We are now accepting donations for Strangercrombie, our annual fundraiser for charity. This year we’re raising money for Treehouse. Treehouse helps over 5,500 foster kids a year with clothing, school supplies, tutoring and other critical services.

Each year Seattle businesses generously donate their finest goods and services to our holiday auction—last year we raised more than 60,000 dollars for charity. We're also asking you for your help, to make Strangercrombie an even bigger success.

We need your donations!

Here are the kind of things we’re looking for:

Fabulous vacation packages.
Rare orchids.
Those vintage LPs you’ve finally decided to give up.

Here's what we don't want: Junk. No, we don’t want your bodily-fluid-crusted couch or the musty bag of ugly polo shirts you were going to dump at Goodwill. We want your best goods and services, because it’s for charity and because we’re serious about this.

If you have something to give, send us an email:

Strangercrombie@thestranger.com

And if you’re a business that would like to donate, feel free to let us know, too.

Strangercrombie. Once a year, we do something good.

Congratulations, everybody.

Last year's Strangercrombie gift auction raised over $60,000 for FareStart, an downtown restaurant that trains homeless folks to work in professional kitchens and finds them beds, counseling, and social services.

Readers bought all kinds of improbable stuff like a private concert with superstar cellist Joshua Roman (sold for $1,225), a cover song of the buyer's choice recorded by the Presidents of the United States of America (sold for $1,525), and pages of The Stranger (the cover sold for $3,350).

(There were more affordable packages, too. You can see all the auctions here.)

It's time to choose this year's good cause. The Slog vote isn't binding, but it is influential. And if you don't see a cause you like in the polls, nominate yours in the comments.

Who Should Get the Money?

Remember Strangercrombie? That winter charity auction of ours that, last year, raised over $50,000 for FareStart?

Back in December, a Strangercrombie high-bidder named Sam paid at $523.26 for the privilege of going salmon fishing with our publisher, Tim Keck.

Last Saturday, Sam and Tim and boat captain (and friend of the paper) Josh Gurnee puttered into Elliot Bay at 4:45 am to catch some king salmon. A report from Tim:

Sam caught his limit that morning with two beautiful fish, the biggest around 20 pounds. Most boats on the water got zilch that morning. Way to go Sam and special thanks to Josh for donating his time and boat and being the best captain on the water.

Stay tuned for next year's Strangercrombie. We'll be picking the charity—with you help—next month. Last year, people were stumping for Treehouse, 826 Seattle, and Urban Rest Stop along with FareStart.

Which good causes do people like this year?

If this looks like fun, check out the list of ongoing green-space restoration projects at www.greenseattle.org.

You'll see a wrap-up in Thursday's paper, and you can see exactly how much everything sold for here.

A man named Jeff won the Guest Star on Slog auction. He says he looks forward to defending the honor of West Seattle and the Alaskan Way Viaduct. You'll learn more about him when he writes for Slog for seven days starting January 7.

Giant, glowing, red-hot thank yous to all of you who bid and to everyone who donated items and time and money. Sincerely, thank you.

That's $20,000 more than last year, all for the homeless and hungry people helped by FareStart.

Thank you so, so much. I can't tell you how grateful we are.

If you won your auction, congratulations!

If you didn't, consider giving a little something of what you would've bid:

Thank you all—donors, bidders, the people who worked to make this happen—a thousand times over.

Happy holidays, everybody.

So far, you've raised over $53,000.

Get in there!

Look for it on the right side of the Strangercrombie home page. Or just press it now:

(Current total: $46,500.65. Go! Bid! Buy!)

UPDATES: Blake is still 2.6% ahead of Joshua Roman and Fnarf has again taken the lead on the "gift of family planning."

THESE guys, THIS guy, um, THESE girls, and THIS pretty little lady. Make your Momma proud.

4 more hours to bid!

You've got until 5 pm today—just four and a half more hours—to bid. And still, everything is goin' cheap.

The bicycle + messenger bag + bike fitting with track racing champ Kenny Williams? $405.

The Neumo's booking agent 101 package is a paltry $152.51. (Who knows? It might be your ticket to a job at the Crocodile... )

The dinner cooked for you and seven guests in your home by Renee Erickson of the Boat Street Cafe is just $530. (And check out these private dinners cooked by Ethan Stowell, Laurie Carter, and this champagne brunch by Robin Leventhal of Crave.)

The private performance by the deeply hilarious (and lewd) Sgt. Rigsby and His Amazing Silhouettes is just $102.50.

The Pizza Glutton? Undervalued.

Party crasher? Just $50.

The cover of The Stranger? Just over $1,000.

The VIP parties at Nectar, Neumo's, the Sunset, etc. are still a collective steal.

There's just too much—peruse the bargains here.

And the dramas:

Since the auction began, the private cello concert with Joshua Roman has been bid higher than the karaoke session with American Idol star Blake Lewis. Which was pleasantly surprising. (No offense, Blake.) As of this morning, Lewis (at $1,026) finally pulled ahead of Roman ($1,000), but their proxy war—pop versus haute—is still raging.

Slog commentors Fnarf and Mr. Poe, who were competing for the "gift of family planning," have both been bid out of the running.

After the initial freak-out about the Chris Crocker package (his fans swamping our site, a specious $10,000 bid, and a bunch of commentors getting all peevish), the price for a private phone call with Chris has been bid to a respectable, but not insane, $255.

And some generous soul has bid this titillating tote bag, estimated to be worth $39, up to $50.

And, in the time it has taken to write this post, the total has jumped to $45,512. You all are saints. Saints!

Strangercrombie: Once a year, we do something good.

Pins and Needles. Current bid: $43.

Ten free games of bowling at Imperial Lanes and a seven-foot-tall artificial Christmas tree from Champion Party Supply. A $200 value.

Laff Hole Roast. Current bid: $107.

It’s like a night with Shriners, but everyone’s 80 years younger. It begins with a private party for 20 guests at Chop Suey catered by Soy Cowboy, then drink tickets and free admission to Laff Hole, by the ever-funnier comedians of the People’s Republic of Komedy, and a roast of the person of your choice (must be a willing participant). You will never stop laughing. Ever.

Your Band's Big Break. Current bid: $567.99

This seven-part package has everything you need to leap from your bedroom to the big stage—studio time, gigs, a guitar, legal consultation, a photo shoot, styling, and a promise from Barsuk to listen to your demo. Behold: It starts with a beautiful white Epiphone G-310 guitar; eight hours in the studio at Electrokitty Recording (previous clients include Maktub, Mastodon, and U2); mastering by Sound Media (12 songs or up 74 minutes of music); a photo shoot with Stranger and Rolling Stone photographer Justin Renney; styling for the shoot by Christine Cherbonnier of VAIN; an hour of legal consultation with entertainment lawyer Wade Neal, esquire; four gigs at Sunset Tavern; and, of course, the star-makers at Barsuk will listen to your demo.

Get Smart. Current bid: $330.

One free SAT, LSAT, GRE, or GMAT preparation course, courtesy of the Princeton Review. Plus a $50 gift certificate to Elliott Bay Book Company to get you started on your textbooks. Plus-plus a $25 gift certificate to the Crypt, in the hopes you find a less expensive way to express your masochism than higher education. A $2,200 value.

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Opera. Current bid: $173.50.

Two tickets to the Sunday, January 20, matinee performance of Pagliacci—the tragedy of a fatal love triangle in a commedia dell’arte troupe—at Seattle Opera. Plus, for the purposes of staging your own fatal love triangle, a paperback copy of The Threesome Handbook: A Practical Guide to Sleeping with Three by Vicki Vantoch. And, speaking of threes, you also get a $100 gift certificate to the Triple Door, the perfect setting for jazz shows or chamber-music concerts or adulterous assignations. A $340 value.

View a complete list of the actions here.

Strangercrombie: Once a year, we do something good.

My favorite thing about last year's Strangercrombie was the bunch of comedians who got together, pooled their money, and bought Suggests so they could publicize The Week of Fun, their big push to publicize the new comedy scene in Seattle. They collectively paid $610 for the Suggests and were terrified their gambit would fail and they'd all lose their money (which they couldn't afford to spend in the first place).

They didn't. The Week of Fun was a huge success with performances by the People's Republic of Komedy, David Schmader, Charles Mudede, Sabzi from Blue Scholars, and a bunch of other funny fucks.

It was a coming-out party for Seattle's comedy scene. It was a coup.

You know how much Suggests is going for right now? Forty-six threadbare dollars.

Even the theater review is going for more money than Suggests. I'm the theater editor, and even I have to admit that's pathetic. Nothing in this paper should be less valuable to the city of Seattle than a theater review.

How about this: You bid on Suggests, and the winner will get a dozen cupcakes from Cupcake Royale. Deal?

(In good news: As of this very second, you all have raised $36,672. Which is fantastic. Three cheers for FareStart, three cheers for you.)

Dina Martina Covers the Song of Your Choice.

Currently at $280, this priceless item allows the winner to request the song of his or her choice to be sung (and recorded) by the one and only Dina Martina.

This year's Strangercrombie boasts a number of great custom-cover-song packages, starring Visqueen, the Presidents of the United States of America, the Posies, Erin Jorgensen, and more, but it's the Dina package that haunts my dreams.

If God were kind enough to let me win the Dina pack, I fear that I would be paralyzed by the privilege. There are so many songs I would be ecstatic to hear Dina Martina perform that choosing one is painful.

On one side are the Dina Martina classics, songs she's covered in her shows over the years that I'd love to have recordings of: "Bette Davis Eyes," "Year of the Cat," "The Devil Went Down to Georgia," "In the Ghetto."

On the other side are all the songs I'd love to hear Dina attack, including but not limited to: "Wind Beneath My Wings" (Dina could make great hay of the lovingly insulting lyrics), Tori Amos's "Me and a Gun," and "Loving You Is Easy 'Cause You're Beautiful" (just to see what happens when Dina confronts that note). (And, of course, "Smell Yo Dick.")

Strangercrombie 2007: You have two days and seven hours left to bid.

Slogging privileges are currently going for $605. We know nothing about the current high bidder, but our fingers are crossed that she or he can string a coherent sentence and has something to say.

There are still quite a few undervalued packages awaiting your bid, including these:

Spend an evening at Moe Bar with 10 friends and food and drinks courtesy of your very own bartender. This would make a fabulous birthday or graduation party, no? Current high bid: $102.50

Have you seen Sgt. Rigsby and His Amazing Silhouettes? They are truly mesmerizing and lovely and silly; they would delight your mother and blow your kid's mind. A private shadow-puppet performance is currently at $36.

Retail Therapy donated a way generous 60-second shopping spree. Have you been there? The tiny store is chock full of wearable and fabulous indie-designer clothes for men and women, Miz Mooz shoes and boots, an entire wall of lingerie, jewelry, fragrance, handbags, high-end bath and body goodies, and more. The bidding has stalled at a ridiculously low $202.50.

Watch all the auctions here.