The Shelby Foundation held Oktoberfest on Saturday evening. The foundation is a non-profit organization that seeks to provide support and leadership to the community of Shelby.
“This is our biggest fundraiser and we wanted to be more visible and connect with the community as much as we can,” said director of the Shelby Foundation, Lynn Friebel.
“This is our fifth year that the fundraiser is occurring and we hold it the same time every year that way everyone knows when it will be occurring. We see old and new faces every year,” said Friebel.
Last year, Oktoberfest raised $93,000. “We are averaging raising a net of about $66,000, which is great. We offer items to be auctioned off for both silent and live auctions. We have a lot of great items that can be won here. We keep everything local and everything is donated for the auctions,” said Friebel. Some items that were up for auction included a massage basket from Journey to Serenity located in Shelby and other baskets from local businesses, guns, a plane trip for four within a 200 mile radius, and Pink concert tickets for four.
“This year we have sold 36 tables and each table sits eight people. We have had a very good turnout this year and we have had great reception from the community for the past five years which includes the Mansfield/Richland County area, too. I am very pleased with how the community has responded with this fundraiser. We love this event because it is a relaxed atmosphere that includes everyone participating to have a great time,” said Friebel.
The food that was provided was catered by Carle’s Bratwust Inc, located in Bucyrus and sponsors took part in lending support to Oktoberfest. Some of the sponsors included Milliron in Mansfield and Richland Bank. Pioneer Career and Technology Center made flower arrangements that were placed in the center of the tables during Oktoberfest.