If there's a paradox in the Possible Dreams Auction, it's
that the folks who run Martha's Vineyard Community Services count on
the money it raises as a definite reality.

They need the funds, and over the past 22 years, this auction
peddling wild and far-fetched dreams has anchored the development
efforts at Community Services and enabled the agency to make daycare
affordable to working Islanders and to offer counseling and substance
abuse treatment to people with no insu

A heavy and chilly bank of fog rolled in over last night's Possible Dreams auction in Edgartown, but it did nothing to cool down the bidders who went wild for items featuring Carly Simon, David McCullough and Walter Cronkite.

By the time the marathon event wrapped up some three hours later, Martha's Vineyard Community Services had raised $403,600 from 48 dreams, topping last year's $325,000 mark by a margin of nearly 25 per cent.

Laughter and money seemed to go hand in hand at last night's Possible Dreams auction in Edgartown. The better the one-liners, the higher the bids.

Fortunately, there were some pretty glib celebrities willing to
stoke the fire, and in the end, the 24th annual auction of 53 dreams had
pulled in more than $376,000. That figure fell short of last
year's take of just over $400,000.

Art Buchwald opened last night's Possible Dreams auction with the same wit that over 24 years has helped raise $4 million dollars for Martha's Vineyard Community Services: "Despite the 250 cars waiting at the blinker light," he declared, "we're going to start."

Nearly four hours later, Mr. Buchwald ended the benefit by auctioning the hat off his head for $4,000, bringing the night's total to more than $500,000, organizers said, an auction record.

Last summer the eminently credible Walter Cronkite was correct as
usual when he predicted, "I'm expecting him to be right up
on that platform as he's been all these years, so I'm not
going to waste any tears."

Art Buchwald, succumbing to the request of Possible Dreams
cochairmen Kerry Scott and Amy Eisenlohr, has rescinded the decision he
made in August to step down as auctioneer of the high stakes fundraiser
for Martha's Vineyard Community Services.

A bit of spontaneity, a little arm-twisting and a contagious spirit of generosity turned last night into another record-breaking year for the Possible Dreams Auction. The 26th annual benefit raised more than $515,000 in about three hours for Martha's Vineyard Community Services, just surpassing last year's half-million mark.

Her schedule is never-ending. This summer she has managed to put together a full season of plays at the Vineyard Playhouse, direct two plays at the same time - Rounding Third and Romeo and Juliet - fill the Monday Night Special schedule with new works and famous names and still enjoy the beauty a Vineyard summer offers.

The dreams are coming to town. Exotic, international dreams.
Adventurous, open-ocean dreams. Exhilarating celebrity-filled dreams.
Delicious gourmet dreams.

They all arrive on Monday afternoon in the gardens of the Harborside
Inn - more than 50 experiences and items that pretty pennies could
not buy unless they are bid on Monday night at the 28th annual Possible
Dreams Auction to benefit Martha's Vineyard Community Services.

The Possible Dreams Auction last night drew $649,000 in bids for the
50 dreams that ranged from rides on the Flying Horses Carousel to an
archaeological adventure in prehistoric European caves, putting the
annual fundraiser on track for another record-breaking year.

Imagine sitting in the VIP suite at the Circuit de Catalunya
racetrack in Barcelona on a sunny May day. As the Formula One race cars
whiz by, you clink champagne flutes with your lucky guest and smile,
thinking of the Michelin starred dinner that awaits you.