Ready, set, glow at Saturday’s Cosmic Carnival

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The Family Matters Club invites everyone to come out to the “Cosmic Carnival” tomorrow, June 27, starting at 6 p.m. at Holiday Harbor. This neon glow party will feature a glow maze, photo booth area, shirt-making, face-painting and more. The snack bar will be open with lots of goodies and glow-in-the-dark treats.

Organizers say there is no charge to attend the event, enter the glow contest, hang out, do the maze, play the games, use the photo area or “get your glow on.” There will be a contest for “most glowing” person of the night. Neon T-shirt coloring will be offered for $5, and neon glow face/body painting for assorted prices.

Children under 16 need to be with a parent or adult guardian.

This isn’t the only community event the Family Matters Club is planning this summer.

Quarter Mania

The Family Matters Club is hosting a Quarter Mania event on Sunday, July 19, from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Lodge. The cost per ticket will be $10, which will include bidder paddle, three raffle tickets, door prize slip, program booklet and bidder goody bag containing $25 worth of prizes.

As organizer Shawna Bowen explains, “Everyone has ‘donated’ money at one time or another to a cause that is near and dear to their hearts. These Quarter Mania events are being held to help support worthy causes within the local areas. We are just giving people another way of donating funds for these causes while winning some prizes for themselves. Our thoughts are that if you are going to donate money anyway to help out your charity, why not come to an event and have some fun and maybe even win a few prizes!”

Anyone 10 and older is welcome to play if they purchase a ticket. The seats are reserved for the paying bidders only, with only 120 bidder spaces available for purchase. The club welcomes vendors.

A Quarter Mania is a cross between an auction (where one holds up a numbered paddle to bid on an item), a raffle (where one buys tickets for a chance to win a prize) and bingo (using a chip with a number on it).

The chips are small discs with numbers on them that correspond to each paddle. Once participants buy their paddle(s), the corresponding numbered chip(s) are placed into a container with everyone else’s chips.

Each auction item has a quarter bid associated with it, depending on the retail amount of the item. Example: an item valued at $35 to $49 would have a two-quarter bid; a $50-plus item would have a three-quarter bid, etc. There will be 60 auction items for guests to bid on and win.

Each bidding paddle has a number written on it. The paddle is held up in the air when placing a bid. Everyone receives one paddle with ticket purchase. Additional paddles will be $5 each.

When all the bids are collected, the auctioneer will draw a numbered chip from the container. If the number on the chip drawn matches the bidder’s numbered paddle that is held up, that bidder wins, having only “paid” from two to four quarters for the item.

Once there is a winner, all chips will be placed back in the container for the next item to be auctioned.

In addition to the live auction, there will be door prizes and silent auction as well as snacks available for purchase. For more information or to purchase tickets, contact the Family Matters Club at 714-394-4885 or clfmclub@aol.com.