The wine flowed freely. Plates were heaped high with sushi, stuffed quahogs, and much more. But Gleason Family YMCA Executive Director Laura Prisco summed up the serious purpose of the evening.

"At what other program can you come in and walk up to the front desk and say, 'I can't afford to be here today, but can you let me in anyway?' " she asked those gathered in the Marion Music Hall last Friday night.

At the Wareham Y, that happens all the time -- thanks to a commitment not to turn anyone away for lack of ability to pay. Through October, the Gleason Family Y has awarded scholarship aid worth $163,000. That compares to $97,600 during the same period in 2009.

The scholarship fund benefited to the tune of $7,500 from Friday's event -- thanks in large part to the fact that donations covered 85% of costs.

Prominent on the list of those thanked for their culinary contributions were Wareham businesses Cup 2 Cafe, Ella's Wood Burning Oven Restaurant, the Narrows Crossing Restaurant, Piper Beau's, the Stonebridge Bistro, and Tihonet Village Market. Among the auction items were a cord of firewood from Nessralla Farm, "gourmet bird seed" and feeder from Wareham Feed and items and gift certificates from dozens of other area businesses and individuals.

Among the individual contributors and 85 attendees, Dick Wheeler of Wareham arrived with several large trays of stuffed clams -- made with what he said was an "old L.L.Bean recipe," written back in the days when it was considered "healthy to put bacon in everything."