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<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; With a breezy jazz band capturing the vibes of a Mediterranean beachfront, donors who came out in support of the Osterhout Free Library were transported in spirit to the coast of Greece, even though they were here in the heart of Wilkes-Barre.</p><p>Each year, the Osterhout&#8217;s supporters gather together for the library&#8217;s annual gala, which serves as the largest fundraiser in support of the library, a critical resource for education, research material and, of course, books in downtown Wilkes-Barre.</p><p>This year, the gala&#8217;s theme was the Santorini Soir&#233;e, named for the island in the Aegean Sea best known for the scenic village of Oia that sits on a cliff overlooking the sea.</p><p>The gala&#8217;s Greek theme was all encompassing, obviously including the food choices &#8212; Greek salads preceded the meal and baklava came afterward &#8212; but perhaps the linchpin of the theme was a trip to Santorini, a $5,000 value donated by Avenue Travel in Kingston, that was raffled off at the end of the night.</p><p>The event&#8217;s hosts, WNEP&#8217;s Julie Sidoni and Magic 93&#8217;s Frankie Warren, joked about what next year&#8217;s prize could be.</p><p>&#8220;I think I won&#8217;t get in trouble for announcing this: next year&#8217;s prize is a four week, all-expense paid trip to Shickshinny, Pennsylvania,&#8221; Warren said with a laugh.</p><p>During his opening prayer, though, the Rev. Dr. Robert M. Zanicky of the First Presbyterian Church of Wilkes-Barre, suggested that the Greek theme was appropriate, considering how much of the collective knowledge in libraries can be owed to Greek culture. Zanicky also promised God during his prayer that the night&#8217;s celebration would be more in line with the style of philosopher Socrates than Bacchus, the Greek god of wine.</p><p>And while the evening was filled with laughter and amazing prizes, those in attendance were also sure to highlight the amazing accomplishment of supporting the library into the future.</p><p>Molly Hoegan, the gala chair, confirmed there was a record number of guests in attendance &#8212; 332, all told &#8212; and that their collective fundraising efforts had raised more than $120,000 to benefit the library.</p><p>The evening&#8217;s guest of honor was Patricia Finan Castellano, of Pittston, who has served for several years as a member of the Osterhout&#8217;s board of directors. Castellano previously served as the board&#8217;s president between the years of 2010 and 2012, and is currently the chair of the library&#8217;s Nominating and Board Development Committee.</p><p>In recognition of her honored position, Castellano spoke briefly about the importance of the Osterhout. According to her, public libraries matter now more than ever. It&#8217;s not just the books, she said. The Osterhout also provides after-school programs, complete with snacks for kids, along with computers available for public use and innumerable other resources.</p><p>She compared the library to Siri, the artificial intelligence app included in Apple iPhones that answers questions the user asks.</p><p>&#8220;I guarantee you there are many people in our community that don&#8217;t have access to Siri,&#8221; she said. &#8220;The staff of our libraries have become the Siris.&#8221;</p><p>Additional honorees were Clayton and Theresa Karambelas, who previously received the library&#8217;s second annual Evergreen award. The couple were given the award in recognition of their years of support of both the Osterhout and other institutions locally. They were recognized earlier this year at a reception in their home.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Patricia Finan Castellano, center, prepares to speak in recognition of being the night&#8217;s guest of honor at the Osterhout&#8217;s annual gala Friday in Wilkes-Barre. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/web1_20190913_200310.jpg</photo0><caption0>Patricia Finan Castellano, center, prepares to speak in recognition of being the night&#8217;s guest of honor at the Osterhout&#8217;s annual gala Friday in Wilkes-Barre. </caption0><photoCredit0>Patrick Kernan | Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/web1_20190913_194843.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Eileen Song, president of the board of directors for the Osterhout Free Library, thanks donors in attendance for the money they raised at the Osterhout&#8217;s annual gala Friday in Wilkes-Barre. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/web1_20190913_194843.jpg</photo1><caption1>Eileen Song, president of the board of directors for the Osterhout Free Library, thanks donors in attendance for the money they raised at the Osterhout&#8217;s annual gala Friday in Wilkes-Barre. </caption1><photoCredit1>Patrick Kernan | Times Leader </photoCredit1></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Patrick Kernan</p><p>pkernan@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Patrick Kernan at 570-991-6386 or on Twitter @PatKernan</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Osterhout gala raises more than $100K at annual gala