Fools' Auction raises $24,000 for arts education
NISSWA - The Arts in Bloom Fools' Auction on Saturday at Grand View Lodge in Nisswa to raise money for the arts surpassed organizers' expectations - in donations, quantity and quality of auction items, numbers of guests (sold-out crowd), entertainment, dining and camaraderie among people in and around the Nisswa community.
The event raised $24,084. The money will be used to offset Brainerd School District budget cuts that will affect funding for arts programs next school year. It will help fund arts initiatives to be hosted at Nisswa Elementary School for lakes area children. The Nisswa Parent Teacher Organization organized the fools' auction.
Nisswa Elementary School third-graders created art for this fabric pillow for the silent auction.
The goal of this event was to raise funds to help area students experience an exposure to the arts curriculum at an age when their eyes, minds and hearts are wide open to such diverse activities, such as artists in residence programs, world language lessons and exposure to the arts through field trips.
Nearly 300 area residents attended the event, shopping at silent auction areas and selecting classroom baskets with themes such as fishing; Breakfast in Bloom; grilling; cookie baking; art; camping; coffee; Up North, MN; spa; pets; gardening; and chocolate. Blues Train provided music and Mike Pomeranz, anchor from KARE 11 News, was master of ceremonies.
Area businesses donated more than 90 silent and live auction items in categories such as: sports and recreation; culinary experiences; family fun; art and photography; and health and beauty.
A "Just for Kids" area provided parents a chance to bid on day passes for their children to serve as Nisswa School principal, Nisswa chief of police or Nisswa mayor. A popular silent auction category was "Children's Art," for which Nisswa students in kindergarten through fourth grade worked on creative pieces involving watercolor, printmaking, papier-mch sculpture, fabric pillows and collage.
The evening ended with a spirited live auction, which Pomeranz emceed, featuring two sets of six Vikings tickets in the Terrace Suite Level; week condo stays in Keystone, Colo., and the Myrtle Beach, S.C., area; a week beach cottage stay on North Long Lake; a special offering from the Northway family's personal collection of Jann Northway's print, "Coneflowers"; appetizers for 12 prepared in your home; and New Orleans cuisine for six prepared in your home.