ExtravaGala! September 27 2016, 0 Comments
Our first ExtravaGala went off without a hitch Saturday evening on Queens Creek. The event replaced the annual Fine Arts Auction, the school’s biggest fundraising event. While the Auction was a wonderful tradition and always successful, our event committee decided it was time for a change. A raffle of ten high-ticket items replaced the usual auction offerings and raised $25,000. Tickets were sold throughout the summer and the winning tickets were drawn during the event by auctioneer Larry Makowski. Larry and wife Linda, of Express Auctioneers, also auctioned the Collaborative Art Project and the famous Bay School Jacket to the highest bidder. The Collaborative Art Project, or CAP for short, a project dreamed up by artist Rebecca Grow, is a mixed-media painting that is the work of eight local artists. The scene was taken from a photograph of Queen’s Creek submitted to the Gazette Journal in 1932. The site of the ExtravaGala, the home of John and Becky Mayfield, is very close to the vantage point from which the photograph was taken. The Mayfields purchased the painting and it will stay right at home on the Creek. The Bay School Jacket auction, a tradition started by artist Art Miller many years ago, was won by Reed Lawson, who has already made good on her promise to wear the jacket about town and beyond to show her support for the Bay School. After my heartfelt speech, the Makowskis coaxed nearly $15,000 in donations from guests. At the close of the event, I introduced special guest Randall Kipp. The Bay School has just hired Kipp’s firm, Randall Kipp Architecture, Inc., to produce a Master Plan and Schematic Design for the School’s future growth. This process will begin with a site evaluation and analysis of the school’s programming needs. Primary among these needs is increased and flexible classroom space. We hope to add specialty spaces for culinary demonstrations and classes as well as incorporate the performing arts into their offerings. An inviting and artistic outdoor space for community enjoyment is also a part of the plan. Individuals interested in sharing their ideas about what they’d like to see offered at the Bay School may complete the survey found here, or join us for our Emerging Artists Show reception this Saturday, October 1, from 4-6. If you missed the event, you can read my speech and look at photos here.
Bay School ExtravaGala 2016 Raffle Items and Winners
Pottery Lamp by Russell Turnage Cindy Barnett of Richmond
Rebecca’s Artful Box of Handmade Jewelry Virginia Payne of Williamsburg
Oil Painting, “Lucky Lady”, by Bob Carlson Sylvia Jones of Hartfield
Jlyn Designs Paper Mache Cat Mary Marshall of Mathews
Island Stop Crab Feast for 12 Ed and Pat Lipinski of Mathews
Island Balloon Flight for Two Cindy Shea of Bainbridge Island, WA
Fly Fishing Sunset Charter for 2 Joni Baldwin of Henrico
AirBnB $500 Gift Certificate Jan Mohr of Foster
Costa Rica 5 Day Getaway for 2 Mary Montague Sikes of West Point
Vancouver & Victoria Island 7 Days for 2 Leslie Hervey of Hayes and Bassett
Door Prize
7 Days on Pawleys Island, SC Dan Desmond of Mobjack