2010 Wagapalooza Raffle: Prizes, Food and Entertainment Galore


By Dr. Elaine Campbell
Special to St. John Tradewinds

It’s all coming on Saturday, May 22, at Winston Wells ball field in Cruz Bay. The annual Wagapalooza dog show and tenth anniversary celebration will start at 5 p.m. and continue on through the evening.

The Waga-unique dog show categories will earn ribbons for the dogs and their owners, Top Dog food creators will feature crowd-pleasing quick eats, and entertainments like face painting and a fire show will add to the carnival atmosphere. There is no admission fee to attend Wagapalooza, and all proceeds from raffles, show entries, and on-the-spot donations will go to the Animal Care Center of St. John to help them feed and medicate the island cats and dogs housed at the shelter.

The bounty of raffles donated in advance to Waga exceeds all previous years. At last count, sixty fantastic raffle prizes have been donated. With raffle tickets at $5 each or five tickets for $20, it would be hard not to win one of these fabulous prizes.

 

A hint of the the offerings include restaurant certificates from $200 through $25 with many restaurants offering $100 certificates. Several restaurants offer “dinner for two.” Just a few of the island favorites include Café Roma, Hinds, Crazy Crackers, La Tapa, Donkey Diner, Ocean Grill, Spyglass, Shipwreck, Woody’s, Island Blues, the Tourist Trap, Woody’s, Skinny Legs and ZoZo’s.

 

For Waga attendees hoping for a weekend escape, there are two-night, weekend, and one week stays available from Plumeria, Captain’s View, Century Hill, Gallows Point, Garden by the Sea, Maho Bay, Concordia, Coconut Coast Villas, Grande Bay and St. John Inn.

Gardeners might get lucky with a raffle prize from Alfredo’s Garden Center or from the Coral Bay Garden Center. Bud-light cooler, backpack, tailgate grill, glass set; a pedicure; four bottles of champagne; passes to the Butterfly Farm and to Coral World; free sunset sails, pet photo sessions, and a display ad in Tradewinds are only a few of the other wonderful offerings.

Island services that can be won with one raffle ticket include, among others, a free wedding service, a car servicing certificate, 19 free movies, a teeth-whitening appointment, an eye examination with glasses, a Connections service, a $350 certificate for health care services, a visit to Canines, Cats and Critters, and a $100 certificate from Chelsea Drug Store.

For those of us who enjoy jewelry, Caravan Gallery offers a selection as does Kissed by Fire Creations. An especially fortunate ticket holder will receive from Michael Banzhaft’s Gallery a matted print of one of Monica Rio’s very, very special acrylics featuring “Precious” or “Mango” or “Papaya” — all St. John cats who patronize the ACC feeding station at Concordia.

There are other “fun” raffle prizes such as canvas tote bags, tee-shirts, and a doggie gift bag. Not to be forgotten is a simple $500 donation from Roger Harland & Associates. Additional raffle prizes are still coming in!

Throughout the evening of Wagapalooza, raffle tickets — all of which will have been put into a big container — will be pulled out. The top five prizes (and it will be hard to determine which they might be) will be the last to be picked. Winners will be posted on a chalk board during the evening, and the next day all raffle prize winners will be called.

Raffle tickets can be purchased at Connections, St. John Hardware, Frames of Mind, and the ACC shelter. During Wagapalooza they can be purchased at the raffle table and from clearly identified ticket sellers. It isn’t necessary to be present to win.