Lights! Camera! Auction!

That's at the top of a 1/4-age ad in The Woodstock Independent this week for a fundraiser for the Woodstock District 200 Education Foundation. The fundraiser will be Saturday, January 29.

There's just one problem. Why is it to be held at D'Andrea Banquets in Crystal Lake? Why send the $$$ to Crystal Lake, when District 200 ought to be able to spend them right here in Woodstock and keep Woodstock restaurants in business? No doubt that Woodstock restaurants get hit up for many donations during the year for District 200 events; why not reciprocate and keep the banquet dollars right here in town???

One reason might be the lack of banquet facilities in Woodstock to accommodate the number of people expected to attend? How many do attend? How could this event be staged here in Woodstock. Surely, creative minds at District 200 and the restaurant community could solve that problem.

Each guest antes up $50 for dinner. The bar is a cash bar, so drinks are on top of that. Plus spending for the auction items.

For those who can't find the magnifying glass to read the 1-point font in the ad, here's what else will be happening that night: "Live auction; silent auction; music from the decades; DVD of mini grant projects; first recipient of the District 200 Award of Excellence; details about the new Friends and Alumni of Woodstock High School."