There’s an art to finishing a fund-raising campaign. Or in the case of the Twin Cities Lions Club, an art auction.
The Lions Club has a little more than $10,000 left to raise so it can replace the playground equipment in Cottonwood Falls’ Swope Park. And with the Prairie Fire Festival coming up, the Lions decided to put themselves over the top with one of Chase County’s greatest natural resources — artists.
“The artists of Chase County are having an exhibition during the festival, so it kind of rang a bell,” said James Redick of the Lions chapter. “There are a lot of artists that come down to paint the scenery around here and we thought they wouldn’t mind giving something back. And it looks like they’re doing it.”
The auction will start at 6 p.m. Saturday in the Prairie Coffee Company building in Cottonwood Falls. So far, 13 artists have agreed to donate works to the auction, including painters Judith Mackey of Cottonwood Falls, Lisa Grossman of Lawrence and Arthur Short Bull of Alma.
The Lions need around $171,000 to replace Swope Park’s playground equipment, which has become old and unsafe. They’ve been trying to raise about half of that so they can secure the rest in grants. And after about a year and a half of work, the club has managed to take in roughly $75,000 , which puts the end in sight.
Individual donations have ranged from a dollar to $1,000, Redick said. And some folks have kept coming back for more, such as the Girl Scouts, who have been collecting aluminum cans for the cause.
“They’re one of the donors that just impresses me so much,” Redick said. “They’ve had several donations of $200 or $300 each. They’ve done that three or four times and they’re continuing to do it.”
Other participating artists are Bennie, Marie, Keith and Norine Holtsclaw, Marita Bolson, Mary Lou Young, Jean Singer, Roger Spohn, Cathie Thompson and Jo Flager. Still others are expected to join in, Lions member Sue Smith said.
Smith said that about 20 pieces of art would be up for auction.
“This is just an opportunity to pick up some really swell artwork at maybe some tremendous prices,” she said.
The auction is only one of many events that will cap off the week-long Prairie Fire Festival, now in its sixth year. The name reflects the traditional Flint Hills practice of burning off the prairie in order to renew it, a practice that goes back to American Indian hunters and has been continued by modern ranchers.