Now’s the time if you want to get a ticket to the Pilot Club of Suffolk’s annual Queen’s Banquet on Oct. 3.

The club produces the event as a fundraiser for it to donate to 14 different community organizations. It will also hold a silent auction and will sell the homemade decorations for the event.

“It’s a fundraiser for us where the money we raise during the year goes back to the community,” said Cathy Richards of the Pilot Club.

The festival queen is selected from among girls who are seniors at the city’s five high schools — King’s Fork, Lakeland and Nansemond River high schools, as well as Nansemond-Suffolk Academy and Suffolk Christian Academy. They are evaluated by a panel based on four criteria: a creative writing essay, school activities, awards and achievements and community involvement.

During the event’s intermission, Cecelia’s Boutique and Gifts will have people modeling clothing.

“We as a club look forward to this event every year,” Richards said. “It’s like the kickoff of Peanut Fest.”

The event will take place at the Hilton Garden Inn Suffolk Riverfront at 100 E. Constance Road. The silent auction begins at 6 p.m., and the program begins at 7 p.m.

At past events, silent auction items have included restaurant gift certificates, donated plants and bushes from a nursery, a television and a beach cottage for a weekend, Richards said.

Tickets, which must be purchased in advance, are $30 and are on sale at the Suffolk Visitor Center at 524 N. Main St. and Cecelia’s Boutique and Gifts at 120 N. Main St. through Sept. 29. No tickets will be sold at the door.

Though the club puts on the event, Richards said they are really there to celebrate the girls, who she noted have to be active in school to get to this point.

“We look forward to it and look forward to recognizing the students,” Richards said. “It’s all about them and the hard work that they have done.”