St. Patrick’s Day may still be a week and a half away, but try telling that to the dozens of green-clad Lawrence residents who packed Liberty Hall on Saturday for the St. Patrick’s Day parade charity auction.

Now in its 18th consecutive year, the pre-parade auction proceeds benefit Douglas County youth charities. In its history, the event has raised more than $290,000.

In each of the previous years, the St. Patrick’s Day committee, which plans the auction as well as the parade, selected a single children’s charity to receive proceeds from the event. This year the committee decided to up the ante and select two charities — The Shelter Inc. and Douglas County Youth Football Inc. — as the auction’s beneficiaries.

While the auction may help a good cause, it is also a major social event featuring local celebrities.

Kansas City Chiefs tight end Kendall Gammon has been coming to the event for several years now, but said he was a bit apprehensive about participating in this year’s auction.

“I don’t have my wife with me this year, so I’m afraid to spend any money without her around,” Gammon said.

Most of the attendees, however, took an active interest in the silent and live auction offerings. Before announcer Hank Booth and 6News sports anchor Kevin Romary began calling the live auction, attendees milled about the eclectic mix of silent auction items. The items ranged from a Jennifer Lopez autographed poster to a new Trek bicycle to a piece of the old Kansas University basketball court signed by Wayne Simien.

Becca and Chad Meyers have made the auction an annual tradition, and said they had honed their bidding skills. At the auction before they got married, the couple won a bottle of Dom Perignon champagne and Becca won a day at a local spa.

Becca and Chad Meyers examine a table of sports memorabilia at the 18th annual St. Patrick's Day auction Saturday night at Liberty Hall.

“I had all of my hair and makeup done there for the wedding with the certificate from the auction,” Becca said.

The couple had their eyes on several of this year’s auction offerings, including an autographed Kansas City Royals jersey and a baseball signed by former pitcher David Cone.

“You bet on a lot of things and then keep a close watch to see what’s going to go and what you might get,” she said.