One of the puppies that may make an appearance at this year's Humane Society for Greater Nashua's Benefit Dinner and Auction. (Courtesy photo)

NASHUA – The evening of “great company, great music, “delectable” culinary offerings, live and silent auctions and presentation of Pet’s Choice awards known as the Humane Society for Greater Nashua’s annual Benefit Dinner & Auction has an added attraction this year: The return to an in-person event.

“It’s going to be so nice to have people there in person,” Katie Boyden, the society’s director of community engagement, said of the upcoming event.

“They do so much for our organization. To be able to thank them in person is huge,” she added.

Tickets are now available for the event, which will take place from 5:00 to 8:30 p.m. Sunday, June 6, at Alpine Grove in Hollis.

An added feature this year is a two-week online auction that begins Friday, May 21, and closes at 11:59 p.m. Friday, June 4, according to Boyden.

One of the puppies that may make an appearance at this year's Humane Society for Greater Nashua's Benefit Dinner and Auction. (Courtesy photo)

Bidders can register in advance, and tickets can be purchased, at www.hsfn.org. See accompanying information box for details.

The evening kicks off with an outdoor social under a tent, followed by dinner buffet-style and the evening’s program.

Boyden said organizers plan to “hold back” about 10-15 items from the online auction, with bidding to resume as a live auction at the event. A silent auction will also take place.

This year’s Pet’s Choice Awards will be presented to an outstanding volunteer and to representatives of the Red Acre Foundation, a nonprofit humane organization based in Stow, Massachusetts that Boyden said has long advocated for the Humane Society and has been “very generous with grants.”

The volunteer selected for the award is Sarah Gerardi, who has volunteered at the society “since she was a little girl,” Boyden said.

One of the puppies that may make an appearance at this year's Humane Society for Greater Nashua's Benefit Dinner and Auction. (Courtesy photo)

“She started coming in with her Mom to volunteer, and kept coming back,” Boyden said. “She’s been an incredible volunteer for us,” she said, adding that Gerardi, who is graduating from high school in June and goes on to college, plans to return during breaks to do some volunteering.

At some point during the evening, a transport van will roll into the Alpine Grove parking lot full of special passengers: Puppies, many of them collected from so-called “high-kill” shelters and overcrowded ones and transported here in hopes of being adopted.

Nearly three-quarters of the puppies and dogs that are adopted through the Humane Society come from other parts of the country, Boyden said.

Many of those come from Southern states, where spaying and neutering regulations are nearly non-existent and animal-care education is mostly lost on the animal owners in the region.

The dynamic, while troubling on the surface, is actually a “win-win” situation for this area, Boyden said. “Up here, there’s a big demand (for adoptions) but not much supply,” she said. “So it’s a win-win, because we’re saving a lot of lives” by transporting animals from away to Nashua.

The logo for the Humane Society for Greater Nashua's 2021 Benefit Dinner and Auction.

“It’s a program we’re really proud of,” Boyden added, noting that her adopted cat came to Nashua from Puerto Rico.

As for the transport van’s stop at Alpine Grove, the best part, Boyden said, is that the puppies on board will be available for adoption.

“Our guests will get a first look,” she said, adding that “they will have the opportunity to apply for an adoption before these pups even reach our website.”

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IF YOU GO

The logo for the Red Acre Foundation, a major benefactor of the Humane Society for Greater Nashua

The Humane Society for Greater Nashua’s annual Benefit Dinner & Auction is taking place in-person this year.

WHEN: 5:00 – 8:30 p.m. Sunday, June 6

WHERE: Alpine Grove, 19 S. Depot Road, Hollis

HOW MUCH: Tickets are $85 per person; a table of eight is $600. Tickets are available at www.hsfn.org/upcoming-events/auction

MORE: An online auction of nearly 100 donated items will take place from Friday, May 21 to 11:59 p.m. Friday, June 4. Participants can register in advance at www.hsfn.org/upcoming-events/auction.

Sarah Gerardi, who has volunteered for the Humane Society for Greater Nashua since she was a child and plans to continue doing so when she goes to college later this year, has been named one of two recipients of the socity's 2021 Pet's Choice Awards. (Courtesy photo)

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Dean Shalhoup may be reached at 594-1256 or dshalhoup@nashuatelegraph.com.

K.C. DeCastro meets 'Ginger,' one of the dogs and puppies who appeared at the Humane Society for Greater Nashua's 2019 Dinner and Benefit Auction. Volunteer Daniella Pacheco is at left. (Telegraph file photo by DEAN SHALHOUP)

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