It will be a busy weekend at Manheim Christian Day School on Friday, April 23, and Saturday, April 24, when the school holds its 45th annual benefit auction and family fun days.

The event will kick off with a dine-in or drive-through pork barbecue dinner on Friday from 3:15 to 6:30 p.m. at the school, located at 686 Lebanon Road, Manheim. The dinner will include Peters' Barbecue pulled pork, a baked potato, applesauce, a pickle, a homemade roll, a dessert and a beverage. Bake sale items will also be available in the school's gym. Advance tickets for the barbecue must be reserved by Friday, April 16, said Jen Kosydar, events coordinator and auction committee member. A limited number of walk-in tickets will be available for the barbecue.

A silent auction will begin at 4 p.m. on Friday and will run through noon on Saturday, Kosydar said. Students from Lead Now, a seventh- and eighth-grade student leadership group, will lead a welcome at 6 p.m. on Friday, followed by a live auction as well as presentations of class projects. "This includes the 'Seed to Sow' project, where each fourth-grade student is given $10 to use toward creating and selling a product to sell in the month leading up to the auction," Kosydar explained. "Each of their products is then auctioned off that evening. (Other) items for the auction will include a children's wooden picnic table, a handmade quilt, yard games and dessert trays, all personalized by individual classes."

On Saturday, the live auction will begin at 9 a.m. Specific items will be highlighted throughout the day, such as tools, hunting, camping and fishing items, lawn and garden equipment, general merchandise and gift certificates. Saturday will also feature children's activities, including inflatables, a petting zoo, barrel train rides, face painting and games. Among the additional activities on Saturday will be a candy scramble and a presentation by Jesse Rothacker of Forgotten Friend Reptile Sanctuary.

Additional auction items will include outdoor furniture, John Deere equipment, Hersheypark tickets, plants and a chicken coop, Kosydar said. She emphasized that this year's event is especially important for the school, which serves students in prekindergarten through eighth grade.

"We were not able to have our auction last year, but we raised over $162,000 in 2019," she noted. "All proceeds go toward helping to make Christian education affordable for more families, purchasing new technology and funding essential building projects."

For more information on the event, as well as a full schedule of activities, visit http://www.manheimchristian.org or call the school office at 717-665-4300.