By Abbey Snow
Art Auction at Mesquite Fine Arts Center
The Mesquite Fine Arts Center will be holding a Live Auction on October 14th with a lot of fun art items to bid on as well as good food and entertainment. The money raised will go towards free educational art programs for the community.
Liz Etie joined the Virgin Valley Artists Association in 2017 after retiring. She worked the front desk of the gallery for a while until she was asked to take over the Brown Bag Series program providing a free monthly speaker about art and culture. After three years and attending the board meetings, she offered to take over the secretary’s job when Sandy Cooper resigned. She has been doing that for two years.
“Linda Birks and I worked with Rita Fulmer in 2021 to run the Silent Auction in conjunction with the Witches’ Ball,” Etie said. “We ended up raising $3,500.00 for the gallery.”
“This Spring I volunteered to chair a committee to hold a Live Auction with an auctioneer, Jared Noel, “ Etie said. “Linda Birks agreed to help me and Linda Still and Joy Lamb are also on our committee. We are accepting monetary donations, gift certificates and volunteers to help with the Auction.”
Etie said that at the Live Auction they will have many art pieces donated by their members as well as other offerings from local businesses to bid on. There will be a round of golf for four (4) at Conestoga Golf Course and a membership at the Recreation Center to name just a couple.
“The Auction will be held on Friday evening October 14, 2022 beginning at 5:00 pm with Hors d’oeuvres and libations and music in the courtyard,” Etie said. “Viewing of the items will begin at 10:00 AM Friday, October 14, 2022 in the gallery with food and drinks beginning at 5:00 PM. Bidding will begin at 6:00 PM in the classroom. We will have two Showgirls and two Mesquite Firemen to sell tickets to our 50/50 raffle.”
Etie said they need volunteers for help setting up and then taking down the next day. They also need help to bring items from gallery to classroom to be bid on and back to gallery. They also need a couple of people to service food tables, to work the desk and a person to manage the raffle.
All funds raised go to the Virgin Valley Artists Association free programs like Get Smart with Art for kids, Stay Smart with Art for adults, the Brown Bag Cultural Series with free speakers, and the monthly free receptions held to honor the winners of each exhibition, Etie said.
“We hope a lot of people will attend and enjoy the Live Auction and bid on all our articles to raise funds for our free programs for both adults and children of our community,” Etie said.
Anyone interested in volunteering can contact Liz Etie at etienne@cascadeaccess.com. You can also visit the website at https://www.mesquitefineartscenter.com/ to donate or volunteer.
The following photos are of the silent auction held last year. They had over 60 items donated to sell. Photo credit: Liz Etie
