Rug Show Moments 2011 - The Auction

by John Aldrich

The show opens to the public on Friday night with a gala fund raiser, and the auction is the center of attention for the evening. A festive atmosphere helps set the mood, and attendees receive a 10% discount on rug purchases. Proceeds from the evening are used to help defray the cost of staging the show.

Deer Valley served tempting food:

Music added to the ambiance. Nancy and Gary played beautiful flute music:

Fred Engel entertained with cowboy poetry:

And the musical duo Stampede wowed the audience:

As we moved toward the actual auction, people had a chance to peruse the various packages that would be offered:

This beautiful horse-themed textile piece by ANE volunteer Gina Zimmerer was one of the highlights:

Our auctioneer for the past several years has been Richard O'Keefe who conducts a fast-paced and highly entertaining event:

Art Sleeper once again did an outstanding job organizing the auction. This year he added an additional feature in which bidders could win free raffle items based on a drawing of paddle numbers:

Another unusual auction feature was the opportunity to purchase Rainbow Food Boxes for delivery on food runs to the reservation. Bidders could jump in at any price that suited their inclination and budget:

Four rugs were included in the auction this year. The most unique was this ceremonial rug by Dorothy Cody, one of our Elders at Leupp:

This offering produced the most spirited bidding of the evening:

Thanks to the result of this package plus all the others and the generous bidding by the audience, we had the most successful auction in rug show history.