Boys & Girls Clubs of Western Nevada BBQ luau target: Fun and funds

The 2015 Annual Auction and BBQ Luau to raise funds for the Boys and Girls Clubs of Western Nevada is set next Sunday at the Marv Teixeira Pavilion in Mills Park.

The event, which runs from 3-7 p.m., is designed to raise $300,000 this year. Susie Messina, club special events coordinator, said it’s the club’s main fundraising effort annually and helps bridge the gap on the cost for young people who use club facilities and programs. Each child costs $500 annually for club participation but the charge is just $30, Messina said. She also said the event is about celebration and camaraderie.

“It’s the place to be,” she said.

The occasion includes all-you-can-eat barbecue done by Carson City BBQ, other fare, and a bar provided by the Max Casino, Messina said, along with the auction. Among items available for bidders are a car, a boat and a mining tour for a dozen at a Barrick Gold Corp. mine in Nevada.

Regarding the latter, Messina said she went on a similar tour last year and called it amazing. She said the car is a 2010 Ford Mustang, the boat is a 20-foot, 2000 Regal and a powerboat.

Tickets for the luau and auction cost $125 per person or tables for 10 are available at $1,250.

Messina said it’s not just about the barbecue and trimmings, libations, camaraderie and celebration, and to raising funds for the cause. She said it’s about the kids themselves.

She also gave a quick rundown on the successful effort to raise funds earlier for a teen center addition to the club, which will add 6,000 square feet of space to the existing 13,000 square feet facility. She said with the city’s new multi-purpose athletic center (MAC) being built next door, with a combined public-club use agreement, the area along Russell Way will feature “quite a complex.”

The MAC is expected to be constructed by Dec. 16. Construction of the teen center addition, which should cost $1.6 million, will begin next year at the club at 18670 Russell Way.