The Lakeside Community Club is gearing up for its 25th annual Lakeside Community Fair on Saturday, July 12, and needs donations for the popular “Attic Treasures” sale and silent auction that raise money for a variety on area nonprofits.

Kathy Demler, chairwoman of the fair’s silent auction, said Community Club members are ready and waiting to process the boxes of donations they hope will soon be headed their way.

Gently used and clean donations may be brought to Lakeside Elementary School, 255 Adams St., between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Monday through Thursday, June 30 to July 3, and again July 7 through July 9.

Special arrangements for drop-offs or pick-ups can be made by calling Sally at 857-3681.

“We get a lot of unique and rare things,” Demler said about past silent auction offerings. “Sometimes there’s an opportunity to find a real treasure.”

One year someone donated an antique wooden boat; another time a set of dishes valued at $5,000 was donated and sold for just $400.

Among this year’s silent auction items are collectibles, artwork and numbered prints signed by the artist, antiques, vintage items and a unique 43-by-81-inch Western-theme mural.

“This year we may have an original Matisse,” Community Club President Deb Newell said, referring to French artist Henri Matisse. “We have to take it apart to make sure.”

The Attic Treasures sale offers a variety of gently used items ranging from collectibles to household goods, tools and furniture.

There’s an element of intrigue in the variety of donations dropped for the annual fundraiser, Newell said. One year she sorted through a box of paperwork she was sure was garbage, only to discover a packet of gold coins at the bottom of the box.

Clothing, computers, TVs, Christmas lights, exercise and ski equipment, mattresses and bed pillows cannot be accepted.

Lakeside Community Club members have raised more than $400,000 over the years that has been donated to local nonprofit organizations such as Lakeside Quick Response Unit, the county animal shelter, West Shore Food Bank, West Shore Community Library and volunteer fire departments along the West Shore area.

ALERT, the Retired Senior Volunteer Program and Lakeside Community Development Foundation also are among the organizations that have benefited from the donations made possible by the silent auction and Attic Treasures sale.

The Lakeside Fair and Summerfest has been expanded this year to include activities sponsored by the new West Shore Visitor Bureau. Activities run from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. on July 12.

“Every dollar raised at the fair is used to benefit our community,” Newell said.

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by email at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com.