Fur Ball Gala & Auction FAQ

Please wear festive party attire…and cat ears if you’re so inclined!

The Fur Ball begins at 5:30 p.m. with cocktails and hors d’oeuvres, music and our silent auction.

The Fur Ball festivities begin at 5:30 p.m. with check in, hors d’oeuvres, music and silent auction until 7:15 p.m. at which time the silent auction and raffle sales will will close, and dinner will then be served Around 8:15 p.m. Randy Price and Steve will take over as hosts for the live auction and raffle drawings. Following the live auction and Tails with Tales Fund a Need appeal, there will be an ice cream Sundae Bar and check out starting at approximately 9:30 p.m.

PLEASE NOTE that check-out cannot begin before 9:30 pm to give us ample time to enter all auction items into our computer system. If you need to leave prior to that time, please make arrangements to pick up your auction items by emailing furball@mrfrs.org after the Fur Ball.

We accept cash, check and credit cards. Please note that there are two ATMs on site at the Andover Country Club.

Visa, Master Card, Discover and American Express can all be accepted for the purchase of auction items, and raffle tickets.

You can enter http://www.biddingforgood.com/mrfrs on your web browser or you can go the mrfrs.org website and access the Fur Ball auction through a link on the MRFRS home page.

Bidding for Good allows you to bid on silent auction items even if you are not going to attend the Fur Ball. You have the option of indicating a top bid for each item. At the close of the online auction on November 4, the top bid will be carried over to the Fur Ball. We will receive a report of anyone who has indicated a higher bid. During the course of the Fur Ball, a person will be assigned to watch the items being bid on and to record your bid, if necessary.

For example: You enter into Bidding for Good a top bid of $120 for a cat statue. During the online bidding, the top bid is $80. On the 22^nd, when the online component is closed, a bid sheet will be generated showing the top bid of $80. At the Fur Ball if a person writes a bid of $90 on the bid sheet, a MRFRS representative will write in your bid at $100 ($10 increments). If no one bids after that entry, you will be awarded the auction item. If another person bids $110, the MRFRS representative will bid your maximum bid of $120. If someone bids higher than $120, no further bid will be made on your behalf. Therefore it is important that you indicate on Bidding for Good the highest amount you would be willing to pay for the auction item. The MRFRS representative will bid only as needed up to your highest bid.

Yes, as we traditionally do, there will be a raffle to benefit the Captain Courageous Fund.

Raffle sales raise money for MRFRS’ Captain Courageous Fund, which offers assistance to caretakers of seriously injured feral and stray cats, and to Good Samaritans who assist injured cats out of their own pockets. The fund is named for “The Captain,” a waterfront feral cat from MRFRS’s early days and is funded exclusively through their raffle efforts during the year and from donations identified specifically for the Captain Courageous Fund. Tickets are $5 each; and 5 for $20. 350 tickets will be sold and the raffle prize is a lovely plant with $100 of Massachusetts State Lottery scratch tickets.