Bidders Line Up For Dessert

The 5th Annual Girl Scout Dessert Auction drew a substantial crowd on Saturday.

Oskaloosa, Iowa – It was a sweet time inside the always busy Penn Central Mall on Saturday, as area Girl Scouts hosted their annual dessert auction.

Now in its 5th year, the auction continues to grow, says Sandi Tucker-Stanbro, Girl Scouts volunteer. The first year of the auction generated approximately $2,000. This year, the hope is to generate $3,500 to help offset the cost for local Girl Scouts going to camp.

Last year, approximately 40 girls went to camp.

To qualify for the assistance, the girls either make a cake, or work the auction. “The girls really pull out all the stops,” says Stanbro.

Stanbro said that at times it is a mom bidding on her daughters cake, but there are times where the bidding gets intense and your not sure who you are bidding against. “I know I’ve bought cakes that didn’t belong to me, and sometimes there’s a pity-bid or two here. Sometimes we will have girls who brought a cake, but their parents couldn’t stay for what-ever reason.”

Cakes were judged on five categories; most creative, favorite storybook, animals, best use of Girl Scout cookies and best use of a Girl Scout theme.

If you couldn’t wait for the judging to finish, you could enjoy the “buy-it-now” table filled with treats and pizza from Pizza Ranch. There was balloon animals, face painting and many other activities to help keep younger attendees occupied while the judging took place.