Have you ever wanted to meet a real-life spy and ask her about the most dangerous situations she’s been in? Maybe you always wanted to drive an Indianapolis 500 race car? Or maybe all you’ve ever wanted is to be able to have a magical pass that gets you on to any beach on the Vineyard? These dreams will become realities for the lucky few on Monday evening as Martha’s Vineyard Community services hosts the 32nd annual Possible Dreams auction.

A total of 37 dreams will be up for bidding when nearly 1,000 Vineyarders are welcomed under the tent in Oak Bluffs. The auction benefits Community Services programs that serve 6,000 people, 40 per cent of whom are year-round residents. Programs such as Early Childhood Programs, disability services and the Island Counseling Center all benefit from funds raised at the event.

The tent opens to the public at 4 p.m. and bidding will begin at 5 p.m.

“We’re looking forward to a festive, generous event. We hope people will come out and remember that it’s for a good cause,” Community Services director Julia Burgess said earlier this week. “The community needs it, Community Services needs it, and we have lots of unfunded programs.”

“I think we have some fantastic dreams this year,” said auction committee cochairman DiAnn Ray. “You never know. Last year the top item was the chateau, it could be again, but who knows?”

The chateau she refers to is located in the south of France and can accommodate eight people for a week of culinary explorations in the Loire region. Or perhaps you’d like to eat a little more locally and enjoy a dinner at an old whaling captain’s house in Vineyard Haven cooked by chef Susie Middleton. Have you ever wondered what the Norton house in Ocean Park looks like on the inside? How about having dinner with Peter and Gwen Norton alongside cartoonist Jules Feiffer? The possibilities are almost endless.

“I want it to be a party with a purpose,” said Community Services director of development Angela Wheeler. “People need to feel that every dollar that they give goes to someone in need.”

Deams for sale in Ocean Park again on Monday night. — Jaxon White

She said one program very much in need this year is New Paths Recovery Program, a brand new day-patient program at Community Services that helps recovering addicts who are in transition from leaving inpatient facilities and are ready to take on the next step in their lives. “You win on two levels; the person who wins the auction item walks with away with a great dream and at the same time they’re helping someone in need on the Island,” Ms. Wheeler said.

One of the most intriguing dreams this year is being offered by director Doug Liman: dinner in New York with former undercover CIA operative Valerie Plame and her husband Joe Wilson. Mr. Liman’s films include Swingers, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, and the Bourne Identity; his new film Fair Game is based on the story of Ms. Plame and Mr. Wilson.

“I really have the good fortune in the past two years to spend a lot of time with Valerie Plame and Joe Wilson, who are two extraordinary, interesting and important figures in American history and I asked them and they were gracious enough to offer,” Mr. Liman said earlier this week.

“I felt almost guilty. I said, you guys have given so much of yourselves to this country I hate to ask for anything more but this is an important cause, can I ask you to give just a little bit more? And without even a hesitation they said yes.”

For those who prefer sports over politics there are plenty of options. While you might not be able to own your own baseball team, you can sit in the Red Sox owner’s box suite and enjoy a September game with Alan Dershowitz. If golf is your game, a round with Vernon Jordan Jr. is on the auction block, as well as a week at the Masters next April and tickets to the Deutsche Bank Championship this Labor Day weekend.

“Between the auctioneers and the [auction] list, being back in the park, and it seems like the economy is up a bit, people are feeling a little better,” Ms. Ray said. “It bodes well.”

A headline in their own right, the auctioneers are Menemsha residents Arnie Reisman and Paula Lyons, hosts of NPR’s quiz comedy show Says You! Mr. Reisman and Ms. Lyons will be joined by cast members Richard Sher, Barry Nolan, Francine Achbar, Tony Kahn and Carolyn Faye Fox. To warm up the audience, the cast plans to play a little game of Says You! to get to know their buyers.

“We’ve never done this before and don’t know what to expect but it’s very exciting,” Ms. Lyons said. “We have a very tough act to follow and we know it. It’s not the boom years, so we really want to do our best for Community Services and get them the money they need and have some fun,” she added, a reference to the late humorist Art Buchwald whose name was synonymous with the auction until his death three years ago.

“We have big shoes to fill to jump into this,” Mr. Reisman said. “Butterflies, very big butterflies.”

Because Says You! only broadcasts in select states on NPR, Mr. Reisman said he looks forward to getting to know a new audience. “We’re going to study, prepare, come up with some good lines,” Ms. Lyons said. “We’ll be doing some run-throughs. I think we’ll be very well prepared by Monday.”

“We’re going to promote each item and give it our all,” Mr. Reisman added. “We have to move it quickly which will be the challenge, because we’re all chatterers.”

The Possible Dreams Auction is Monday at 4 p.m. in Ocean Park in Oak Bluffs; bidding begins at 5 p.m. For tickets and more information on the dreams, visit mvcommunityservices.com.