Frogapalooza

Please join us at 6 p.m. on Friday, September 9th, to celebrate
Little River Wetlands Project’s wetland restorations and wildlife—especially frogs—at Frogapalooza!

• Enjoy froggy fun, cocktails (cash bar), dinner catered by Pam Downs and Lisa Williams of Honey on the Table, and live/silent auctions with Curtis Smith, Indiana News Center's Chief Meteorologist, as our celebrity host. (Auction items below.)
• Frogapalooza will be held from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Sweetwater Sound (5501 US Hwy 30 W, Fort Wayne), a LEED-certified "green" building befitting LRWP’s mission of wetlands restoration and preservation.

For this fun evening with a wild wetland theme, guests are invited to wear something green or “green” (business casual dress) to celebrate LRWP’s greening up of our local environment with its wetland preserves and (sometimes green) wildlife.

Tickets are $100 per person, $800 for a table of eight.

Please mail your check (made out to LRWP) with your complete contact information including phone and e-mail address, as well as names/contact information for any guests, to: LRWP, 2403 Fairoak Drive, Fort Wayne, IN 46809. Or, to pay by credit card, call 260-478-2515 during business hours to provide your information.

Tickets will be held at the door. For further information, please e-mail frogapalooza@lrwp.org or call us at 260-478-2515.

Here are some of our exciting Frogapalooza auction items:

• Getaway week for four in terrific Toronto! This beautiful and exciting city will spread out before you in a luxurious two-bedroom, two-bath condo at the top of the SOHO Metropolitan Hotel in downtown Toronto. Enjoy theaters, the entertainment district and all downtown sights, then park in your own space and explore the hotel’s many amenities, including three world-class restaurants. (www.sohomet.com)
• Chicago getaway weekend for four—slip away to enjoy shopping, shows, and all the sights, then relax in a two-bedroom, two-bath condo on Chicago lakefront’s Lincoln Park, with parking. Your four-day/three-night stay puts you in easy distance of the Lincoln Park Zoo, the Magnificent Mile, and all downtown venues. (www.2650lakeview.com)
• Ah, Naples! Enjoy a week for up to 12 people at this luxurious vacation home in Naples, Florida, a sun-soaked glittering jewel on the Gulf Coast. Wiggle your toes in the white sand beach that is walking distance away, watch the dolphins playing in the bay, fish off your own dock, or take a dip in your private pool before dinner at great local restaurants. Use between May 1 and October 31, 2012. Donated by John and Barb Clark.
• Party to the music of the Frogs! No, it’s not a new rock group—enjoy a spring evening at Eagle Marsh for up to 16 people with a bonfire, casual cookout, frog serenade, and night hike with a frog expert to tell you who’s in the choir. Maybe it’s a unique birthday party (unlike any other!), a celebration for a frog fancier, or just a great excuse for a spring party.
• C’est magnifique! Dinner for a party of eight in your own home prepared by Christian Frappier, noted chef and recently retired Food and Beverage Manager of the Fort Wayne Country Club. Christian will select food and wine with your tastes in mind--then you'll watch him work his magic right in your kitchen, treating you and your guests to a multi-course extravaganza of fine cuisine.
• For the art aficionado, an incredible opportunity. Ian and Mimi Rolland, lifelong collectors of works from many internationally renowned artists, will offer you and up to three others an exclusive tour of their private collection. Afterwards, they’ll treat all of you to lunch at the restaurant of your choice, where you can enjoy chatting with Ian and Mimi about art, community projects or perhaps the importance of frogs and wetlands!
• Own this magnificent piece of investment-quality fine art-an evocative oil painting of hikers stopping to experience the peace and beauty of Eagle Marsh by award-winning local artist Andrea Bojrab, beautifully framed by Wally Orr of Crestwoods Village Shop. Andrea, whose impressionist paintings "en plain air" have been juried into the prestigious Hoosier Salon exhibits, calls this work "The Little River Ramblers" after the members of LRWP's Tuesday hiking group captured by her brush. Andrea's paintings, known for their depth of interpretation and sense of intimacy, have continued to increase in value as they win more and more "Best of Show" awards in regional art exhibits. Painting donated by Andrea Bojrab, frame donated by Wally Orr of Crestwoods Village Shop
• Come fly with us—one lucky adventurer will win this personal helicopter tour to view Fort Wayne and Eagle Marsh
• Want to spiff up your outdoor spaces? Make your yard the envy of the neighborhood with the services of Phil Rutledge, landscape designer, Indiana-accredited Master Horticulturist, and owner of Planscape, Inc. Includes site visit and design landscape plan. Phil is a master of creating landscapes of distinction, and he’ll show you how beautiful your own “habitat” can become.
• It doesn’t get any better than this—Tour of Joseph Decuis Farm followed by Chef’s Tasting Dinner for four at Joseph Decuis, with a bottle of Mollydooker The Boxer Shiraz wine. This six-course dinner at a restaurant rated one of the 50 best in the US will be a gourmet experience second to none.
• Sit on a great work of art! Judy Wire, owner of Great Panes Glass Company and talented local artist, has painted her inimitable design on this comfortable Adirondack chair for your patio or home. Own this unique piece of furniture and your special area will admired by all.
• Enjoy nature face-to-face–take a guided kayak trip for two and learn about the passing plants and wildlife with naturalists Sam Schwartz and Steve Ross. Includes lunch or dinner at a local restaurant. Choose any nearby river or stream for your outing.
• If handmade is your game, treasure this dish and bowl pottery set hand-crafted by Ginny Clark as a great addition to your modern or traditional home.
• Stay in Shape: One-year family membership to any Fort Wayne YMCA.
• Step out for a night of sheer delight with the incomparable Bernadette Peters, actress, singer, comedienne and Tony award-winner - the face of Broadway-on Saturday, February 4, 2012 at the Embassy Theater. You'll be there with these two tickets to a concert featuring the enduring diva herself as she dazzles with standards by Rodgers and Hammerstein, Stephen Sondheim, and other great songwriters. Before or after the performance, grab a bite at Chop's Restaurant or Wine Bar with this $40 Chop's gift certificate.
• Delight in this leaping tree frog sculpture hand-carved by craftsman Larry (“Doc”) Wiedman, who “freed” his creation from wood found at Eagle Marsh.
• Take me out to the ballgame! Four tickets, first row behind the dugout, to any TinCaps home game of the 2012 season, and a $50 gift card to ensure a supply of hotdogs or Cracker Jack for your party.
• Sleep is sweet with this baby quilt featuring frogs and butterflies-store it in its own matching bag. And what's this? One of the frogs has metamorphosed into a cuddly stuffed toy for baby to love!
• Eagle Marsh at sunset is a stunner in this beautifully framed photograph by David Tremain.
• Small fix-up jobs for your home getting you down, or just not getting done? Rick Tempel is a handyman par excellence, and he’s yours for up to four hours to do carpentry, electricity, or any other handyman task.
• Local artist and St. Francis adjunct professor of art Tom Keesee loves to paint at Eagle Marsh—and his talent shines in this fine oil on hardboard painting of our favorite preserve in summer, when the living is easy and the marsh is especially beautiful.
• Beautify your garden containers year-round with this container planting plan and labor for four seasons from Carrie Chapman of Organic Gardening Solutions—or ask Carrie to help design your very own bird and butterfly garden, using a variety of mostly native plants.
• Diminutive ducks from renowned nature artist Roger Desjardins–Group this dozen different hand-painted miniature duck decoys as a dramatic display for your home.
• Nurture from Nature –This bounty includes locally produced natural honey, maple syrup, and 12 artisan breads of your choice from Angie Quinn’s new Pembroke Bakery in Fort Wayne. Yummy!
• Beautify your garden with this Child with Woodland Creatures statuary hand-cast of durable bonded marble with a hand-rubbed patina. Even frogs and turtles live in woodlands, and here’s a way to see them in your garden every day.
• Fort Wayne Philharmonic at its very best—two tickets to the opening night performance of the 2011-2012 season on September 10, 2011, PLUS two tickets to the opening night dinner afterwards.
• Great golf for the whole family: 8 passes to Donald Ross Golf Course.
• Food fun for the whole family: one large Pizza Hut pizza per month for a year.
• Pamper yourself: One-hour massage from Vital Living Therapeutic Massage, lunch for two at Anastasia’s Café in the Hollows, and a Vera Bradley bag to brighten your style!
• Add a perfect complement to an exceptional dinner with these fine California wines: Caymus Vineyards 2009 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, and Belle Glos 2009 Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir from Taylor Lane Vineyard.
• Hop to it! Create a Leap Frog cocktail (1 1/2 oz. gin, dash of lemon juice, fill glass with ice and ginger ale) with this 1.75-liter bottle of Beefeater gin--then savor it while perusing your colorful coffee table book about the fascinating frogs of the world.
• Bring this delicate beauty into your home—a lovely bird’s nest glass dish featuring original art by Marcia Gabet of Glass Trex Studio.
• Great golf! Tee off for 18 holes at the beautiful Fort Wayne Country Club with your party of three anytime this September or October—date to be arranged with a FWCC member.
• Envision this lovely photo of Eagle Marsh enhancing your special room, then bid on this framed work by David Tremain.
• Blue sky overhead, a stream rushing by, trout awaiting your fly....You'll know how to cast it with these three hours of fly fishing lessons offered by Rick Hinton, experienced fly fisherman, teacher, and fly shop manager of Pro Tackle Outfitters (Bait and Hook Store).
(New items will be added every week—keep checking!)