Hallwood 4-H club to host spaghetti feed, silent auction

Diana Vasquez, Appeal-Democrat, Marysville, Calif.
·4 min read

Jan. 22—The annual Spaghetti Feed and Silent Auction hosted by the Hallwood 4-H club will return in February after a few years of disruption due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

A fundraiser that supports the youth of the Hallwood 4-H club will be held on Friday, Feb. 11, at 7 p.m. at the Hallwood Community Church, located at 2825 State Highway 20 in Marysville. Seating is limited and community members interested in attending must purchase their tickets in advance. Tickets are $20 per person.

4-H is a youth development organization that empowers nearly 6 million youth members in the U.S. Each state and county has its own local 4-H programs and clubs. The Hallwood 4-H club is California's oldest continuously operated club in the state, according to Renick House, club leader at Hallwood 4-H.

House said the COVID-19 pandemic has presented challenges for the club, including a dramatic drop in membership.

"The club has not operated normally in a couple of years. The kids haven't had regular in-person meetings until this last year," said House. "They've been doing things online and on the Zoom platform, but we really want our kids to be able to get back to normal and get back to hands-on projects. So these types of fundraisers are going to fund the opportunities for these youths to get back to normal activities."

With the loss of club opportunities, House said the fundraiser and its success would help its club members to be able to participate in various projects throughout the community.

"Whether it's raising funds for their sheep project, their chickens, their turkeys, any of their arts and crafts projects or woodworking type of projects that they choose to enter into the Yuba Sutter Fair, all the activities they participate in come with the cost," said House.

House said there are 24 members in the club, the youngest participant being a five-year-old child and the oldest who is 17. According to House, two years ago, at the start of the pandemic, the Hallwood 4-H club did not meet for about two months. After those two months, club members began meeting virtually through the remainder of 2020 into 2021. When restrictions were lifted and changed, club members began meeting in-person with safety restrictions. During this time, club opportunities and events the youth members would normally participate in have been limited or cancelled.

"We used to be able to go to Chico Field Day and different colleges would offer learning experiences," said House. "They'd have opportunities for 4-H age camps and for different retreats for leadership. All those things were canceled or put on an online platform and so for us, that was a major loss."

However, the club and its members have found ways to continue with community service projects such as touring several care homes using the Yuba-Sutter Transit bus in December to bring people living in these care homes Christmas caroling music. In June, the club also participated in making an educational display at the Yuba-Sutter Fair. The club's commodities booth took first place and best of show. The club is looking forward to participating this year to defend their winning title, said House.

"This small group of future leaders, educators, farmers and conservationists entered more than 50 still exhibits in the 2021 Yuba-Sutter Fair receiving over 25 first place awards and numerous best in show, local favorite and other extraordinary marks," said House. "In order to continue growing our club and improving the educational opportunities for hundreds of local youth, we need to hold a few fundraisers a year, none bigger than our annual spaghetti feed."

The annual Spaghetti Feed and Silent Auction will include a spaghetti dinner with sides and non-alcoholic beverages, live music from Jennifer Ward and access to the silent auction. A purchase of a seat includes one ticket for the door prize raffle.

The Hallwood 4-H club would also appreciate any donors or businesses who would like to donate to the silent auction or sponsor the event. Sponsors will receive an event offering. Donors of $200 or more will receive one donor table that includes six attendees. Donors of $500 or more will receive one sponsor table which includes six attendees and a prime banner location at the dinner, with the sponsor banner provided. Donors of $1,000 or more will receive one sponsor table which includes six attendees, a main sponsor listing on all event advertisements and a prime banner location at the dinner, with the sponsor banner provided.

If any businesses would like to sponsor the event or to purchase a ticket and reserve a seat at the event, contact House at hallwood4h@gmail.com or call Hallwood 4-H at 530-645-2460.