Browne Trading Company Live Music from the USM School of Music  Browne Trading Company, renowned for its caviar, fresh domestic and imported seafood, smoked seafood and an array of other gourmet food items, will send its own chef to your home to prepare a sumptuous three-course Gourmet Meal for Six, featuring the freshest items from their store. But wait, don't forget to visit their store on Commercial Street in Portland, $200.00 gift certificate in hand, with which to purchase wine for your dinner.  This dinner will take place within a thirty mile radius of Portland on a mutually agreed upon date between January 1, 2009 and September 30, 2009.   Work with the USM School of Music in identifying Music Faculty members or students, your preference, who will perform a concert, or perhaps entertain you during cocktails, at your home or place of business. A date in 2009 will be agreed upon excluding the month of December, for this exceptional opportunity to host your own Musicale.

Soiree! Catered Dinner for Twelve from Cinque Terre Live Music from the USM School of Music And now, a new addition to our ever-popular Soirees - The famed restaurant, Cinque Terre on Wharf Street in Portland, will send its chef to your home to prepare a Ligurian-inspired meal for twelve – Oh my!  Work with the USM School of Music in identifying Music Faculty members or students, your preference, who will perform a concert, or perhaps entertain you during cocktails at your home or place of business.  A date in 2009 will be agreed upon excluding the month of December for this unbelievable opportunity to host your own Musicale that includes superb dining.  “Lee Skawinski, a native New Englander, has earned an increasingly influential slot on the national culinary map. The talented chef continues to earn raves for his Ligurian-inspired cuisine from the likes of The Washington Post, Wine & Spirits, Gourmet, StarChefs.com, Food Network and USA Today. Additionally, Cinque Terre, with Skawinski at the helm, was recently named by Epicurious to its list of "Top 10 Farm-to-Table Restaurants in the U.S."

Soiree! Catered Dinner for Ten at a Private Home Live Music from the USM School of Music  Another unbelievable and new addition to our very popular Soirees!  Be the guests of your evening’s Hosts, Candice and Shep, at their lovely home and experience a sophisticated gourmet meal, planned, prepared and presented by Candice, a recent graduate of the French Culinary Institute in New York City.    Work with the USM School of Music in identifying Music Faculty members or students, your preference, who will perform a concert, or perhaps entertain you during cocktails at your unique evening. A date in 2009 will be agreed upon excluding the month of December for this unbelievable opportunity to host your own Musicale that includes superb dining.

Dining for Eight at the Elegant and Historic Black Point Inn And yet another new addition to our exceptional Live Auction!  The Black Point Inn at Prout’s Neck, Maine, is a venerable property with one-hundred thirty five years of history and stunningly beautiful ocean views.  Newly renovated and managed by those who also bring you Migis Lodge and the Inn at Ocean’s Edge, organize a group of eight and coordinate your desired dinner date with the Inn’s representative.  You will experience exceptional cuisine in an atmosphere of the bygone days of late nineteenth century Maine when guests from around the country would travel by rail to stay at the renowned Black Point Inn. A 15-minute drive from downtown Portland, the Black Point is a Maine classic. Situated on 9 acres on a point with views along the coast both north and south, the inn was built as a summer resort in 1873, in an area enshrined in some of the work of noted painter Winslow Homer.  Today, upholding the Black Point Inn's proud tradition of exemplary guest service in an unparalleled setting is the privilege of BPI Partners, LLC, an investor group with deep roots in the local community.

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Exciting Travel

Following are three fantastic opportunities for unique vacations.