Construction of the new Language and Performing Arts Center is slightly under budget and right on schedule.  Crews are installing windows this week and putting the roof on the lobby.  With so much attention focused on the need for a theater, performing arts classrooms and space the English and foreign language programs, the lobby itself hasn’t received much attention.  This space will add roughly 2,500 square feet of common space to the Upper School giving students and faculty more space to do homework, display artwork, lead activities, and just hang out.   It won’t replace the Commons of course, nothing ever could, but it will give everyone a little space to spread out.  Now that the roof line encloses this space, you can really get an idea of how big the lobby will be. 

Click here to watch a time-lapse video of construction.

Meanwhile, the Parent Association’s annual Wright Spirit Auction and Dinner is coming up on Saturday, March 21, at 5pm.  The event will raise funds to fulfill the Parent Association’s pledge to support construction of the new Language and Performing Arts Center.  For those headed to the auction, two important questions remain: What to buy and what to wear?

This year’s invitation suggestions guests come in “comfortable attire” but some people consider tuxedos comfortable and others define comfortable as sweat pants and flip flops (who wouldn’t, really) so the volunteers who put together the annual Wright Stuff Rummage Sale created this online photo gallery to guide your fashion choices.  Click here to see what these parents define as comfortable attire.

The following advise has also been offered: For women, you’ll probably still see a few cocktail dresses, but you’ll also see more casual dresses and dressy pants, as well.  Men’s outfits will probably range from suits to khakis and collared shirts.

Auction books are going in the mail this week to those who submitted their RSVPs. There is tremendous variety this year with items valued from $10 to $15,000.  Bidding on silent auction tables will start closing as early as 6:15pm, so if you’re looking for great deals come early!  Click here for a pdf of the auction catalog.

One of the most exciting auction items this year is seats for a first-of-its-kind, unforgettable evening featuring student performers from all three divisions all rolled into the opening night of the US Winter Musical in the new Language and Performing Arts Center.  On February 4, 2010, audience members will enjoy a delicious dinner while seated at stage-side tables and served by members of the cast in true dinner theater style.  Be prepared for the unexpected as actors engage the audience as an integral part of the evening’s show.  Tables for ten will be sold at the auction and rumor has it the bidding will start at $500 a table.  A limited number of tables are available, so get your friends together now and make plans to buy a table together!  This family-friendly evening is sponsored by the CWA Board of Trustees.

Here’s a sampling of the other great items on the block this year:

Live Auction: The beautiful outdoors without the work!  Let Outdoor Ed do it!
Get into the great outdoors for three glorious days without the effort of carrying all the necessary equipment.  Highly trained, experienced, outdoor education professionals will carry the gear; cook gourmet trail meals, set up and break down camp, and guide the hikers.  Hikers will be required to merely carry a day-pack with personal items and a snack for lunch.  Here is your chance to get the teachers to carry your stuff!  Preferred dates are August 14-16, 2009, but another date can be arranged if mutually agreeable.  Expires 3/21/10.  Value: Priceless.  Thank you CWA Outdoor Education Team!

Live Auction: Love that Log Cabin
What fun your family will have at a log cabin getaway for five nights in Packwood!  This relaxing mini-vacation is at a four-bedroom (one king, one double, one bunk bed and two twin beds) log cabin in Packwood, Washington.  Enjoy days of skiing at White Pass with this $100 gift certificate, snowshoeing or cross-country skiing, or just relaxing by the fire.  In the summer, there is great hiking.  To complete this wonderful package, Laura will send you off with a delicious spaghetti or chili dinner, your choice.  Expires 3/21/10 and must be mutually agreed upon dates.  Value: $1,600.  Thank you Laura and Paul Reynolds!

Live Auction: Hear Me! Hear Me! Deputy Lower School Mayor for a Day!
This is a new tradition you will not want to miss.  Your child(ren) will be Deputy Mayor for the day, assisting Mayor Diane Hunt with the schedule of the weekly town meeting.  They will choose the opening song, distribute birthday cookies, recognize people who’ve lost teeth, share a story or message, recite a poem, offer a “save the planet” suggestion and choose the exit music!  Expires 6/5/09.  Value: Priceless.  Thank you Lower School Head Diane Hunt!

Live Auction: Come to the Table – an Exclusive Dining Table and Chairs by Doug Granum
“The Soul of Charles Wright” is a unique dining table with ladder back benches and jewels, created by Douglas Granum and dedicated to his dear friend, Sam Brown.  Created and formed from the acacia-like western elms that once stood on the site of the old Lower School, the wood for this one-of-a-kind suite was air-dried for three years.  The wood from these fine old trees is imbued with the souls of generations of exuberant Charles Wright children.  This suite is composed of holly, cherry and western elm, which has been hand-rubbed with ten coats of heated oils.  The set is encrusted with ruby, emerald, diamond, sapphire and other gems.  This heirloom piece is form and function at the highest level.  It is a work of art and is the only one on the planet, never to be replicated by virtue of its provenance at Charles Wright, as well as the completely unique character of the wood.  These works have been given the ultimate attention to detail with the love of the soul of the trees.  Value: $15,000.  Thank you Douglas Granum!

Over in the silent auction you’ll find all sorts of things that would probably be part of the live auction at a lot of other events.  Check these out:

Sea Star Tables (closing at 6:15pm): Beautiful Mt. Rainier Inn
Enjoy a spring fling at the newly renovated Mt. Rainier National Park Inn.  Before April 30, you and a guest can be treated to a one night stay for two (one room), and breakfast the next morning.  Spend some time in the spring sun with your use of either cross-country skis or snowshoes for the day (through March).  Expires 4/30/09.  Valid only Sunday through Thursday.  Holidays excluded.  Value: $195  Thank you Cindy Grady!

Tropical Fish Tables (closing at 6:35pm): They Can Put Out Your Candles!
Host a birthday party at the University Place Fire Station!  Ten children will enjoy a party at the station and receive a bag of fire department goodies, a tour of the station, ride in the fire engine, squirt a fire hose and try on fire fighting gear!  Expires 3/21/09.  Birthday child must be between the ages of five (turning six) and nine (turning ten).  Party must be scheduled at least two months in advance and held Wednesday through Saturday.  Value: $150.  Thank you University Place Fire Department!

Seahorse Tables (closing at 6:55pm): Sam and Nathalie Brown Memorial Basket
‘Lillegaard’ is a shady spot basket of wildflowers, mosses and ferns from our Lillegaard woods – all perennials!  Enjoy trilliums, digitalis, pulmonaria, campanula, ajuga and licorice fern.  Value: $300.  Thank you Wayne and Dee Knight!

Jellyfish Tables (closing at 7:10pm): PNW Seafood Feast for Ten
A Pacific Northwest feast including steamed clams, fresh barbecued oysters, fresh salmon and Alaskan halibut.  This complete feast starts with appetizers and culminates with delish desserts done with fresh items from the Pacific Northwest.