-Submitted photo
T.J. Pingel, Lea Anderson, Kim Shimkat, Bill Shimkat, Lisa Shimkat and Ed Shimkat Jr., dress as Quidditch players from Harry Potter during a previous Community Health Center Masquerade fundraiser.

Costumes, comedians and cocktails will take over the showroom at Shimkat Motor Co. next weekend for the annual Community Health Center of Fort Dodge Halloween Masquerade Fundraiser.

The Oct. 30 event will feature entertainment from comedian Steve Byrne, who has appeared on “Jimmy Kimmel,” “Conan,” “The Late Late Show” and “The Tonight Show.”

“We are excited to be holding the event again this year — in 2020 we went entirely virtual for our fundraiser,” said Regina Suhrbier, outreach coordinator for CHC. “This year we’re back to having a fun costumed event in conjunction with holding a portion of our auction online.”

The social will start at 6 p.m. and dinner will begin at 6:30 p.m., with entertainment and auction to follow. Tickets are $45 in advance or $50 at the door. There will also be a cash bar and dessert auction.

Tickets are available at Shimkat Motor Co., 3126 Fifth Ave. S.; at the CHC, 126 N. 10th St.; or online at www.biddingforgood.com/chcfortdodge.

“Our mission is to provide quality healthcare services to all,” Suhrbier said. “This fundraiser will help us raise money for a new piece of equipment that will help us with our mission.”

CHC Chief Executive Officer Renae Kruckenberg noted that the CHC is a non-profit clinic and “every dollar goes to a good cause.”

The funds will go to purchase a Butterfly IQ Ultrasound machine.

“The Butterfly IQ will allow us to perform ultrasound evaluations on everything from the lung and cardiac to bladder and vascular system,” Kruckenberg said. “Having this onsite will decrease the need for patients to have to go somewhere else for imaging.”

CHC aims to eliminate barriers to healthcare, Suhrbier explained. Those barriers could be transportation, financial, insurance and taking time off work.

“The more services we offer, the easier it is for our patients to take care of their health,” she said. “When we can offer what they need, they only need to travel to us once or take time off work one time to come for a visit.”

The fundraiser will kick off on Monday, when many auction items go live for public bidding online all week. The online auction will end on Saturday, and items can be found at www.biddingforgood.com/chcfortdodge.

Raffle tickets will also be available online, at CHC and at Shimkat Motor Co. Raffle tickets are $25 each or five for $100. Prizes include a $1000 Visa gift card, $800 Shimkat prize and a $500 grocery gift card to either Hy-Vee or Fareway.