Going, going, gone to the D.M. Hunt Library auction on Sept. 20

FALLS VILLAGE — One of the biggest social events in town looks to be better than ever this year.

The D.M. Hunt Library’s annual auction and cocktail party fundraiser is slated for Saturday, Sept. 20, from 5 to 8 p.m. The event is divided into two portions: The silent auction opens at 5 and ends at 6:30 p.m., while the live auction, presided over by Betsy Howie, begins promptly at 7 p.m.

The silent auction will once again be held mostly inside the library and outside under the tent. But unlike in previous years, the live portion will be held under the tent, with seating available. Up until this year, the auctioneer worked on the library front steps while bidders signaled from the parking lot.

Along with An Evening of Words and Music at Music Mountain (which will be later this fall), Hunt’s Homegrown Plant and Books Sale and Chocolate in the Village, the auction is a major fundraising machine for the library, typically accounting for 15 percent of its operating budget. Last year, the auction attracted about 180 people.

In addition to those once-a-year events, Friends of Hunt Library runs a regular book sale on the first Saturday of each month. That group also sponsors a monthly drawing featuring baskets and gifts.

As in the past, there will be beer and wine at the auction, along with the library’s now-famous specialty drink, the Green Man Grog. This year, however, the appetizers and finger food will be catered by Freund’s Farm Market and Bakery in East Canaan.

The catalog for the live and silent auctions is substantial. The silent catalog includes items from local artisans, gift certificates to local businesses, children’s items, tickets to museums and performance festivals and the full-day use of an eight-person pontoon boat on Twin Lakes from O’Hara’s Marina.

The list of live items includes tickets to Lime Rock Park including “hot laps� of the track in the pace car, a one-hour aerial tour of the area with Bob Giumarro in his Piper Archer four-seater plane and lunch for 10 at the conservatory of interior designer Bunny Williams’ elegant 18th-century home.

Tickets are $20 and benefit the library. Major sponsors include John Harney Associates, Century Aggregates, C.A. Lindell and Son and Salisbury Bank & Trust.

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