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The first event of the 2007 arts festival is the annual fundraiser, a Blues and Barbeque party set for April 27 at Ark City Dance. The evening begins with a brisket meal, followed by a live auction. The Howlerz will be on hand to entertain with fantastic blues after the auction.

There are many items that will be up for auction, including six VIP passes to the Strother Field Air Show, coming up this summer. The passes include parking, the BBQ, and the evening's show.

A complete listing of the over twenty-five items is available at the PrairieFest website, www.arkcity.org/prairiefest.

The Howlerz, a fun new blues band is comprised of four familiar musicians including Jan Hatfield, Clayton Crawford, Lee Velasquez and Kirk Russell. They will take the stage at about 9 p.m. and provide music for listening, foot-tapping and dancing for the remainder of the evening.

Tickets are $15 per person, or $25 a couple. Each person will be presented with sunglasses when they arrive at the party, to set the mood for a cool Blues evening. Tickets may be purchased at the Ark City Chamber or Ark City Area Council of the Arts. Call 620-442-5895 or 620-506-7316 for more information.

Some of the other items up for bid are a "Dessert-a-Month Club" and "Soup-of-the-Month" prepared by a number of local cooks delivered to the winner's home; Barbara Booher's famous homemade tacos; children's birthday party, includes swimming if desired at Ann Gray's home; up to fifty Christmas packages personally gift wrapped by the staff at the Ark City Chamber of Commerce.