Sasha Shangri-La

Good morning! I am waking up this lovely Sunday morning and feeling so very blessed.

These first photos are of wonderful display scenes that were left for us to take photos of our Sasha dolls. They have a backdrop of seasonal variations of beautiful Minnesota landscapes and nice props. Finn and Gracie both volunteered for this fun time that I enjoyed too.

Finn and Sammie playing in the leaves.

Finn playing in the snow with his sled and snowmen. His new outfit was perfect for this scene.

Gracie relaxing at the lake.

Gracie loves the Fall leaves.  Her necklace was from the sales room. Sadly we did not find her a dress but she loves her necklace.

A fun stage scene and doll stands were provided which promoted Gracie to dance for us.

Norvell’s beautiful doll plays with Gracie.

Photos of the gathering in the ballroom for the fantastic dinner meal. Beautiful dolls everywhere.

Virginia Myers’ most beautiful doll and outfit.

After eating, we viewed a wonderful movie showing the lovely girl touring the Sasha factory in England and having her Gregor made by the lovely people working there. Brenda Walton was interviewed and photos of Sasha dolls were shared. A great presentation.

A guest speaker talking about Minnesota authors and I especially enjoyed learning more about Laura Ingalls because I so loved the TV series “The little house on the Prairie “.

The Festival gift is a fabulous Sherpa lined coat with hood and wooden toggles. I will take better photos later.  What a wonderful gift and all of them were made by the very talented JoAnn Staricha.

The four raffle offerings are full of great Sasha items.

Last night ended with helper drawings which were so nice to generate funds for the next year’s Festival.  And, guess what we won?

A fantastic knitted dress coat for Gracie! She is over the moon that she did get her dress after all.  She said it was because she had been a very good girl. I have to agree.

Today I leave early in order to catch the flight hone. I will take photos but I will miss the second round of helper drawings and the raffle drawings. It could not be helped though in order to get home today.  I have had the very best time and this Festival has been a tremendous success. I am so thankful to all of the Minnesota team that worked so hard to provide us a happy time with friends and Sasha dolls.

I hope you have a great day!

Photos of the “Dress a Sasha” entries. There are some additional entries but they were not assembled yet.

* No photo editing like cropping, brightening, ordering, etc.

Lovely bebe dressed in a lovely Diane Duke creation.

Hi everyone! It’s me, Gracie. Auntie Elizabeth is so happy to see me. I am happy too! What fun we are having!

CFA auction items. I am sorry they are not in order but I think they are all here. There were 99 items. (Actually 100 items if you count the last minute entry of “Spend the night with Curly”.  I think it raised $35.00!  I will share later how much was raised when we know the figures.  For the children!

Display dolls beautifully dressed and arranged.

Luncheon gathering photos. Penny and Gracie having the best time. Each table had a terrific centerpiece with its own Lake designation and the attributes of that lake on the poster. Brilliant!

Luncheon gift.

Wonderful!

Curly visited with Baby Sheila. A very happy reunion.

Marti Murphy was the auctioneer and she wore a great Minnesota Viking hat during a couple of Minnesota themed auction items. So funny and she was just fantastic!

Lastly, a quick photo of Finn wearing his winning auction item donated by Diane, Noreen, and Judith. Amazing detailed work of love. We are so happy!  I will show this in detail and better later.

Going to get ready for today’s fun adventures. Have a great day!  Sasha hugs!

A very quick post from yesterday’s activities. I am glad to post the very few photos that I took because it has made me aware that I must take more photos today.

Many Festival attendees went to the Mall of America and the hotel provided a free shuttle to and from.

The entrance where we were dropped off by the bus.  What an enormous mall.

Photos at the LEGO store.

Amazing what you can make from the small LEGO pieces.

Back at the hotel, I did take photos of the course doll display.  I will do my best today to share more of the events.

The following photos show the nice bag, auction paddle, and a few pages from the Festival booklet we were given at the registration.  There is more in the bag that I will share later.

After registering, there was a meet and greet to include an ice cream social gathering that was delightful. I did not get photos of that time but it was so nice to see everyone there. Have a great day everyone!