There was magic in the air Saturday evening on the third floor of the brand new Speir Brogdon Building in the Crossroads Center as the Richmond Hill Rotary Club held its annual fundraising banquet.

A sea of lavishly dressed dames and tuxedo clad gentlemen danced, dined and partied through the night with a charitable cause in mind.

The cause was to boost the Rotary Club’s annual funding which goes toward a variety of good-natured projects.

"Everybody had a really good time and were extremely generous," said Rotary Club President Linda Messinger. "We will now get to do the work that we need to do in Richmond Hill."

Event fundraising chairperson Donna Jones said that the event was a smashing success.

Not only was it an all-too-rare dressy night on the town for the city, but the fundraiser exceeded their financial goals, Jones said.

Auction items garnered around $13,000 while the tickets to attend the gala, at $100 a head, brought in around $35,000.

Jones did not have a final tally as all the income and expenses had not been calculated yet.

"We far exceeded our goal, and all of the proceeds will go toward our projects," she said. "We need about $21,000 a year to fund these projects which range from scholarships to helping senior citizens. And what a fun evening it was overall. The food was great, the band (the O'Kaysions) was great and everything just went so smoothly."

The group also helps fund international programs.