Old Hotel to hold annual auction online
By RACHAL PINKERTON
Staff Writer
OTHELLO — The annual Old Hotel Art Gallery auction is being held with a twist this year – it is being held fully online.
“We knew that we wouldn’t really be able to do what is always done,” said Jenn Stevenson, manager for the Old Hotel Art Gallery. “Even if we don’t have the attendance we want, there wasn’t going to be a possibility to be in person.”
After looking at several different options, a multi-day online auction was determined to be the best way to still hold the annual event while living in a COVID-19 world.
“We were looking at a lot of different things that different groups were doing,” Stevenson said. “We felt this was the best option for us.”
The bidding for items in the auction will start on Friday, Oct. 16 and will run through Tuesday, Oct. 27 at noon. For those wishing to bid who are not good with technology, there will be an option for interested parties to make their bid in person at the art gallery.
Those who place their bid in person will also be able to see some of the items up for auction. The items will be on display during the month of October in place of the artist of the month. Up for bid include kid-sized Seahawk chairs, a night at the Coeur d’Alene Resort, a gift card to Quinn’s Hot Springs Resort in Montana, jewelry, an Eagle Lake Ranch expedition, as well as the traditional pie each month for a year and dinner for four couples, hosted by Rob and Sheila Simmons. There will also be baskets with various items and a place for those who wish to donate money.
Stevenson said that one of the advantages of doing an online auction is that bidders don’t have to be physically present to participate.
“For people that grew up in Othello, but are not here now, it is a great opportunity for those people to place bids,” Stevenson said. “We can ship. Bidders will pay for their own shipping.”
Stevenson is hoping that word of the auction will spread through social media.
“I’m hoping that people will share it with others who used to live here,” Stevenson said.
The Old Hotel auction can be found at charityauction.bid/TheOldHotelBirthdayBenefitAuction2020. The link to the auction site will also be on the gallery’s Facebook page. For more information, the Old Hotel can be reached by phone at 509-488-5936 and is located at 33 E Larch Street, in Othello.
Rachal Pinkerton can be reached via email at rpinkerton@suntribunenews.com.