It was standing room only at a fund-raising auction held last week.
The 11th annual Festival of Wreaths auction was held at the Humboldt Mall on December 9. The festival is an annual event organized by the Friends of the Humboldt and District Museum and Gallery (HDMG) to raise funds for the museum.
This year's festival saw the packed crowd bid on over 120 items, the most ever donated to the event, said Jennifer Hoesgen, HDMG curator. Few of the items for sale at the auction were actually wreaths as almost any item can be donated. This year's selection included wall hangings, table runners, ornaments, pens, and baking.
This year's proceeds from the event will help with youth education programming, she added.
The auction raised just under $6,000 this year, up from just over $5,700 last year, Hoesgen said.
"We're really excited about that," she said. "We're very, very pleased with the turnout and very appreciative of the community support."
Back once again, lending their auction expertise and wit were Mel Stroeder and Bud Guenther and the rest of their auctioneering crew. Taking a turn at the microphone was Humboldt city councillor Rob Muench. Muench is the city's representative on the museum board.
New this year to the auction were the people helping display the items to the crowd. The members of the Humboldt Broncos Junior A hockey team donned their jerseys to exhibit the items on the stage during the bidding.
The festival wouldn't be possible without all the volunteers who help during the festival, those who donate items, and those who buy them, Hoesgen stated.
"I just hope everyone had fun," she said of the auction night.
