Art d’Vine with strings attached
Published 10:34 pm Friday, September 5, 2014
The folks organizing the Suffolk Center for Cultural Arts’ annual Art d’Vine fundraiser have been pulling a few strings to get the best items for its live auction.
As always, the Sept. 26 event will feature live music by the Jimmy Masters Trio, food by Mosaic and wine pairings. But the major draw this year will be the live auction items — one in particular.
Ann and John Pinner check out silent auction items at last year’s Art d’Vine, a fundraiser for the Suffolk Center for Cultural Arts.
The banner item this year is a guitar autographed by country music sensation Luke Bryan, donated by the artist and his friend, local Jason Fawcett.
“We are so excited about this,” said Sharyn Flintoff, president of the SCCA’s Foundation Board. “He’s a hot country star right now, and this guitar is a really big deal.”
Bryan won Top Country Artist and Top Country Album in 2014’s Billboard Music Awards and has been nominated for three Academy of Country Music Awards. In 2012, he swept every single category in which he was nominated in the American Country Awards, and back at his debut won Top New Solo Vocalist and Top New Artist at the Academy of Country Music Awards.
Reflecting just how much the guitar will be coveted by country fans, the Suffolk Center will do something never before done for an auction item at Art d’Vine — start the auction online.
Opening Sept. 12, the online auction can be accessed through the center’s website, www.suffolkcenter.org, or its Facebook page. The online portion will close the day of the event, with the auction continuing during the event.
Sealed bids and bids by phone also are being accepted, Flintoff said.
“Anyone that’s interested can certainly call the center” for more information, she said.
Other live auction items will include a low country boil on the Nansemond, a chartered fishing trip to the Albemarle Sound, and a four-course dinner with wine pairings for five couples, accompanied by live jazz music, cooked by a chef in your home.
A new glass artist, Kim Profitt, as well as a woodworking artist Ray Rountree, also will have items in the live auction.
A number of silent auction items are also available.
The theme of the event, “Diamonds and Denim,” reflects the casual atmosphere, Flintoff said.
“A lot of people still think this is a fancy affair, and it’s not,” she said. “It’s a fun night to be in downtown Suffolk, and we want everybody to feel like they’re welcome.”
For those who don’t drink wine, beer, water and soft drinks will be available.
Tickets are $60. To purchase tickets, visit www.suffolkcenter.org. For more information, call 923-0003.
