Fine art locally made crafts and once in a lifetime experiences contributed to the successful online auction recently hosted by the Yorkton Brick Flour Mill. Bidding for the 83 items ran from June 7-17. The bidding provided entertainment for bidders and much needed funds for the Mill restoration.
The auction had items and experiences too fit just about anyone from anywhere. The 120 registered bidders came from near and far locations ranging from as far north as Whitehorse, Yukon, west to Cobble Hill and Vancouver B.C to Edmonton AB and east to Brandon.
Tami Hall, one of the committee co-chairs, noted that in total, the auction raised nearly $8,000 which will be put toward more restoration projects and the historical storyboards at the Mill. The highest bid was for an Ernest Luthi painting donated by Nancy Morrison, of Vancouver. There were other fine art items and collectibles such as a rare Cree birch bark biting (wigwas) by Angelique Merasty, an artist who has work in the Smithsonian.
In addition to the art, the auction offered a number of experiences. These proved to be quite popular. It is difficult to put a cap on the price of unique experiences, so most of them received a lot of attention. Adventures such as a private acoustic musical performance by Mitchell Lysak, airplane flights, horse-drawn sleigh ride, guest DJ spot on the radio, vintage fire truck ride and an afternoon riding on a combine were a few up for bids.
Hand-made and locally sourced items were also very popular. Juanita Brown, one of the co-chairs emphasized that the generous donations from local businesses were a huge hit and resulted in some exciting bidding wars. With over 45 donors the auction would not have been successful without the community’s support. The Heritage Society thanks all their donors, bidders, committee members and all who supported this auction in any way.
