Art House Productions raises $2,000 by auctioning talented Jersey City bachelors and bachelorettes

April 24, 2012, 9:07 PM
By Adam Robb/For The Jersey Journal

Wednesday night's Relay for Life benefit in Hoboken wasn't last week's only bachelor and bachelorette auction for a good cause. On Saturday night, 13 of Jersey City's most eligible went on the block in Hamilton Park to raise money for Art House Productions.

The night doubled as an opportunity for the available men and women to promote their own unique talents.

"We wanted to pick bachelors and bachelorettes who were entrepreneurs in Jersey City because we wanted to put a new spin on the auction fundraiser," Art House Productions founder Christine Goodman told us. "We wanted it to also be a promotional opportunity. People can talk about their businesses and what they do here."

Those skills included cooking lessons from Bar Majestic owner Joseph Castro, who used the stage as an opportunity to promote his forthcoming Barrio Bar Cevicheria, a Peruvian restaurant with rooftop Tiki bar opening later this summer on Newark Avenue; closet organizing from Anne McTernan, an interior designer by day, Marco & Pepe waitress by night; and a custom shirt from the well-tailored DeCarlos Morse of Decarlos Bespoke, one of the most pursued bachelors of the night.

But before the evening's emcee, Dancing Tony, called up the first lot, bachelorette Cealleigh Pender took the stage to perform with her band Folderol.

Pender, a California native who is now a massage therapist in Hamilton Park, moved to Jersey City two years ago and instantly found a home in Art House Productions, a non-profit, community performance space.

"And now, because I know two-thirds of the people being sold tonight, because I'm so active in the community myself, anytime I can help Art House raise money, I do it," Pender told us.

Local playwright Summer Dawn Hortillosa -- a former Jersey Journal reporter who now freelances for the paper -- has been involved with Art House Productions since high school and feels a similar bond.

"I saw that they were looking for people who were willing to help the arts by selling themselves and I thought hey that would be great," she said, attributing her emergence as an artist to Art House, where she staged Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night'' as a director at the age of 16.

Saturday night was only the second time Art House hosted a bachelor auction, their first having been in 2010 when they raised $1,600. This year, the group raised $2,000, in part due to the enthusiasm of the desired dates' willingness to do anything for a buck, no matter how humbling.

For Thomas John Carlson, the founder of Jersey City Art School, that meant doing a push-up for every dollar he wanted bidding to increase. For Hortillosa it was tap dancing with jazz hands. Maybe most torturous, McTernan had to confess to the crowd how seeing Snooki in Jersey City changed her life.

http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/20 ... productions_raises_f.html

We "pay" for the date!

Each winning bidder will get a gift certificate to one of our fabulous sponsor restaurants for their date!

We hope you all will join us this Saturday - it really will be a fantastic night! Live music by FOLDEROL, refreshments courtesy of Parkside Bistro, and door prizes for some of our lucky guests!

Meet our Bachelors and Bachelorettes HERE:
We "pay" for the date!

Each winning bidder will get a gift certificate to one of our fabulous sponsor restaurants for their date!

We hope you all will join us this Saturday - it really will be a fantastic night! Live music by FOLDEROL, refreshments courtesy of Parkside Bistro, and door prizes for some of our lucky guests!

Meet our Bachelors and Bachelorettes HERE:
http://myemail.constantcontact.com/Bi ... 040628190&aid=jRbCGgqBtv8


Thank you to our Amazing Sponsors:

SPONSORED BY
YELP

THANK YOU TO OUR WONDERFUL RESTAURANT DONORS WHO HAVE SPONSORED THIS EVENT:
HAMILTON INN, PARK & SIXTH, KOMEGASHI, BRIGHTSIDE TAVERN, SATIS BISTRO, SAIGON CAF?, LITM, SKINNER?S LOFT, GP?S RESTAURANT, PARKSIDE BISTRO, SAWADEE, MORE, LIGHT HORSE TAVERN, AND BISTRO LA SOURCE.

BIG THANKS TO
Rich Kiamco?s THE LAUGH TOUR,
FIZZY LIZZY, and BALANCE SALON

Made possible by SILVERMAN and Hamilton Square. For more information, please visit www.LivingOnThePark.com


www.arthouseproductions.org

Who pays for the date, and does it depend on who dates who or do they just go dutch ? Are any of the contestants single and looking and will they be gender specific ?

If I am feeling lonely that night (and have the cash) I may just stop by. Sounds like a good time will be had by all.

Art House Productions
cordially invites you to attend



SATURDAY, APRIL 21ST * 8PM-11PM

FREE ADMISSION!

DOOR PRIZES!
INCLUDING GIFT CERTIFICATES FOR DINNERS,
SALON SERVICES AND NIGHTS ON THE TOWN!

Hosted by Jersey City?s Own
DANCING TONY

Location
Art House Productions
Hamilton Square, 1 McWilliams Place, 6th Floor, Jersey City, NJ 07302
(SE Corner of Hamilton Park, near Erie/8th St)

Putting a new spin on bachelor/ette auctions. Come on out and have fun!
Embrace the ridiculousness and help our participants promote themselves! Bid on someone you find interesting. Bid on someone you want to have a conversation with, learn from, break bread with. Then who knows? Maybe the sparks will fly!

THANK YOU TO OUR EVENT SPONSORS:
HAMILTON INN, PARK & SIXTH, KOMEGASHI, BRIGHTSIDE TAVERN, SATIS BISTRO, SAIGON CAF?, LITM, SKINNER?S LOFT, GP?S RESTAURANT, PARKSIDE BISTRO, SAWADEE, MORE, LIGHT HORSE TAVERN, AND BISTRO LA SOURCE.

Big thanks to Rich Kiamco?s THE LAUGH TOUR, FIZZY LIZZY, and BALANCE SALON

Made possible by SILVERMAN and Hamilton Square. For more information, please visit www.LivingOnThePark.com


List of bachelors and bachelorettes can be viewed at: www.arthouseproductions.org