In lieu of its traditional Labor Day auction, Merrill Habitat for Humanity is rolling out a series of unique new fundraisers this year. The first of these will be a chair auction.
“We will be doing several things throughout the year,” said Merrill Habitat board member Dennis Grefe. “This is one of them.”
These will be no ordinary chairs; Habitat is asking local artists to creatively design a chair of their choosing, enter it in the competition and submit it for auction.
Habitat board member Eric Heeren said the group was looking for new and interesting ways to raise funds and the chair project fit that directive.
“It will be a unique fundraiser and a way to showcase the artistic talents of the Merrill community,” he said.
Chair examples are currently on display at Grefe’s business, Aunt Lu’s Antiques in downtown Merrill.
Participants may use a chair of their own, or they may contact Grefe at Aunt Lu’s for a chair to paint. Even artists who have their own chair should contact Grefe to register their entry.
Anything with a seat (bench, stool, etc.) is permissible, as long as it is not upholstered.
“It needs to be designed to be outdoors,” Grefe said. “We ask that the artists try to use weather resistant paint.”
Chairs will be displayed during the month of October in the windows of area businesses and the public will be asked to vote for their favorites by placing money in a can at 25 cents per vote. The top three winning artists, as determined by the amounts raised, will receive prizes in Merrill Chamber Dollars.
Completed chairs should be turned in by Sept. 30 to Aunt Lu’s Antiques.
The chairs will be auctioned at Habitat’s “Evening of Elegance” on Saturday, Nov. 9 at the Merrill Historical Society.
For more information, contact Dennis Grefe at 715-536-3337.
On Labor Day, Habitat for Humanity will still hold a silent auction in the rotunda of the livestock pavilion at the Lincoln County Fairgrounds. However, they won’t hold the full live auction as in the past.
“We felt it was time to do something different,” Grefe said. “The auction was successful, but we felt we could probably raise that much and more by doing some different things.”
“This gets the community involved more, too,” Heeren added.