SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - Change is in the air when talking about the NWT Council of Persons with Disabilities' annual celebrity auction.

Whether it's the $100 entry ticket for dinner, drinks and entertainment; the change from its usual mid-November slot to this year's date in June; or to the Alice in Wonderland theme; the council is trying a new approach this year.

The celebrity auction will take place at the Ed Jeske Arena at the Multiplex on Friday, June 3 to wrap up Disability Awareness Week and will be celebrating Northern entertainment, according to executive director Michelle Gillis.

She said the change in seasons for the auction was meant to both coincide with Disability Awareness Week and to avoid the Christmas rush of other charity events talking place during the old time slot.

"The celebrity auction has been in place for as long as the council and the council is over 30 years old," said Gillis.

"At Christmas, they had some other events that other non-profits were holding. We didn't want to compete with their fundraising either."

The event is being re-launched as a spring gala with live and silent auctions, a sit-down dinner and live entertainment with Rick and the Relics headlining the evening along with numerous other performers.

Richard Makohoniuk, event planner for the auction, said the theme of the event is "through the looking glass – looking beyond the disabilities into the abilities," a play on Alice in Wonderland and the Mad Hatter's Tea Party.

"Looking through the glass, it's meant to inspire people to look beyond people with disabilities and see their abilities," said Makohoniuk.

"It's shaping up to be quite a fun event rather than just an auction."

He said planning is in the preliminary stages, with about three weeks to go to get all celebrities on board and gather up all the prizes.

"The focus this year is more on Northern talent. We're bringing in Northern bands and Northern individuals that are prominent within the NWT to auction themselves off," he said.

"It's been rumoured that Sandy Lee is looking for work along with Mr. (Joe) Handley. We're most certainly going to approach them. We're going to approach everybody. It's a great opportunity to come out and support a charity that does phenomenal work throughout the NWT."

Makohoniuk said he hopes the new season for the auction will create a bigger draw since there are fewer charity events planned in June than at Christmas.

He said the $100 entry fee is worth it.

"The value that you're getting for that $100 is pretty phenomenal ... While someone people might see this as a deterrent, there is a lot of value being provided for the $100 so I don't see it as a very negative thing at all."

Although there is a lot of change in the air, some things continue on faithfully from past auctions.

Great Slave Lake MLA Glen Abernethy has been auctioning off an afternoon sail around Yellowknife Bay on his sailboat at the celebrity auction since before he became an MLA in 2007. This year is no different.

He said the first few years he offered the excursion, it went for a few hundred dollars whereas last year, someone coughed up $800 for the afternoon on the water.

"It seems to be popular. I really like how it brings in that much money," said Abernethy.

"I just keep doing it."

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