This time of year I go through my drawers and closets to identify items that are taking up space. Why? Because we are beginning to plan for the River of Time Museum’s annual Italian Dinner, which will take place on August 13.

And planning begins with identifying items that will attract bids in our silent and live auctions.

As I go through my “stuff,” I can always find a treasure that is either new or almost new that has sat long enough on a shelf. The first item I identified was a Memorex Alarm Clock Radio that I bought at Best Buy and, I hate to admit it, but it has so many bells and whistles I couldn’t figure out the instructions! I also kept it too long to return, so this brand new $50 purchase is my first donation to the auction.

Do you have items you can donate?

As always, we will be contacting businesses and museums in the Valley for auction items, but often some of the best and unusual items come from our own Fountain Hills residents who value our museum and want to help us as we build new exhibits and plan more student activities.

Please make a survey of your closets and help us out by dropping auction items off at the museum, located in the Museum/Library building. And watch for more news about the August dinner as we work to make it another very successful and fun event.