Having just turned forty, I can attest to the fact that forty is FABULOUS! And now, the Crescen Dough Auction (benefiting the Huntsville Symphony Orchestra) is catching up with me. On April 5, 2013 the ladies of the Symphony Orchestra Guild are hosting their fortieth annual event…

Named for a clever play on words for the musical term “crescendo”, the Crescen-Dough Auction began with its first event in 1974 to raise a lot of “dough”… (get it??)

Crescen Dough Auction:
The Cause

The money raised from the auction goes to the Huntsville Symphony Orchestra and to support the various education programs of the Huntsville Symphony Orchestra Guild, including Third Grade Violin Education for more than 3,000 students in 40 schools and the free Young People’s Concert for thousands of area 4th graders.

In addition, the Painted Violin Society, which makes the Free Family Concert possible, is a part of the Crescen Dough Auction. The Auction has raised $3,125,689 since its beginning forty years ago!

This year, the April 5th auction will be held in the South Hall Ballrooms of the VBC. Doors open at 6. Guests will be seated at 7 for a prime rib dinner complete with birthday cake. The Live Auction will begin at 7:30. Kozmic Mama will play at 9:15

Prime purchases plus Prime Rib!

In addition to being a festive yet casual event, the Crescen-Dough Auction won’t let you go home hungry!

The menu includes a prime rib dinner with peppercorn butter, caramelized onions, sides, and dessert!

If you prefer a liquid diet, there is also a cash bar with complimentary water and iced tea.

To the Highest Bidder…

There are three sections to the Silent Auction, all donated by extremely generous local businesses and merchants:

A smorgasboard of 246 fantastic gift certificates from all over town.
188 Silent Auction Items to salivate over (but there’s a strict “drool on it, you buy it” rule!)
72 Items of Note… Very noteworthy, to be sure or they wouldn’t have called them “of note”

You can get a sneak peak at this year’s Crescen-Dough Auction items here or if Pintrest is your style check out the Crescen-Dough Auction Pintrest page.

Gift Certificates Auction will close at 7:25. The Silent Auction Items and the Items of Note will close at 8:25

The Main Event

In addition to the three Silent Auctions, there will be a Live Auction which will begin at 7:30. There are 34 items in the Live Auction including eight exciting parties, fabulous jewelry, art, vacations and, of course, the Painted Violin. All items for this year’s Crescen-Dough Auction range from $20 to $14,500 so that everyone can support their Symphony Orchestra, no matter what their budget.

John Malone from Lite 96.9 WRSA will be the Master of Ceremonies. Pat Marlin from Dealer’s Auto Auction will be the auctioneers and Kosmic Mama will provide the entertainment.

But let’s be honest, I had you at “Auction”, didn’t I???

About the Huntsville Symphony Orchestra

The Huntsville Symphony Orchestra is the oldest, continuously operating professional orchestra in the state of Alabama. The founding of the Orchestra is linked with the arrival of Wernher von Braun and his German rocket team.