BUCKINGHAM ? A tea party complete with finger sandwiches, pastries and conversation drew 80 women and girls Saturday for a Christmas benefit at the Buckingham Homeowners Association.
The annual Buckingham Ladies Club hosts the Silver Tea has sold out every year, according to club president Susan Dufrain.
She said the club has hosted the annual tea party for more than 25 years. The main attractions are the fact that the proceeds go to benefit charitable organizations in Lake County, and of course, the chance to socialize. The hall where the tea is held holds 80 people, and tickets cost $15.
“We sold out in less than 10 days, and we could have sold another 80 easily,” Dufrain said.
Proceeds from the event have gone to such causes as the Lake Family Resource Center Freedom House, the Lake County Christmas Fund basket program and the Lake County Food Bank, according to Dufrain. Last year, the club donated $1,500 of the proceeds from the tea party to the Lake Family Resource Center, and $1,200 to the Lake County Christmas Fund.
“They want to do it because it”s fun, and they know it”s for a good cause. We wanted to do something to give back to the community,” Dufrain said.
The event has raised $14,402 during the past eight years for philanthropic organizations in Lake County, and has garnered an average of $3,000 annually for the last four years.
The majority of the money is raised in the silent auction and raffle the club holds at the annual tea party, according to Dufrain. She said area merchants and artists have been generous about donating to the cause.
This year”s silent auction featured paintings by Carolyn Marchetti and Katie Bridges, along with a set of pottery bowls made by Gaylene McComb. In addition, the club sold 37 dozen cookies made by members of the Buckingham community and club members. Dufrain said the proceeds, estimated at $2,200, will go to the Freedom House and the Lake County Christmas Fund.
Sitting at a table reserved for the Red Hat Ladies of Lake County, Riviera West resident Roberta Beat said she reserved tickets early for herself, her sister, and her grand-niece, Bailey Price, 8.
Club members and other Buckingham women wore long, white aprons fringed with ruffles and served finger sandwiches, assorted pastries and tea.
Everything was homemade, according to Dufrain, except for the blueberry scones, which she said the Tallman Hotel in Upper Lake donated to the event.
The Vintage Quartet, a group of four women wearing black shirts and pants and rainbow-colored scarves, serenaded attendees with traditional and modern Christmas songs. One of the foursome, Donna Bowen of Clearlake Oaks, read a modernized version of “The Night Before Christmas,” which she called, “The Month After Christmas.”
For more information, call the Buckingham Homeowners Association at 279-0829.
Contact Tiffany Revelle at trevelle@record-bee.com, or call her directly
