— The Rock River Garden Club held its 11th annual fundraiser, Blooming on The Rock, at the Dixon riverfront Saturday evening. The theme was “Fiesta on the Rock.” From 5-9 p.
m., the 192 ticket-holders enjoyed a Mexican-themed buffet and margarita flights, participated in a live auction of planters made by the club’s members and prizes donated by local businesses and enjoyed a cash bar provided by Tipsy’s. The Rock River Garden Club, a member of the , was established in 1957.
Most notably, the club sets up flower arrangements and plant gardens at different local landmarks, including Veterans Park, the Post House Ballroom, Ronald Reagan’s Boyhood Home, the riverfront and more. The live auction, the hallmark of the event, began at 7 p.m.
Debbie Nagy, a member of Discover Dixon’s beautification committee, announced each auction item as it was presented and Mike Venier, Dixon city council member, acted as auctioneer. All proceeds “go to the petunias and everything else around us that’s beautiful in Dixon,” Venier said at the event. The fundraiser raised just under $15,000, which will be donated to Dixon in Bloom for the petunias that are displayed around town during the summer months; put toward the community gardens that the club plants and maintains; and donated to Beautify Dixon, for the various beautification projects the group hosts, Nagy said in an interview with Shaw Local.
Participants bid on 33 items, including elaborate flowerpots grown and planted by .
