POSSIBLE DREAMS AUCTION FEATURES NEW SITE, DATE AND AUCTIONEER

EDGARTOWN -- The Art Buchwald Possible Dreams Auction, the signature summer event that benefits Martha’s Vineyard Community Services, will be celebrating its 35^th birthday this summer -- at a new site, on a new day and date, and with a new auctioneer.

The auction has relocated to the Winnetu Resort in the Katama section of Edgartown. In addition, the auction has moved to a new day and month on the summer calendar -- Sunday, July 28, instead of the first Monday in August.

“This great event promises to be even more exciting this year,” said Sandra Pimentel, the chairperson for the auction.  

Another significant change will be a symbolic passing of the auctioneer’s gavel to Cambridge-based comic Jimmy Tingle. Mr. Tingle, a 2010 graduate from and commencement speaker at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government and well known for his social and political humor, wrote, produced and starred in “Jimmy Tingle’s American Dream,” a documentary that appeared on 60 PBS stations in 2011 and 2012.

He has worked as a writer and humorist for two seasons at 60 Minutes II in the “Andy Rooney spot” and was a regular contributor and commentator at MSNBC .

He has been featured in his own half-hour comedy special on HBO and appeared on The Tonight Show, Late Night with Conan O’Brien, CNN, the American Comedy Awards and “Fresh Air with Terry Gross” on National Public Radio.

For many years, renowned humorist and Washington Post columnist Art Buchwald emceed and anchored the annual event. In fact, this year the auction has been renamed in his honor, as the Art Buchwald Possible Dreams Auction. (Mr. Buchwald died in 2007)

“Jimmy Tingle represents many of the things we loved about Art Buchwald,” said Ms. Pimentel. “He’s funny, he cares about helping those in need and he has an affection for the Island.”

The auction returns to Edgartown, where it was held for its first 29 years, followed by one year at a site near the Martha’s Vineyard Airport, before settling in at Ocean Park in Oak Bluffs for the past four years. 

The auction’s standing as a premiere summer event stems from the cause it serves – Community Services’ various programs that benefit year-round and summer residents – and its one-of-a-kind “dreams” that are auctioned during the event. Throughout the years, the auction also has attracted national attention because of the celebrities and other notables who attend the auction and donate “dreams” to benefit the cause.

Martha’s Vineyard Community Services delivers a wide array of programs and services to more than 6,000 people annually. It includes the Island Counseling Center, which offers behavioral health and substance abuse treatment; Early Childhood Programs, including Head Start, child care services and education and support through the MV Family Center; CONNECT to End Violence, a Domestic Violence Rape Crisis Center providing free and confidential services; and Disability Services, which offers programs for persons living with disabilities and their families.

The agency also runs the Thrift Shop in Vineyard Haven, known to many islanders as “Chicken Alley,” which provides recycled clothing and household items for the community.

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