Skip to content

Gavel ready for Metchosin auction

80299goldstreamAuction2
With gavel in hand

The bang of the auctioneer’s gavel will be music to Zara Lau’s ears.

In a creative round of fundraising, the Metchosin Community Association is holding a live auction on Feb. 13. The idea has struck a chord as donated goods and services from the community have rolled in.

Items being auctioned off are as creative and unusual as the list is long. Take a drive back to the future in a Delorean courtesy of Metchosin resident Larry Hildreth, or go back in time with a ride in a 1926 Ford Model T.

Bidding is now underway in the online services auction in support of the Metchosin Community House, a well-used gathering place for community events and groups.

“(The community house) fills a real need in the community,” said Lau, treasurer of the Metchosin Community Association and auction chairperson. “It has really grown and the programs we have taken on grow more and more every year.”

To maintain and operate the house, the association relies entirely on income from renting the space and a few special annual fundraising events, such as a garage sale in May and a concession stand at the Metchosin Sheep Dog Trials.

It takes about $1,500 a month to keep the house going.

“Everything we raise is through fundraising,” added Margie Humphreys, auction co-chair.

The idea for the auction was first posed late last year during a brainstorming session, and it turned out to be a winning concept. It provided a solution to raise much-needed dollars between January to May when there is typically a fundraising lull.

“We had no idea it would be this great,” said Lau. “The response has been very generous.”

To date, 45 services have been donated including a children’s petting farm outing, an overnight stay at a bed and breakfast, a pet portrait, a running clinic, a salmon fishing charter, yoga and a ride on the backseat of a Harley Davidson motorcycle. Moreover, there are lessons on bridge, knitting, baking a pie and making bread. So far the most coveted item is a one week stay at a private cottage on Hornby Island.

“We’ve raised so much just with the pre-bidding,” Humphreys said with a smile.

Online bidding continues until 9 a.m. on Feb. 11 at www.metchosincommunityhouse.com/services_auction.htm.

The highest online bids will serve as the starting point for the live auction on Feb. 13, from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Metchosin Community House, 4430 Happy Valley Rd. That’s when Laura Gramada from the Metchosin Toastmasters Club will pick up her gavel for the good cause.

Everyone is welcome to bid online and in person. For more information or to donate an auction item, contact 250-478-5155.

editor@goldstreamgazette.com