2009 Fur Ball Live Auction Items
To see main Fur Ball page and get tickets visit: http://www.bigcatrescue.org/furball.htm
LIVE AUCTION INTERNATIONAL TRIPS
South African Adventure
Mention photo safari to anyone and the concept of South Africa comes to mind. Now our winning bidders will have the chance to capture ten thousand pictures and a million memories on this incredible trip to spectacular South Africa. Begin with your roundtrip flights to Johannesburg, then travel by Land Rover to the famous Krueger National Park where you begin your safari. For the next seven days, daily game drives will take you up close to elephants, water buffalo, rhinos, and of course, spectacular lions and cheetahs. This is not some “trip for the tourists.” On this spectacular adventure, you will see the game up close, in their natural habitats, and know that your trip helps fund the wildlife preservation programs while it increases the world’s understanding of these incredible animals. Features nine incredible days from departure, all your flights, meals, lodging and photo safaris, and so much more… all for one lucky couple.
The photos here were taken by Jenna who is the daughter to Tom Mitchell, Founder and CEO of Actsoft, who won the trip last year. He wrote to us after his trip:
"My daughters and I just returned Saturday from our trip that we bought last year. I wanted you to know that this was an incredible trip. The company who ultimately took care of all the activities and reservations did a fabulous job. I could not have been happier with the whole trip. It was great."
Mama Mia
When Donna (Meryl Streep’s character) in “Mamma Mia” realized she could live in any paradise on Earth, she chose the Greek islands of Skiathos and Skopelos…and now you can too! Get off the beaten path and into sun-drenched bliss! Our winning couple will jet to Athens and embark on a mini-cruise to the spectacular island of Skiathos. You’ll then visit and shop on stunning Skopelos, sunbathe and play on Kastani Beach like the movie stars do and then dine on the finest fresh food in the world each and every evening. Greek hospitality is world-famous, the people fantastic, the sand sugar-soft and the water has a soft radiant blue luster of a million gallons of liquid sapphires. After dinner, you can enjoy a late night repast before retiring to your ocean-view resort, where the fresh soft sea breezes waft through your room all night long. This enchanting week long trip for two includes your deluxe accommodations, roundtrip air, your mini-cruise and your delicious evening refreshments. See more photos: 1 2 3 4
Eat your way through Europe
If you love good food and good travel, then this is the trip for you! The two of you will begin your trip by jetting to Paris. Once you have settled in to your private pensione, the best restaurants in the City of Light will light up your appetite. You'll enjoy lunch atop the Eiffel Tower and embark on a unique Gourmet French Epicurean tour with an expert food connoisseur who will take you to French neighborhoods where you will visit a traditional French bakery, delicious pastry shop, French caterer, wine shop, cheese shop, fruit and vegetable market. After two nights in Paris, including your special welcome at the Louvre and dinner cruise down the River Seine, you are off to Zurich, Switzerland to feast on spectacular traditional European delights...and of course Swiss chocolate no more than 20 times per day! While here, the two of you will venture to the Heidi-like region of Eastern Switzerland where you will enjoy a full day tour, sampling local cheese and chocolate before catching a cable car that will take you high above the Swiss Alpine peaks. Finally, you are off to Rome for the best table in the house at Alfredo alla Scrofa. Alfredo alla Scrofa is the world renowned restaurant where Fettuccine Alfredo was invented, and that's just one of 26 spectacular dishes on their menu. Our winning couple gets all; round-trip air to the most beautiful cities in Europe, gastronomical delights that you've only dreamed of, deluxe accommodations everywhere for your seven nights in Europe and memories to last you a 100 lifetimes! See more photos: 1 2 3
Splendid China
Imagine yourself on the most incredible trip you will ever experience. Witness all the splendors of ancient China. You and a guest will begin your adventure in beautiful Beijing, where you will visit Tiananmen Square, The Forbidden City and the Summer Palace. During your stay in Beijing enjoy a day trip to the Great Wall of China and marvel at the Ming Tombs. Then overnight by train, in your private compartment to Xian. Your English speaking guide will take you to see the famous 10,000 buried terra cotta warriors and much more. Then board your Yangtze River cruise ship for a three day voyage down this fabled waterway. On this cruise, you will see sights untouched in 2500 years. Then disembark and fly to Shanghai, the largest and most modern city in the world. While in Shanghai, the two of you will spend the evening at the Shanghai Opera House. Celebrated as the place for showing Chinese and foreign classical operas, this world famous stage will open your eyes and your heart to the true magnificence that is the Chinese performing arts. Again, you will enjoy incredible shopping, 3000 year old sights, and a culture and people hungry to interact with Americans. 12 days with air for two, upscale accommodations, 20 incredible meals, all sorts of tours, more, more and more. See larger photo
Dancing with the Stars
It’s not like an airplane will take our winning couple to New York for private Ballroom Dancing lessons with “Dancing With The Stars” professionals Maxim Chmerkovskiy and Katrina Smirnoff, it’s more like your own Cinderella’s Royal Coach!
Our winning bidders will begin their long-weekend in New York with a limousine ride to Maxim’s private studio, where he and Katrina will make accomplished and comfortable dancers out of even the most inexperienced beginners. Then it’s off to the famous Tavern on the Green for an incredible lunch at the most famous lunch spot in New York.
Later, our private shopper will “backdoor” you to the design rooms at some of the most famous haute couture designers in New York’s Fashion District, where you can get incredible bargains on the latest fashions even before they are splashed on the pages of Vogue.
Finally, you’ll enjoy an incredible dinner at the renowned Rainbow Room, high atop Rockefeller Center, where you can wow the other diners with your new ballroom skills. And there is more and more and more.
All in all, this is the most incredible 4 days/3nights in Manhattan ever enjoyed by a couple. Complete with roundtrip air, your deluxe hotel overlooking Central Park, dancing with the real stars of DWTW, a thousand photos…. and a million memories to last forever.
Lessons can be two with Max if two women buy it or with Karina and Max if high bidders want to go as couple. More info will be posted here as this unique adventure as details are completed, but for now, below are the resumes of this amazing couple, who incidentally are engaged to be married:
Maksim Chmerkovskiy is a Ukrainian Latin Ballroom dance champion, choreographer, and instructor. He is best known as one of the professional dancers on the American television series Dancing With The Stars, on which he has appeared since season two. Born in Odessa, in the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic of the former USSR, Chmerkovskiy began dancing at the age of four.
Immigration was very hard on Chmerkovskiy and his family due to financial and language barriers. At the age of thirteen Chmerkovskiy broke his right leg in a skiing accident. Doctors said he would probably always walk with a limp due to the metal rod that was surgically implanted in his right leg. However, he was able to make a successful recovery and continued to dance. He is now one of the most popular dancers on DWTS.
Karina Smirnoff is a world champion professional dancer from Kharkiv, Ukraine. She is a five-time U.S. National Champion, World Trophy Champion, and Asian Open Champion. Smirnoff has taken the title at the UK Open, is a three time champion at the US Open, two time champion at the Asian Open, five time champion at the Dutch Open, five time US National Professional Champion, ranked 2nd in the World, and took second at the British Open Blackpool Dance Festival. She is "the first woman to ever make the British Professional Final with three different partners." Smirnoff was born in Kharkiv, Ukraine in 1978 to a Greek father and a Russian mother. When Smirnoff was five years old, she began taking ballet lessons, followed by gymnastics, aerobics, figure skating, ballroom dancing and piano. Eventually she chose to pursue ballroom dancing. In 1992, Smirnoff moved to the United States and became a U.S. citizen. Once in the U.S., Smirnoff took time off from studying dancing for school. She attended Christopher Columbus High School in New York and the Bronx High School of Science before going to Fordham University, during which time she picked up her interest in dancing again.
Wheels, Heels & Meals
The two of you will jet to Milan to explore all its beauty and history. During your three days in this spectacular fashion city, your private guide will take you to the Top Secret design rooms of today’s hottest Haute Couture designers. Then you will board the most luxurious train in all of Europe, the Euro Star, for your jet-like trip to Modena for a private tour of the Maserati Technology Center where they have handcrafted the world’s finest automobiles for almost 100 years. Next it’s off to spend three nights at Riserva di Fizzano, deep in the vineyards, olive orchards and glowing golden wheat fields of Tuscany. While in Tuscany, you will learn fine Italian cooking from culinary masters. Your cooking course will whet your appetite to explore the surrounding region and enjoy the best shopping in all of Italy in San Gimigiano. This is the ultimate intimacy experience in classic Northern Italy. This has it all for a couple; Milan and the ultimate in fashion, Modena and Maserati, then finish the week at the most beautiful place in the world, Riserva de Fizzano, deep in the heart of golden Tuscany. Includes round trip air, your Maserati experience, special beverage tastings and your cooking school in Tuscany, your high-speed supertrain and all your deluxe accommodations in the best Italy has to offer. See more photos: 1 2 3
NOTE: Trips are subject to change before the ball depending upon availability.
OTHER UNIQUE LIVE AUCTION ITEMS
Framed Paw Print From Trucha the Tiger's Last Day With Us
Imagine being ripped from your mother at birth, raised in a small cage until you were old enough to breed, then bred as often as physically possible in a way nature never intended, and each time having your own offspring ripped away from you at birth.
That was the life our beautiful tiger named Trucha led for 14 years until she was scheduled to die when a place called Savage Kingdom was closed when no one wanted her – except Big Cat Rescue. All the years of unnatural breeding made Trucha an easy target for advanced, inoperable mammary cancer, which was discovered not long after she arrived. Predicted to live only a few months, she enjoyed another year of life - which she lived to the fullest. She chuffed her thanks to her keepers right up to the end.
The week she finally passed was rainy, and our keepers noticed two clear fresh paw prints. Master Keeper Barbara Frank quickly mixed up cement and poured it into the impressions in the soil. They were covered to shield them from the threatening storms and dug up the next day after they had hardened. Julie Hanan, a Senior Keeper who is also an accomplished artist, then mounted each one, along with some other natural elements, on a piece of artwork that would appropriately memorialize this special tigress.
Hopefully, whoever ends up with this unique, priceless piece of art will appreciate that it represents the lasting imprint she made on the hearts of those who cared for her as well as the 1000's in captivity whom she represented.
30 Days in the New 2010 Jaguar XJ and Right to Buy any Jaguar in Stock at Dealer Invoice
In July Jaguar proudly revealed the all new 2010 Jaguar XJ in London. The iconic XJ offers a seductive mix of striking design and robust performance made possible by Jaguar's aerospace-inspired light weight aluminum body technology. The all new Jaguar XJ will go on sale in December 2009, with a starting price of $72,500 MSRP. It is available to order today for delivery in early 2010.
Building on the success of the XK and XF, the new XJ is the third step in the revitalization of the Jaguar brand and redefines the world's perception of a large sports sedan. The new XJ will be available in both standard and long wheelbase models. The long wheelbase offers an even more sumptuous and refined environment for rear-seat passengers with an additional five inches of legroom while the XJ’s trunk features power opening and closing for convenient access to the 15.2 cu. ft. storage space (with standard alloy space saver spare wheel).
The all new Jaguar XJ brings new standards of sustainability to the luxury vehicle segment. Its lightweight aluminum structure makes it at least 300 lbs. lighter over steel body construction, and is made with 50 percent recycled material allowing the XJ to minimize its carbon footprint and create a potential savings of three tons of CO2 per vehicle, compared to a body shell made entirely of new aluminum. These aerospace-inspired aluminum body technologies also provide benefits to performance, handling and fuel economy, while delivering increased strength, refinement and safety. For videos and more about the car click HERE.
The winning bidder will spend 30 days in this incredible new model courtesy of Jaguar of Tampa. You not only get to drive the car for 30 days, but in addition then have the right to purchase this or any other new Jaguar on the lot at dealer invoice! Jaguar of Tampa has been a major supporter of Big Cat Rescue since 2003. Their involvement began when they provided the financial support that allowed us to rescue two sick, aging jaguar cats who were being kept in a basement in a roadside zoo in New Hampshire. For more on this generous rescue and photos of the cats CLICK HERE. Jaguar of Tampa is located at 320 E. Fletcher Avenue, Tampa, FL 33612. 813-371-8200.
Botox Party for 5 By Dr. Linda Flynn
Turn the clock back with four of your friends and have fun doing it! The winning bidder will get to bring four friends to the office of South Tampa Dermatology for an after-hours Botox party. Each attendee will receive an individual consultation, including an in-depth VISIA analysis of their skin, along with Botox treatments which will remove wrinkles and leave the recipient looking refreshed and more youthful. Additionally, each attendee will receive high-end cosmetics from Obagi, Latisse and Skin Medica. Food and beverages will be provided, and there will be drawings for additional skin care products and services.
Dr. Flynn is a Board Certified Dermatologist who has been practicing medicine in Tampa for the past 15 years. Five years ago Dr. Flynn formed South Tampa Dermatology and opened her office on Swann Avenue, right next to Memorial Hospital. South Tampa Dermatology is the only single office dermatology practice in the Tampa Bay Area to earn thecoveted Platinum Level Provider designation from Allergan, the makers of Botox, Juvederm and Latisse.
http://www.skinmedica.com/ http://conditionandenhance.com/ http://www.latisse.com/
Time with the Last American Ace and One Hour For Two in High Tech Military Flight Training Simulator - Priceless!
A command pilot with more than 3,000 hours including 800 combat hours, Brigadier General Steve Ritchie (Ret) is our last American Ace and the most decorated airman in modern history. General Ritchie will personally brief you for your mission as command pilot of a C-130 Hercules Simulator. You and a companion will spend 60 minutes in a high tech flight training device. Under the guidance of an expert pilot, you can take off, fly and land this four engine turboprop military craft that is being used everyday by U.S. and international military aircrews to sharpen their flying skills for their most difficult missions and not available to the general public at any price. Now it is your chance! But that is not all! Your briefing will also include ground instruction in the "hottest" airplane the Air Force ever flew, the F-104 Starfighter. Only three Starfighters are still in airworthy condition and you have the chance to sit in the cockpit of real "Top Gun" history with General Ritchie. The Simulator experience is graciously donated to the Fur Ball by CAE USA, INC.
Bucs Package - Club Seats to Last Four Home Games and MORE!
These are not just Bucs tickets - they are CLUB SEATS with private entrance, padded seats, great view, and access to the exclusive Club Lounge! Two tickets each to four games - see the Originally $295 each (total value $2260) and sold out so not available. See games these four games in ultimate luxury! Note: auction winner agrees not to resell these tickets. Generously donated by Jeff and Brigitte Ajluni.
WIth these great seats you also receive:
1) a throwback Bucs jersey signed by defensive tackle Chris Hovan with certificate of authenticity donated by Rob Cunningham.
2) A copy of Tony Dungy's book UNCOMMON personally autographed by widely admired former Bucs coach donated by David Tyler.
We also have these great seats for games BEFORE the Fur Ball - Buy a raffle ticket to win these seats HERE
Big Cat Rescue is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. The sanctuary provides a permanent home for unwanted, abused and neglected exotic cats. Lions, Tigers, Leopards, Bobcats and more reside at the 45 acre Citrus Park refuge located just across the street from the Westfield Shopping Town. The Fur Ball is an annual event to raise funds for the close to 100+ cats in our care.