Check Out the Sweet Seats at the Chair-ity Auction, Sept 16th

The Chair-ity Silent Auction will be held Friday, Sept. 16th from 6:00pm – 8:00pm at the Sidney Elks Lodge, 123 3rd St W. Up-cycled and decorated chairs will be auctioned off with all proceeds going to help Crestwood Inn purchase new dining room chairs.

In addition to the auction, there will be a mystery wine-pull; for $20, participants can pull a random bottle of wine varying in value, variety, and uniqueness. Vickie Vaira will be playing the accordion that evening and Crestwood Inn cook Barb Mocko is serving up her special recipe chili and cinnamon rolls, insuring that no one will be leaving hungry.

"I think it's going to be really fun and it's something different," said Kelly Wilkinson, Support Service Coordinator at Crestwood Inn. "We've been very fortunate to have such a great response from the community and I'm hoping to have one of our new dining room chairs on display at the event."

The chairs to be auctioned have all been donated by local artists including Afton Rae, Penny Filler, Jackie Damm, Brandi Sander, Beth Kunda, Peggy Kopp, Kathy Nicholson, Serina Everett, Claire Mayor, Carol Nankivel, Jodi Berry, Dixie Mead, and Jitterbug Preschool. The chairs will be on display at the MonDak Heritage Center, 120 3rd Ave SE, Sept. 8th -15th, except for two that will be unveiled the night of, and will only be bid on by Early Bird ticketholders.

Friends of Crestwood, businesses, and community members have donated several bottles of wine. Individuals and businesses can also sponsor a new dining room chair that will have a gold plaque that reads: donated by, in honor of, or in memory of. The cost to sponsor a new chair is $400.00.

Anyone with an old wooden chair they would like to donate for the auction can contact Wilkinson and she will be happy to accept them; chairs can be already decorated, or artists can be found to work on the donated chairs.

There are only 25 Early Bird tickets available. They are $40 and include early admittance at 5:00pm, a handcrafted pottery bowel or mug, and the opportunity to bid on the two mystery chairs to be unveiled that evening.

General admission tickets are $20 and both can be purchased at the MonDak Heritage Center or the Richland County Housing Authority, 1032 6th St SW. General admission tickets will also be sold at the door.

The total cost for new specialty chairs at Crestwood Inn is approximately $20,000 and $7,000 has been raised so far.

For more information, or to donate or sponsor a chair, contact Wilkinson at 406-433-4681. Anyone who would like to bid on a chair, but can't be present can contact Wilkinson with a dollar amount for a proxy-bid.