You can get fit with a personal trainer, enjoy four rounds of golf or take a virtual cooking class if you bid on prizes in Place des Arts’ online auction.
The Coquitlam arts hub hosts its fundraiser from Oct. 22 to Nov. 6, hoping to collect $5,000 to help families in need secure spots in arts programs.
A total of 37 packages are on the block; however, if participants want to buy the gift and bypass the auction, they can purchase it outright, too.
“That way, they won’t get outbid and they’ll get the item that they want,” said Susan Pereira, marketing assistant at the Brunette Avenue venue.
Arts wellness is the theme for the fifth annual auction, Pereira said, and is in response to the COVID-19 pandemic: Three original pieces from visual artists — Jeff Wilson, Laura Clark and Tania Deisinger — are up for grabs, as are self-care experiences.
Innovative Fitness is offering two premium personal training packages while Vancouver Water Adventures has a two-hour kayaking session, for four.
There are date night ideas (dinner and museum tours) and a chartered salmon fishing trip with a two-night stay at the Fairmont Hotel in Vancouver.
For those who don’t want to travel, there are spa and restaurant packages, as well as Coquitlam Centre gift cards and a signed photo of the Canucks’ Bo Hovart.
Still, if there’s nothing of interest or available, Joan McCauley, executive director of Place des Arts, said cash donations are always welcome.
Proceeds from the auction pay for arts education programs for residents who have been referred by the City of Coquitlam (through its revamped Financial Assistance for Recreation program), as well as SHARE, SUCCESS and Big Sisters, McCauley said.
“We want to set ourselves up for success,” said Vishakha Uppoor, Place des Arts’ development coordinator. “We would like cash donations because the tourism and restaurant industries have been hit very hard and aren’t able to give as much.”
Still, Christmas is just a few weeks away, and the online auction is a good way to look for presents and/or make a contribution to a good cause, she said.
“You can shop from the comfort of your home.”
To place a bid between Oct. 22 and Nov. 6, visit www.32auctions.com/placedesarts.
