The Storybook Ball Online Auction is now OPEN:

Browse, bid and come back for more. Auction items include vacation packages, indulgent spa services, camps, family photography, fine dining, fun things to do over the summer and much more. Now is your chance to not only get all the great items you want, but to do it knowing you are helping support programming for children and teens at the Mill Valley Library. So tell your friends, family, and community that bidding is open to everyone and now underway!

www.biddingforgood.com/storybookball2013

Storybook Ball 100 Bottle Wine Raffle:

We are selling 100 tickets for $100 each for the chance to win 100 bottles of wine. This raffle will help us raise $10,000 for children and teen’s programming at the library. You can either stock your cellar or throw one, two, or three amazing parties…. All of the wine has been donated…with plenty of amazing bottles. I would love to see a friend win! To purchase a ticket, please email mvstorybooks@gmail.com.

Mill Valley Patch
Posted by Cate Lecuyer

On May 19, the Mill Valley Community Center will be transformed from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. into a whimsical fantasy experience for children. The theme: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

Children ages 4 to 10 will be transported to the Wonka Factory itself, where they will be entertained by dancing, crafts and the Stark Ravens Historical Players dressed as book characters. The afternoon also includes delicious food. (Complimentary wine and beer is available to adults.) There is also a raffle and silent auction. As is tradition each year, every child will go home with a copy of the book.

Tickets cost $50 each and may be purchased online only at www.millvalleylibrary.org/storybooks.

“Our family has been a proud sponsor of the Mill Valley Library Foundation’s Storybook Ball for the past three years,” said Jim Dox of Mill Valley. “Our three granddaughters and their parents eagerly look forward to the Ball with all of its wonderful activities.”

In 2011, the debut ball featured “Alice in Wonderland,” followed by “The Wizard of Oz” in 2012. Last year, more than 300 people attended.

“Funding from Storybooks allows the Library to offer more diverse and sophisticated programming, and to provide programs which would otherwise not be possible with limited funding, all of which adds up to a better Library and a better community,” said City Librarian Anji Brenner.

Proceeds underwrite Wednesdays on Stage in the summer, the First Thursdays and Creative Writing Workshops for teens, the Sunday Specials for families and much more.

This year’s Storybook Ball is dedicated to Walker Rezaian, a 5-year-old kindergartener from Old Mill Elementary School who died in 2011. The Rezaian Family decided to give a grant from the Walker Rezaian Memorial Fund to the Storybook Ball as a way to give back to the community and because the library is a very special place to the family.

Each book given to children on May 19 will include a bookplate noting the dedication of the ball to Walker’s memory.

“The Storybook Ball celebrates the wonderful sense of community in Mill Valley. It will be a magical afternoon made possible by the hard work of the Storybooks committee,” said event co-chair Cherity Payne. “The dedication of the ball to Walker’s memory makes it even more meaningful for all of us.”