All seats were taken, girls were screaming and half-naked confident men danced on stage as people laughed, struggling not to fall off their seats.
About 1,300 people filled the Chiles Center with anticipation and excitement on Saturday night to watch Villa Maria Hall’s annual “Man Auction.” For some, it was their first time attending the event while for others it was their 10th.
Man Action is an annual charity event where groups of male Villa residents and a few special guests perform some type of skit or act and are auctioned off for a date with the highest bidder(s).
The event supports the Holy Cross Charities. This year, the Man Auction raised over $7,000, less than the previous year’s auction which generated about $12,000. All proceeds went to the work of Holy Cross at Yancana Huasy, a children center in Canto Grande, Peru that focuses on helping children with physical and mental disabilities.
Because of the soccer game and the hall’s very important role as the Villa Maria Drum Squad, the Hall Council decided to hold the auction at 9:30 p.m. which was historically late for the event.
This year’s auction, entitled “Let a Villan Fly You to the Moon,” is space-themed. Tom Bornhop, a member of the Villa Maria Hall Council, said prior to the event that they have been working really hard to make the event possible.
“We didn’t know that the last game of the (men’s soccer) season was going to be on the day of our event, so that kinda threw us a curveball,” Bornhop said. “But we’re taking it as a blessing and hoping that the soccer game doesn’t take away from our attendance.”
And it definitely did not. The Chiles Center was so packed during the night of the event that the Hall Council had to add more chairs for people to sit.
The event consisted of different groups of men with unique and funny group names such as Miley’s Revenge, Definitely Dudes or RA Feud who performed various acts such as dancing, presenting a skit, playing an instrument and singing.
The audience laughed, cheered and screamed as the acts went on throughout the night. One skit depicted Miley Cyrus’ journey from a blonde Hannah Montana singing “Nobody’s Perfect” to the scantily clad Miley rolling around singing “Wrecking Ball”. Another dance act featured students wearing cut-out shorts, white crop tops and flannels and eventually did a backflip.
“It’s my second time attending and the different acts were done well, especially Miley’s Revenge which I thought was hilarious,” Sophomore Elaika Celemen said. “It’s nice to have some laughs especially after everything that happened this week.”
Creativity and originality permeated the stage. A group called The Adults in the Room performed their very own rendition of O.T. Genesis’ “Cut it” and titled it “Study”, encouraging students to study harder. While an act from Power Tear gave a unique concert-type feeling to the audience.
One group danced and dressed up as “Napoleon Dynamite” while another group performed with instruments while wearing tight pink crop tops and Under Armour tights.And despite PowerPoint technical difficulties, the Villa Maria Hall Resident Assistants refused to stop their skit of their own version of Family Feud.
Sister Sue and the Holy Rollers, consisting of Sr. Sue Bruno, Fr. Mark Poorman, Fr. Charlie McCoy, Br. Joe DeAgostino, Brendan Ryan, Fr. Gerry Olinger, Fr. Ed Obermiller and Fr. Dan Parrish, brought laughter to the audience. The group offered a 3 course dinner and a sparkling conversation at University President Fr. Mark Poorman’s house.
Definitely Dudes, who danced to Katy Perry’s “California Girls” while wearing different colored wigs and two pieces, poured whip cream all over their bodies and received one of the highest bids of $700. And as a surprise act, the Men’s Soccer Team, which was crowned WCC Champions that same night, joined the auction and helped raise over a thousand dollars.
Justin Dingman, who is also a Villa Hall Council member and a transfer student from Montana, heard about the Man Auction and emphasized that it was one of the reasons why he chose to be in Villa Maria Hall.
“For me it means more than just a charity event or something a bunch of guys do to have fun, it’s more of a community event where we in UP come together and are able to laugh at ourselves and have fun,” Dingman said. “Plus, it’s for a good cause.”
Though the audience turnout was strong, the auction’s late time slot still may have affected the fundraising aspect of the event.
“I’m happy so many people came to support the event and the Holy Cross Charities,” Bornhop said. “I am excited for next year's auction where we can improve our numbers even more!”
