The Silent Auction items are all cleared out of The Long Center, and you'd probably not find a trace left of the overwhelmingly successful party held there on Sunday. The final numbers aren't in, but all the preliminary indicators are that OctoTea wasn't significantly affected by either the weather or the economy.

Not only does the event depend on the work of dedicated volunteers, ultimately it depends on the attendance of people who care about the cause -- helping people with HIV/AIDS have a better life. We could plan the most wonderful party ever held, but without the people who attend, it would accomplish nothing. The heroes of this story are the people who said to themselves, "I don't care if it rains, I'm going anyway!" and all those who have been negatively affected by the economy but still dug a little deeper to contribute in various ways.

All of us constitute a group of people who really care that their ticket price supplied eyeglasses for someone who desperately needed them, yet couldn't afford them; people whose $20 worth of raffle tickets fed someone for a week, or even whose $5 raffle ticket gave someone a bus pass. You kept the electricity on for someone with your $100 silent auction bid, and saved someone else from eviction by donating a $250 service. Perhaps most important of all, you gave hope for a future and a better life, where it was needed most. All this, we did together -- many kinds of gifts from many different people.

But that isn't the end, and of course it never is. This year is different, however. This year, OctoTea XIV kicked off Red Week -- a week of focused AIDS Awareness. The general public needs to be frequently reminded that the AIDS Crisis isn't over, and that's what Red Week is all about. There's no greater way to raise awareness about AIDS, than to get a glimpse into the lives of people with AIDS, and those who are surviving AIDS.

So in that spirit, we invite you to get involved with the Octopus Club, and help us support the work of AIDS Services of Austin throughout the year. You will have fun, but more importantly, you'll be inspired to do more and give more, because the lives of many of our friends and neighbors right here, depend on it.

OctoTea is one wonderful day in time, but the needs and the spirit live on and on.

You keep it going. You give hope.