There were groups of boys like this one (older ones watching out for their younger brothers/cousins/neighbors)....
 

..and there were groups of older girls taking care of younger girls, while their parents were busy helping with the auction.
 

I was told that the auction is held each year on the Saturday in July closest to the date of the full moon.  If the reason for that is to assure a successful fundraiser, I would say it worked well the two times I've attended.  The "auction harvest" both years seemed to be bountiful, as was the harvest in the field.