Green Party fundraiser auction
Auctioneer Mike Scott and one of his lovely assistants Victoria Davis. Photo: Em Hofstede.
It was all go Sunday night at the Mussel Inn when the Golden Bay Greens held their regular auction in support of the Green Party.
A dedicated crowd of greenies had a fun evening bidding on and winning some special deals donated by their fellows.
The auction raised over $2,500, which will be used to support the national campaign. In Golden Bay, the green lifestyle is consciously chosen by many, even if their politics aren’t green, so the money raised here is deemed best used in urban campaigns to encourage the so-called “swing” vote and win the party recognition.
Items were donated from all corners of the Bay, indicating the generous support in this longtime Green Party stronghold. Artworks, jewellery, wine, Mussel Inn beer, gourmet food, plants, apparel, gadgets that every household needs (like a Chip Williams original feather duster for those hard-to-reach places), as well as gadgets we might not need (like a device that tells you how much electricity you’re using, even as it uses electricity to tell you) went on the block under the guiding voice of auctioneer Mike Scott and his lovely assistants Victoria Davis and Sylvia Rowse.
Perhaps a sign of the times, and hard to miss in the wake of Bay Art, the artworks at this auction went for a steal, with a small, framed print by Chris Finlayson, valued at $150, going out the door for $30, and an elegant bone koru brooch by Brian Bell nabbed for $80, half its original retail price.
Many supporters walked away with more than five items, having spent over $100. For those enthusiasts who woke the next morning with auction hangover and found they didn’t need some of those items, the declutter session offered by Astrid Gluth may yet prove to be the most valuable item on offer that evening.
Some practical items went for near face value or more, such as the $50 voucher for food at Golden Bay Organics, sold for $65.
Even if you don’t support the Green Party, you may like to attend the next auction just for its entertainment value: wives bid against husbands (one hubby got a sure-fire love smack for his unauthorised bidding) and friends against friends.
Perhaps it’s that fun camaraderie that makes Golden Bay’s green politics so successful.
Em Hofstede
