Guests then made their way to the courtyard to walk through and participate in the silent auction, seamlessly executed by Auction Chair, Harriet Ching and the silent auction committee. With over 560 items donated and ready to go, people got in the bidding spirit with items like a basketball signed by NBA All-Stars, A VIP Magic Mike Experience in Las Vegas, a vegan dinner for 8 cooked by a celebrity chef, local sporting event tickets, and so much more. While sipping on signature cocktails such as the “Last of the Mojitos” and the “Los Encinos Noveltini,” guests also had a chance to jump into the MirMir photo booth donated by Ryan Glenn. As always, Poppers were an instant sellout as Jaqui Ramano made sure to make this a fun, memorable part of the evening. Creative details were also sprinkled throughout the event with the help of graphic designers Amy Wolkove, Trevor Smith, and Sanam Shirvani.

As cocktail hour ended, attendees were led into the beautiful ballroom made even more stunning by Décor Chair Merav Goldman and her volunteer committee.  As the evening program commenced, emcee Bill Birch helped set the tone of the evening with our live auction and our most successful “Raise the Paddle” yet.  With participation throughout the entire room, our goals were surpassed and we were well on our way to bringing our new Outdoor Classroom to life!

The room already abuzz, the crowd was treated to a very special show: Brian and Friends. Hosted by Los Encinos’ own Brian Posehn, comedians Ron Funches, Sarah Silverman, and Brian himself brought down the house with hilarious stand-up comedy performances and a definite highlight of the evening. A huge-thank you to Brian Posehn and Melanie Truhett-Posehn for helping to make this incredible showcase a reality. Every great party deserves a special treat on the way out, and with the help of Stacy Rubeli and Amanda Young guests left with a new LES signature bookmark and some delicious goodies donated by the Cutforth Family from their local Bakery Josephine LA.

We had fun and we raised funds, actually a record breaking $238,000 to be exact. The evening always serves as a reminder of just how special our community truly is. Big thank-you’s to our Teacher Experience Co-Chairs Rita Navarro and Carlyn Suriano, and of course all our amazing teachers for donating their time and talents. Huge thank-yous to Ilene, the Board of Trustees, and the entire Parent Association Board for their support and guidance in bringing our vision for this unique night to life.  And, as always to the entire community who, of course, make the wheels go ’round. Whether you donated items, wrapped packages, glued book pages, loaded trucks, donated your valuable time, bought tickets, bid on auctions, raised a paddle, etc., etc., we thank you. The Los Encinos family knows how to show up, and this night was no exception. It was definitely one for the books!!