WEST PARIS – Bicycles, gift certificates, yard sale items and grab bags will be among the 600 or so items up for sale at a benefit Chinese auction today.

The auction will begin at 11 a.m. at the Agnes Gray School gym, and will benefit Tri-Town Rescue and West Paris Olde Home Days.

Martha Roberts, treasurer for both Tri-Town Rescue Auxiliary and Olde Home Days, said the auction was very successful last year, when more than $5,000 was raised. The money was split evenly between the rescue service and the Olde Home Days celebration.

She said the money for Tri-Town Auxiliary helped pay for a new rescue truck, “and it helped us get through another year.” A new speaker system was purchased for Olde Home Days, she said, along with some games.

Elizabeth Cummings, secretary for the auxiliary, said there also will be a 50/50 raffle Saturday. The raffle winner will receive half the proceeds brought in through ticket sales. The other half will go into the benefit pool.

With nearly the same number of items on hand this year, Cummings said, “We hope to do the same, if not better, this year.”

The auction has become the big fund-raising event for both groups, Roberts said.

Items have been donated throughout the year by area businesses and residents.

Roberts said she’s received truckloads of goods, and hundreds of items have been stored in her cellar.

“It’s like real scary – we could hardly open the doors last night,” she said.