Freeport Community Services rolls its largest fundraiser, entertainment and great food all into one package on Saturday, Jan. 24.

In the building it calls home, the Freeport Community Center, Freeport Community Services will do all that in its annual White Nights celebration, from 5:30-10 p.m. Tickets are $50, and people interested should call Kim Hudak at 865-3985.

Celebrating 40 years of giving last year, the White Nights event brought in $40,000 for various Freeport Community Services programs, in addition to $7,000 for its fuel-assistance fund and $3,000 in summer camp scholarships raised from the raffle of a painting by Catherine Breer. There will be live music in a festive atmosphere. It’s less formal than a sit-down meal, but there will be lots of food and drink, including the “Bow Street Sausage Room” and the “White Night Signature Cocktail,” created by Azure Cafe?.

“One thing I am looking forward to is seeing the transformation of the community center from a space we all know and love, to an amazing venue for a celebration, through the magic of local Freeport providers like The Event Light Pros (John and Josie Griffin) and Emily Carter Floral Designs,” said Melanie Sachs, executive director of Freeport Community Services. “White Nights is the biggest fundraising event for Freeport Community Services.”

The event is both fun and important, Sachs said.

“We hope you will join in at the FCC for this fun and very important evening of great food, live music and community spirit,” she said.

Guest check-in is at 5:30, followed by cocktails and tapas. Silent auction tables begin to close at 7, and at 7:30 there will be a raffle for another Catherine Breer painting, and a White Nights 2015 video. The Freeport artist’s original is a 24-by-24-inch acrylic on canvas, ready to hang, that captures the feeling of the Maine coast. It is valued at $1,200.

The live auction, conducted by Jill Daviero of Tranzon Auction Properties, is at 8. Dessert and coffee and music by Native Isles rounds out the evening.

Tom Bull, president of the Freeport Community Services Board of Directors, said that the call for services continues to increase. Requests for fuel assistance spiked by 22 percent during the winter of 2013-2014, to 110 families. Use of the food pantry rose 14 percent to 206 families, and 2,236 lunches were served last summer to children in need, an increase of 26 percent.

“Your support of these programs this evening helps to secure essential services for families in Freeport and Pownal,” Bull said.

The White Nights Committee includes Susan Albertini, Kate Bacon, Sarah Crowley, Leah Gailey, Nora Healy, Sarah Jacobs, Stephanie LeMieux, Staci Olson, Kristin Peterson, Judy Wood and Chris York.

This Catherine Breer painting will be raffled off during the Freeport Community Services White Nights gala on Saturday, Jan. 24, at the Freeport Community Center. Courtesy photo

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