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Night Owl on the Town Gala Fundraiser for the Southwest Virginia Wildlife Center this weekend at Hotel Roanoke

The event will take place on Sep. 28

Southwest Virginia goes ‘nuts’ for dwarf ambassador squirrel at local wildlife center

ROANOKE, Va. – A Night Owl on the Town. Tickets are on sale now for the annual Gala Fundraiser for the Southwest Virginia Wildlife Center.

It’s the non-profit’s largest fundraiser of the year, supporting its mission of rehabilitating injured and orphaned wildlife.

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This year the gala is at the Hotel Roanoke with a night full of dancing, cocktails, live music, dinner, hors d’oeuvres and special appearances from the center’s wildlife ambassadors.

“How often do you get to go out, dress up, and walk around and see wildlife within 10 feet? We can’t let folks pet them. But these are animals that cannot be released and they are ambassadors for our center to show what we work with because they are so important for our environment.” Sabrina Garvin from the Southwest Virginia Wildlife Center said.

There will be a silent and live auction on thousands of dollars worth of items including a trip to Mexico, tickets to Dollywood, hotel stays at the Greenbrier and Omni Homestead and more.

Garvin said the gala fundraiser is their largest event of the year and critical to financially supporting their mission.

“We are funded mainly by donations from the public so periodically we have to have special events to create more monetary donations because it is a lot of animals to care for these animals, feed them, medicate them, build caging. There are a few grants out there but our main source of income is the public,” Garvin said.

Our very own John Carlin will also serve as an auctioneer.

You can purchase tickets here.

Anyone can bid on the silent auction items online here.


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About the Author
Rachel Lucas headshot

Watch Rachel anchor weekdays during 10 News at 5, 5:30, 6 and 7 p.m. Rachel also specializes in health reporting and provides daily reports during HealthWatch. A Southwest Virginia native, Rachel takes pride in covering local news for the place she calls home.