FVAC Silent Auction Features Spa Days, Golf and Original Art

Supporting the Farmington Valley Arts Center this summer is easy. All it takes is a little indulgence. Enjoy a day of golf or treat yourself to a facial, while helping sustain an organization that has worked hard to provide our community with a place to create and appreciate art for the last 35 years.

From Wednesday, July 20, through Saturday, Aug. 6, the center is holding a silent auction, in which bidders have the opportunity to score deals on over 40 items ranging from original works of art to spa and golf outings.

"Thanks to the support of local businesses, the Farmington Valley Arts Center has dozens of fantastic items to auction to the highest bidder," Roy David, the organization's president, said.

In the past, the center has held auctions in connection with dinner dances, but this year they decided to experiment with a two-week silent auction instead. Regardless of how the auction takes place, David said it's great to have a fundraiser that can provide the center and local businesses with more exposure.

"[All proceeds] will go towards the center ... for the promotion of outside events that aid the community. ... We have an artist in residence program where we have [a developing] artist come in for three-month intervals," David told Patch. "We also have classes that run all year 'round."

The Artist in Residence (AIR) program assists emerging artists by providing them with a rent-free studio space for three months. During this time, the artist receives guidance and advice from the center's resident artists. To sustain this program as well as their year-round art classes, the center holds fundraisers like the silent auction all throughout the year.

"We're actively seeking funding for our artist in residence program so that we can continue with the program through the winter season. It would be great to have some corporate sponsorship or local support," Jim Brunelle, the center's project coordinator, said.

During the auction, visitors can check out available auction items and enter bids during regular hours at the center's retail shop, at the Esther Drezner Vistor's Gallery, or by appointment. Bids can also be taken over the phone.

Bidding starts at half of each donation's retail value and bidders who offer 90 percent or more of an item's value may immediately complete their purchase.

Avon businesses that donated auction items include: Bertucci's, Better Giving by Kipling Home Design, Big Y, Blue Fox Enterprises, Body Talk, Brownstone Bakery for Dogs, Farmington Woods, Good2Go, Health Trax Fitness and Wellness, Korlates Fitness, Luke's Donut Shop, Marriott Residence Inn, Over the Moon, Russell Speeder's, Super Cellar Wine Tasting and The Firefly Center.

In addition to the silent auction, the center continues to open up the studios the first Saturday of every month, giving visitors the opportunity to meet the resident artists, learn about class offerings, and view gallery exhibits.

The Farmington Valley Arts Center is located at 27 Art Center Lane in Avon. Gallery hours are Wednesday through Saturday from noon until 4 p.m. First Saturday Open Studios are from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the first Saturday of the month. For more information, visit artsfvac.org or call 860-678-1867.