Each person takes to the stage amid cheers and screams from the crowd.

The auctioneer rattles off numbers faster than gunfire from an automatic weapon.

Around the room, people are throwing up their arms and waving napkins.

For some, the intensity is just too much. They have to sit on their hands.

Seriously, the Pendleton Chef's Auction is not your typical society event.

Still, year after year, it does raise money for a good cause.

Chef Leanne Kamekona has been with the auction since its inception five years ago. “What I like about it is that it's a really fun

event, but it also helps a lot of people in need,” she says.

The auction is what primarily funds the Pendleton Foundation, created by Karen Pendleton of La Quinta.

The nonprofit organization offers assistance to local families affected by cancer. Their goal is to take the edge off the families' expenses by paying utilities, providing gas cards, or giving them money for food.

The fundraiser begins with hors d'oeuvres, cooked at action stations, so the chefs and guests can meet and mingle. Then a gourmet meal, prepared by Kamekona, is served.

And that's when the real action begins — guests bid on some of the valley's greatest chefs during a lively auction. Winning bidders receive a meal for eight cooked by the chef, either at the patron's home or the chef's restaurant.

This year, Pendleton offers another way to give. In the Chef's Village, guests can buy $25 or $50 gift cards that will go directly to the foundation's clients.

“I like that this gets right down to the basics,” Kamekona says. “You know exactly where your money is going and that it's helping people.

“That's why so many chefs are so passionate about doing this event.”

Maggie Downs is a features reporter for The Desert Sun. She can be reached at (760) 778-6435 or maggie.downs@thedesertsun.com.