Possible Dreams become profitable realities

"I like those five figures!" Possible Dreams co-auctioneer Rick Lee growled as the bidding on a day of painting with Allen Whiting topped $10,000 at the annual event. That particular Dream wound up going for $11,000, making it one of the top events at Monday night's auction.
The 31st annual Possible Dreams Auction drew hundreds of attendees, some of whom were active bidders and many of whom paid their $25 admission fee just to watch the action and look for celebrities beneath the spacious white tents set up in Oak Bluffs' Ocean Park.
While lawyer Alan Dershowitz and director Harold Ramis took turns at the podium to help pitch some of the Dreams, the crowd seemed most intrigued by a star who wasn't there: Carly Simon literally phoned in her appearance. The singer-writer called auctioneer Susan Klein to apologize for not being there in person -- she blamed too much wine and chocolate on Sunday evening -- and to sing a few bars of her Vineyard-inspired ballad "Never Been Gone" via speakerphone. A musical sailing trip with Simon, Singer-songwriter Benjamin Taylor and boat designer Nat Benjamin brought in $10,000.
Here's a sampling of the final prices on some of the other Dreams: a visit to the set of "Monk," including lunch with star Tony Shalhoub -- $4000; a job as an extra in director Peter Farrelly's soon-to-be-shot new comedy with Hugh Jackman and Kate Winslet -- $10,500; a Provencal Culinary Adventure with Espresso Love chef Carol McManus -- $16,000; a visit to the school or library of your choice by "Arthur" creator Marc Brown -- $10,000; a private screening of director Doug Liman's "Fair Game," starring Sean Penn and Naomi Watts -- $5000; a consultation with designer Kenneth Cole -- $3500; dinner and cocktails for 30 people aboard Nancy and Chuck Parrish's yacht Freedom -- $13,000.
Proceeds from the event, which was dedicated to the late newsman and Vineyard resident Walter Cronkite, brought in approximately $260,000 for Martha's Vineyard Community Services.
The nearly three-hour-long auction featured guest appearances by Clifford the Big Red Dog (a picnic with Clifford and creator Norman Bridwell sold for $6000) and Pulitzer Prize-winning authors Tony Horwitz and Geraldine Brooks (dinner with the couple at Sweet Life Cafe went for $7000). The tone was generally lighthearted, with some good-natured warnings being issued to audience members. "If you're not waving to somebody, ma'am, you're in trouble," Klein told one woman in the midst of a sale.
Pushing a Dream that involved dinner with author Robin Cook and an autographed first-edition of his soon-to-be-released thriller "Intervention," Ramis poked fun at Cook's fondness for one-word titles by referring to the novel on separate occasions as "Migraine" and "Hernia." (It took $3500 to buy Cook's book, by the way.)
Even so, there was a brief moment of tension when Lee sold a kite surfing lesson with Black Dog CEO Rob Douglas for $1000, even though a patron had signalled his willingness to pay $1500 for the Dream; Lee hadn't seen the man's hand go up and closed the auction, prompting a few unhappy murmurs from the crowd. "Forgive me," Lee said. "It gets crazy up here."
That wasn't a joke. A few Dreams provoked miniature bidding wars, particularly the last Dream on the block: an oil painting created by Meg Mercier as the auction was unfolding. A flurry of early bidding gave way to an intense contest between two very competitive parties. In the end, Mercier's artwork brought in $4200, a tidy sum for a few hours' work.