Place bids, support local program on April 29-30 at Lapeer Center Building

 

Bidders are already showing interest in two museum reissue statues up for grabs in the April 30 auction. Pictured here is Frederic Remington’s ‘The Mountain Man.’

LAPEER COUNTY — On April 30, Lapeer County 4-H is hosting their first in person spring auction since 2019. It is their 36th annual auction.

Sarah Griffin, 4-H program coordinator is excited for the event,

“This is our first in person auction since 2019. The 2020 and 2021 auctions were held online in the fall due to the pandemic. It has been a little tough with the fast turnaround of a fall online auction to this auction but we are glad to be back on schedule with our usual timeline of a spring auction. We are super excited to see our supporters in person once again this year,” she said.

Griffin says the auction is open to the public and the event is free. She said that there are some great items to bid on for guests.

“A unique donation this year that is gaining a lot of interest is two bronze statues donated by a friend of 4-H. The statues are museum reissues of Fredric Remington’s ‘The Rattlesnake’ and ‘The Mountain Man,’” Griffin added.

“An annual bidder favorite is our club baskets. Clubs choose a theme and club members donate items to create a ‘basket’ for the auction. Two of the baskets this year include ‘Up in Smoke’ donated by North Branch Finishline Swine and ‘Hunter’s Helper’ donated by The Moo Crew.”

Other items up for bid include tickets to sporting events, gift cards, local business donations and more.

The auction is taking place at the Lapeer Center Building. Doors open at 8 a.m. and bidding begins at 9 a.m., with a live auction scheduled for 11 a.m.

Breakfast and lunch concessions will be available all day to benefit the rabbit and goat areas at the Eastern Michigan State Fair.

As has been tradition, the 29th Annual Celebrity Autographed Items Auction will be held the prior evening on Friday April 29 at the Lapeer Center Building where doors open at 5 p.m.

This event will feature more than 400 autographed items such as balls, books, cards, posters, and photographs.

Griffin said the pair of auctions serve as the main financial support for Lapeer County 4-H programs.

“During the 2019-2020 program year, over 3,400 youth in Lapeer County were reached through various forms of educational programming including traditional 4-H clubs, activities and events. The goal is to keep youth curious and encourage them to explore their interests while building life skills,” Griffin said.

The 4-H program also offers scholarships to an annual 4-H Camp retreat at Camp Lael in Lapeer along with state and national conferences, and college scholarships.

For more information about the auction and/or 4-H and its opportunities, contact Sarah Griffin at 810-667-0341 or graversa@msu.edu.