CLEARLAKE— The Clearlake Chamber of Commerce held their annual Luau on the Creek this past Saturday at the Cache Creek winery and vineyards, raising money for the Lower Lake High School Future Farmers of America (FFA). Every year the CLCC organizes a night of dining and dancing in order to raise funds for the local chapter, this year dually raising extra money for direct aid to the Lahaina wildfire relief.
This year’s menu was curated by Lindy’s Quality Catering – the catering arm of Kenny Parlet’s Lakeview Supermarket & Deli who have been in business for 50 years. The dinner was served by the LLHS FFA students and highlighted Hawaiian cuisine with a chicken and pineapple skewer, sweet glazed pork, pasta salad, green salad and warm bread. The main event of the Luau is the dessert auction. The proceeds from the auction go directly to the LLHS FFA, bringing in just under $6000 dollars which the students will use towards their upcoming trip to Indianapolis in order to participate in the receiving of previous FFA president’s Steven Becksmith’s degree.
The auction was started by Russ Perdock who graciously surrendered the microphone to FFA President Ariana Covarrubias who was able to increase the bids with her delectable descriptions and enthusiasm. She said, “This auction was highly successful last year, it raised a lot of money for our chapter.” Dessert auction items included homemade flan, chocolate chip cookies, cheesecake and a huge apple pie bought by Tim Stevens for $300 of Sutter Lake Health who shared “Really our mission and our goal is to show up and take care of our community by improving their health and wellness. Showing up to these events and supporting the FFA is how we do that as well.”
This year’s entertainment was provided by Keito’s Hawaiian Hula Dance Troupe, a traditional hula group who provided an interactive experience for guests teaching them the hula dances, terms, history and culture. Keito shared his family’s recent loss in the Lahaina fire, noting that his cousin’s house was severely damaged by the fire, forcing them to seek housing elsewhere with very little help from anyone. In honor of Keito and his family there were some special items available for live auction. The proceeds went to Keito and his family in Lahaina. While auctioning Perdock said, “We understand fire, the last seven years we have endured fire and rebuilding and it’s a struggle, we are still rebuilding.” These special items included a handmade Hawaiian shawl that auctioned for $325 and all together raised several hundred dollars for fire relief.
The musical guest was Beatz Werkin, a local favorite who played at the Cache Creek Winery several times this month. They play a variety of well-known cover songs and always get the crowd up and dancing.
The chamber said they thanked their many sponsors for help in organizing the event and more information is available on their website clearlakechamber.org.
