HUMBOLDT — Donations are being collected for Humboldt’s Festival of Wreaths 22nd annual silent auction, with funds going to the Friends of the Museum and Gallery for the city’s art and culture programming.
The auction features donations from community members and local businesses including decor, quilts, clothing, home-made preserves, photography, baking, original artworks, gift baskets, and more – a far stretch from its early roots of being an auction of just wreaths.
Jennifer Fitzpatrick, Humboldt’s director of cultural services, said that nowadays gift baskets and food items are popular donations.
“We were just thrilled with the amount of donations that we received last year,” Fitzpatrick said. “I think that when you’re an organization based in the community you ebb and flow with the community. So whatever the community decides to bring in will be fantastic and that’s how we’ll proceed.”
Items are being collected until Nov. 6, with the silent auction beginning Nov. 18 at 1 p.m. and closing on Dec. 9 at 5 p.m.
Individuals can bid at the Festival of Wreaths online shop, which can be found on the Humboldt and District Museum and Gallery’s website at humboldtmuseum.ca, or bid in person at the gallery.
This year’s event will include a festival raffle and a wine grab.
Fitzpatrick said they are waiting until December to determine if there will be a live auction based on COVID-19 conditions. Last year marked the first annual event which missed the feature due to the pandemic.
“We know that the auction will close and we will sell everything by Dec. 9, but it all depends on how the restrictions are and comfort zones because the gallery is not a large space so we just want to make sure everyone is comfortable.”
The gallery is open Tuesday to Saturday, 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Friends of the Museum and Gallery use the funds raised through the event for city programming such as the summer scavenger hunts, heritage programs, youth art programs, sponsoring concerts and more. One recent project using Friends of the Museum funds are the Humboldt Public Art Committee's Sense of Place historical storyboards around the community.
