Monee Historical Society’s second annual Art Auction & Wine and Cheese Reception survived a torrential downpour, thanks to plenty of pre-planning and foresight.
More than 60 guests attended the event, which was moved from Heritage Center to the park pavilion next door.
“There was a lot of rain,” MHS President Christi Holston said with a laugh.
“However, with the weather forecast, we were prepared and decided to move the entire event to under the pavilion next door. Things went beautifully, and I think it was actually a blessing in disguise. By having it under the pavilion we had much more room, the auction Items, entertainment, bar and food were all in one place and it made conversation that much nicer.
“All of the artwork was donated, many pieces by Monee and other local artists,” she said.
“We had paintings from Bill Barnes, Monee Village Economic Development Director; glass work from George Machart, Monee’s own world-renowned glass artist; framed nature photography from our own member Penny Shnay; Satirical Political Cartoons from Pulitzer Prize nominated Paul Battenfield, whose work was featured in the Chicago Daily News from the 1930 through the 1960s, plus much, much more.
“We had 39 silent auction offerings. Each one had a work of art or two as elements to the total item up for bid,” Holston said.
“For example, we had a movie-style popcorn machine donated, so we paired that with a couple of movie posters and a gift card for a nearby cinema. Chris Arnold, grandson of one of our Board of Directors, Ron Arnold, makes hand-turned pens and other items. He fashioned a pizza cutter out of wood salvaged from the Creamery restoration and we put that together with a cutting board and gift cards donated by Frankie’s Touch of Italy.
“Each item had a minimum bid stipulated and after the minimum was met, people could write down their assigned bidding number and outbid the person before them.
“It was great fun to see how competitive we can all get when we really want an item.
“All but one of the items was sold for their minimum bid; most went for considerably higher.
“The whole evening was loads of fun, but at the end of the night when everyone was leaving the heavens really opened and it began to pour! Our bartenders–MHS members Mark Mostert and Jim Sim–each with a golf umbrella in hand, were scurrying here and there, making sure that everyone got to their cars high and dry! A good time was had by all!
“It was universally agreed that the food, the quality of the artwork up for bid, and the company were all topnotch.”
Holston acknowledged that an event like that one takes a great deal of help and hard work.
“I would like to thank all of the members of the Monee Historical Society,” she said.
“An event like this takes many people working lots of hours to make it a success. Our Executive Director Barb Sim is a dab hand at party planning, and she was the guiding force through the entire process.
“Margaret Horne, Kathy Peshak, Dave Schmidt and Mark Brockmiller were also invaluable and put in many hours to make sure that we offered a quality event to the village, and they succeeded in doing just that.
“I also want to thank everyone who attended. The historical society depends entirely on donations to stay in business, and we want to continue to bring educational and enjoyable programming to the village for years to come.
“Our entertainment this year was provided by the Molly Rose Trio, and they were a big hit,” she added.
“An anonymous donor underwrote the cost of the Trio, and everyone enthusiastically enjoyed their music. An impromptu dance floor even spang up with several couples.
“Finally, I cannot say thank you enough to all of the many artists, vendors and members for their generous donations to the silent auction. It is gratifying to know that they believe in our mission and are willing to support it through their time and talent. We will be posting a full list of everyone who contributes to the silent auction on our Facebook page shortly.
“The annual Art Auction is one of the historical society’s biggest fundraisers each year,” Holston said. “The other is the Mrs. First’s Tea, which takes place every June. The tea is co-sponsored by the Monee Women’s Club.
“We hit our financial goal for the art auction and exceeded last year’s total, so we were pleased.
“There were several events that were scheduled after our date was announced that kept our attendance under our target goal of 100 people and we hope to schedule next year’s event to avoid these conflicts.
“All proceeds will go to expand the schedule of speakers and events to the community.
“We are already planning the 2027 Art Auction, which will be even bigger and offer more of the best of our local artists, artisans and musical entertainment and will announce the date soon.”