JULY 9, 2009 ISSUE
Dancing Bear Ball and Art Auction July 25
Fishing Bear, painted by Wyn Frame and sponsored by A Cleaner World, stands tall at The Art Cellar Gallery. This bear and nine others will be sold at the Dancing Bear Ball and Art Auction at Grandfather Golf and Country Club on Saturday, July 25. Proceeds benefit the Avery Humane Society. Photo by The Art Cellar Gallery Director Liz Brown The Dancing Bear Ball and Art Auction will be held from 7:00 to 11:00 p.m. on Saturday, July 25, to benefit the new Avery County Animal Shelter and Humane Education Center.
The ball will take place at the Beach Pavilion at Grandfather Golf and Country Club and centers around the live auctions of painted bear statues. Local businesses and individuals sponsored the bears, which are in a variety of dancing poses, and local artists volunteered their talents to paint the originally plain white statues.
The ball will feature the UBU band, cocktails and “beary” delicious food, such as planked salmon, crayfish, rice risotto and berry and nut desserts.
Dress is casual, space is limited and reservations are required by Tuesday, July 21. The cost is a $150 donation per guest.
The dancing bears currently reside in various locales around the community. The three- to four-foot-tall bears can be found inside Mountaineer Landscaping, The Dandelion, Artisanal Restaurant, Erick’s Wine and Cheese, The Art Cellar, Dianne Davants’, The Crossnore School, Bank of America in Banner Elk and Mountain Community Bank.
All 10 bears—Patches, Lilly, Wild Flower, Audubon, Buddy, China Bear, Garden Bear, Wayinui, Hope and Cherokee—will attend the ball and will go home with the highest bidders.
The bears are named for their painted themes.
“Patches is painted like a quilt [and] Audubon has all kinds of birds on him,” said Susan Dowtin, co-chair for the event hosted by Avery Friends of the Shelter.
“Buddy is a fishing bear,” she added. “He has a fishing rod and is dressed like a fisherman. Hope was painted by some of the children at The Crossnore School. Our hope is that someone will buy [Hope] and donate it back to the school.”
Local artists who donated their talents to paint the bears are Kevin Beck; Barbara Timberman; Jamie Stewart; Rene Castigione; Becky Abbott; Catherine Morton and Emily Acheson-Adams from Grandfather Mountain; and Wyn Frame, Glenn Gray and a teacher and students from The Crossnore School.
The Native American bear, Cherokee, will be raffled. Tickets can be purchased either at the event or at Erick’s Wine and Cheese, located at the Shoppes at Tynecastle, where he is on display. Tickets are $10 each or six for $50.
A live auction will determine the owners of the other nine bears. Also slated to be sold at the live auction is the No. 1 print of Mildred and her cubs, which was painted by renowned wildlife artist Ray Harm, donated by Grandfather Mountain and framed by The Art Cellar.
The event also includes a silent auction for works of art donated by local artists and for a dinner for eight prepared in your home by Grandfather Mountain’s Chef Tom Jankovich. The works of art include a watercolor by Bob Eoff, a painting by Lauren Worth, an oil painting of a dog by Mimi Carter and a 16-by-20-inch oil painting of your pet by Mike Oliver.
For more information, call 828-898-8885.
Want To Go?
Date: Saturday, July 25, RSVP by Tuesday, July 21
Time: 7:00 to 11:00 p.m.
Location: Beach Pavilion, Grandfather Golf and Country Club
Cost: $150 per person
Avery Humane Society
The Avery Humane Society has plans to open the new Avery County Animal Shelter and Humane Education Center on New Vale Road in Newland in the near future. Architect David Patrick Moses is designing the shelter, and the construction was approved in early June of this year.
Last year alone, the humane society was responsible for 534 lost, unwanted or abandoned animals getting adopted or reclaimed by families.
The humane society’s Paws & Claws Resale Store, located behind Ingles in Newland at 251 New Vale Road, opened this year to benefit the shelter. It accepts donations of large or small items and operates Thursday to Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
For more information about the resale store, call 828-733-0025.
General funds for operating the existing shelter or donations specifically for the new facility can be sent to: Avery Humane Society, P.O. Box 2474, Banner Elk, N.C. 28604. Donors are asked to specify where they want their money to be spent.
Visit the current Avery Humane Society at 1824 Stamey Branch Road in Newland or click to www.averyhumane.org.
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