Pie Auction: A Centralia Tradition

By: Gracie Stains, Contributing Writer

​On March 5th, the CBMS and CHS band participated in the annual Pie Auction for about the 15th year.

 The Pie Auction, which was historically known as the Band Carnival, is a big fundraiser for the Centralia Public Schools Band. This event brings the community together with pies and musical performances. Community members donate pies to be auctioned off. The CBMS band has 85 students from grades sixth through eighth. The CHS band has 62 members.  The money raised goes to equipment for the band and trips for band members. 

At the Pie Auction this year, the band raised $14,000. These funds will be put towards the CBMS trip to Six Flags and the CHS trip to march in the Memorial Day parade in Washington D.C. There were around 65 pies auctioned off at this event. 


The Pie Auction takes a lot of preparation. Mrs. Kim Neighbors, currently in her fifth year as the Band Director, explained the process for this event. She said, “The students spend a lot of time preparing the music for the concert. The parents and I organized a lot of donations for the supper and pie auction. The parents spend the whole day cooking the chili and soups.” 

Neighbors said the highlight of the event was seeing such a large community turn out to support the band. 

At the Pie Auction, the band votes on Prince and Princess candidates and King and Queen candidates. This year the King was Caleb Brinkman and the Queen was Jaelyn Vega. A lot of the students enjoyed this aspect of the event. 

This event is a tradition for the Centralia Band program and a huge contribution for the band members.  This year was exceptionally important as the band is continuing their fundraising for their trip to Washington D.C. in May.