6:30 pm  Public Tasting and Silent Auction Begins Donors purchase coupon books ($5) when they enter the festival. Each book has nine coupons; each coupon can be exchanged for a sample of one dessert. Ballots to vote for the People's Choice in the amateur and professional categories are at the back of the coupon book Attendees should register and receive a bid number at the Bid Registration Table at the top of the stairs in the Bullen Center . Bid numbers are needed for both the Silent and Live Auctions. The silent auction takes place during the public tasting. Professional entries are available for tasting and People's Choice voting but will not be part of the silent auction. All other dessert entries are available for bidding in the silent auction until the category winners selected by the judges are announced at 8:00 . 7:45 pm Voting for People's Choice closes for counting of ballots. 8:00 pm Initial phase of the Silent Auction closes. At this time, all award-winning desserts will be pulled from the Silent Auction and placed on stage for the live auction. Their opening bid will be the amount of the last Silent Auction bid. Award winners (including People's Choice) will be announced and their creators presented with plaques and/or prizes donated by local businesses. Silent Auction bidding will continue in the Auction Pick-Up Area for approximately 30 minutes after the announcement of the award winners. Results of the Silent Auction bidding will be posted in the lobby approximately 30 minutes after the Silent Auction ends. 8:15 pm Live Auction begins Val Grant (or a comparable substitute!) presides over an exciting bidding event. Each dessert is walked around the room as it is auctioned. Bidders must use their bid number during the live auction. Bidding is tracked by the auctioneer as well as an Auction Recorder. When the bidding ends for an item, the auctioneer announces the item number, bid number of the winner and amount they bid. Desserts will be held in the Auction Pick-up Room until they are paid for at the Check-out Table and claimed. An Auction Record Slip is completed for each item after it is sold and that slip is filed at the Check-Out Table. When paying for auction items, bidders present their bid number at the Check-Out Table and all of their auction slips are totaled. In addition to desserts, a variety of non-dessert items are auctioned each year. 9:45 pm Auction winds down. People leave the festival gorged on chocolate and good spirits. :) | 
