Photos: Grossmont College 50th Anniversary Gala, "Fifty and Fantabulous"

Grossmont College celebrated its with more than 300 alumni, students, faculty and staff at a fundraising gala at the newest buiding on campus, the , on Saturday.

The event was themed “,” and guests were encouraged to dress like they would have as a college student, so folks wore everything from tie dye shirts to college letterman jackets, and generally dressed casually. The night was geared toward fundraising, with tickets costing $175 a piece.

Entertainment included 60s surf tunes by the Surfari Bushmen & Steve Baker, guitarists Devon Volta and Kevin Ford, the Grossmont College Dancers and the Grossmont College Gospel Choir.

Fundraising events included a silent auction with nearly 100 items, like and a Vincent Jackson autographed jersey; a live auction with items like a locally-made Taylor Solidbody Electric Guitar and a central coast getaway; a raffle for a big screen TV, amongst other things; and the fundraising finished with a paddle-raising that garnered a good number of donations.

Attendees were having a great time, and got pretty lively during the live auction!

Proceeds from the auctions went to the Grossmont College Griffin and Dreamkeepers Funds through the Foundation for Grossmont and Cuyamaca Colleges, a recently formed fundraising organization that supports students and educational programs at Grossmont and Cuyamaca Colleges.

Throughout the two-story Health and Sciences Complex were displays of photographs and memorabilia chronicling the college’s 50-year history. The state-of-the-art Nursing Simulation room, which houses a number of dummies that react like real humans and cost as much as $150,000 a piece, was open for touring with nursing students on hand to talk about the new facility.

A book with photographs and comments from the college's opening in 1961 to present day was handed out at the end of the night. Check out the photo gallery- if you look close, you might find Santee Patch Editor Steven Bartholow in a photo featured in the 50th Anniversary book- immortalized as a student, learning the ins and outs of journalism.