Juan Chararin looks for some audience support as he performs the splits during the fourth annual Adam and Eve Charity Love Fling bachelor and bachelorette auction to benefit New Vista Community at the Empire Ballroom on July 12.Louie Traub/View
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Paul Chafee's package was good to begin with -- a weekend in San Diego, including tickets to a Chargers versus Oakland Raiders football game -- but when a cruise to Mexico was added at the last minute, the crowd erupted into a bidding frenzy.
The fourth annual Adam and Eve Charity Love Fling was held at the Empire Ballroom on July 12. Money raised at the bachelor and bachelorette auction will benefit New Vista Community, located in Centennial Hills, which houses and empowers adults with disabilities.
Local singles agreed to be auctioned off to raise money for New Vista, and they all brought date packages worth thousands of dollars.
Chafee, the vice president of Nevada Title Co., and his date package went for $2,800 to Nicole Robertson and Linda Toon, the owners of It's Just Lunch, a dating service for busy professionals.
Toon said it was getting late in the evening, and "somebody needed to go for it."
She said she is a social worker by trade and wanted to help raise as much money for the charity as she could.
Although Chafee is an eligible bachelor, Toon said neither she nor Robertson would actually go on the date with him.
"My husband would be mad, and so would hers," she said.
The two split the prizes and said they each will have a trip out of it.
More than 20 dates were auctioned off, including tickets to Cirque du Soleil shows, dinner at the Bellagio's Prime Steakhouse and tickets to the Bernard Hopkins versus Winky Wright fight.
Tzigane Osborne knew what she was getting herself into when she agreed to be auctioned off because she served as Eve, half of the evening's greeting team, at last year's event. She invited a group of her friends and family and told them "to bid on me, unless there's a cute guy bidding, too."
The bachelors and bachelorettes were some of Las Vegas' most eligible singles, including "Phantom -- The Las Vegas Spectacular" star Brent Barrett, who plays the Phantom; Rachel Smith, Monica Jackson and Jason Feinberg, newscasters from "More," the Fox 5 morning show; and a double date with the girls of "Xburlesque," who perform at the Flamingo.
"(New Vista) really looks to help people become more independent," Chafee said. "I think that's phenomenal."
Molly Smith, New Vista's event coordinator, said the Love Fling is a way to get the younger generation involved with their charity.
"It is definitely our most fun and youngest event," she said. "We want to reach everyone in the community and really get our message out there."
This year's Love Fling auction raised almost $25,000 for New Vista's programs.
New Vista also holds monthly Wine Walks at MonteLago Village at Lake Las Vegas in Henderson from April through October each year. Proceeds from all of the events support the programs of New Vista, which include group homes, transitional support programs for more independent individuals and support for individuals who require 24-hour in-home care.
For more information on the New Vista Community, visit www.newvistacommunity.org.
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