Viva Nouvel Casino Night!

Morgan Velez ’16

Staff Writer

For years, the Pawesome Auction has been one of Nouvel’s top fundraisers.  This event is part silent, part live auction and the bid items are all donated by local sponsors.  In the past, this event has benefitted Nouvel Catholic Central High School exclusively.  Now, with the merging of St. Thomas Aquinas and St. Stephens, it only makes sense to open the event to both the high school and Nouvel Catholic Central Elementary.  Parents, friends, and community members are welcome to attend this year’s ‘Casino Night’ at Horizons Conference Center, 6-10 on November 7.

Guests have enjoyed entertainment such as music to dance by, contributing a few strokes to a painting done by the group, and even Dueling Pianos.  This year, the organizers brainstormed some new ideas with two goals in mind.  Saginaw Area Catholic Schools Advancement Director Wendy Carter stated that they had two goals, one was to get the ticket price down and two was to draw more people to the event.  They accomplished their first goal; this year tickets are $50, and are confident about their second goal due to the new activities that will make up Casino Night.

Event goers will be able to buy chips in order to play games throughout the night as well as bid on great items in both the silent and live auction.  This year, event organizers are excited about a Nouvel alumni art gallery where 10-15 pieces of artwork have been donated by Nouvel alumni that have gone on to study art.  Other notable items include a trip to Las Vegas, a Kate Spade purse, a delicious Italian dinner, and more of the like.

Advancement Director Wendy Carter stated, that not only does this event receive great support from sponsors who donate items but also from the many volunteers that work to put on a wonderful night for the community.  She added that the event organizers are, “so appreciative of both high school and elementary parents who help out”.  The hope for Casino Night is ultimately that guests have a wonderful time playing games, mingling with friends, meeting new friends, bidding on amazing prizes, and supporting Nouvel.

Parents of young children who need a babysitter for the fun night can take advantage of the NHS babysitting at Nouvel Catholic Central Elementary.  For the duration of the evening, Nouvel NHS members will be at NCCE watching kids from the ages of 4-10 and entertaining them with a wide range of activities.  This is free and will be open for drop off at 5:30PM.