Go on. Take a peek.
Place des Arts’ second annual online auction — its biggest fundraiser of the year — opens Saturday at 9 a.m. and there are lots of items on the virtual block.
Potential bidders can browse the Coquitlam facility’s web page early to check out the prizes up for grabs. And, in case you’re wondering, there are about 25 more packages than last year’s inaugural run that brought in $8,500 for arts programs for families in financial need.
Top of the auction list is the Via Rail Canada train ride from Vancouver to Jasper, a gift worth more than $1,500. To pair with the trip, Mountain Park Lodges is also offering two nights of accommodation in Jasper plus day lift tickets to Marmot Basin Ski Resort.
Travellers can also bid on a Harbour Air Seaplanes package for anywhere the company flies, from Richmond, as well as a Seattle vacation (art museum, Mariners game and Nexus hotel stay), a two-night stay at Water’s Edge Resort in Ucluelet and an overnight at the Silver Reef Hotel Casino Spa in Ferndale, Wash.
But for those watching their wallets, there’s also a David’s Tea gift set, an autographed photo from the Canucks’ goalie Jacob Markstrom and gift certificates for Coquitlam Centre and local eateries, for example.
Casey McCarthy, Place des Arts’ resource development co-ordinator who has organized the donations for the past six months, said the variety and price points are wide ranging. And bidders are welcome to create their own date night/girls-night-out/family-fun experiences by bundling prizes together.
To bid, guests — aged 18 and up — are prompted to create an account through 32auctions.com. Once they earmark their wishes, the software program will automatically send an email if they are outbid on a prize.
That creates competition and, in turn, raises the profit margin for Place des Arts. “It’s really a fun way that helps us raise money quickly in two weeks,” McCarthy said.
Executive director Joan McCauley said besides the arts hub’s partnership with the city of Coquitlam through Get Connected, Get Active, it’s also taking on new initiatives this year like Dance for PD (for Parkinson’s disease patients) and other adapted arts programs for those with special needs.
As well, she said the Maillardville centre is exploring other ways to help the working poor — that is, those families that don’t qualify under Get Connected, Get Active because their income level is too high but they still can’t afford to register their children.
McCauley said “arts programs should be just as accessible as sports,” which has numerous funding opportunities for youth through charities like KidSport Tri-Cities.
• The online auction runs Oct. 14 at 9 a.m. to Oct. 27 at 9 p.m. Visit placedesarts.ca.
@jcleughTC
