As University President Pat Long finishes her last semester at Baker University, the Lumberyard Arts Center will honor her and her husband, Dennis Long, Sunday at the 26th Annual Chocolate Auction.

The Lumberyard Arts Center is hosting the event, which will begin at noon on Sunday at its location, 718 High St.

The chocolate auction will consist of a silent auction from noon until about 1:45 p.m. Beginning at 2 p.m., a live auction will take place for the “higher priced” items, LAC Co-Founder Sandy Cardens said. Entrance is a suggested dollar donation.

Each year, the chocolate auction features an honoree as the theme of the event. This year, the LAC thought it was appropriate to honor the Longs in appreciation of their work and support for the community.

“We know that they’re leaving the area and Dennis does our website and he’s just really a nice guy,” Cardens said. “And Pat’s always been supportive of what we are doing here. So, we thought, this will be a good year to be honoring them.”

“The services that Dennis has provided to us have been something that none of us knew how to do or could’ve done without his help,” Connie Deel, chocolate auction chair person, added. “So, it was greatly appreciated, and we want to thank people when they help us with things like that.”

President Long said although they are grateful to be honored, she believes it should be the other way around.

“It’s so sweet that people want to honor us for our time here,” she said. “We should be honoring everybody else because they have been so welcoming and kind. They were just great to us.”

The first chocolate auction took place in 1988 after the idea was brought to Baldwin City. Since incorporating the Baldwin Community Arts Council with the Lumberyard, the chocolate auction tradition was kept alive.

Last year, the event raised more than $7,000. Although Canders said there is no monetary goal, the goal is always to raise more than the previous year. Proceeds from the auction support the LAC scholarship program, as well as other art center and community activities.

“Alice Anne Callahan, she’s the one that started it. She was a Baker professor her whole life,” Deel said. “She has strong ties to both the community and to Baker, and she started it as a way to raise scholarships for local high school students to go to art school or some kind of art field, and so that’s still primarily what we use those funds for.”

In the past, the auction has consisted of anything ranging from simple chocolate chip cookies, to chocolate ale, to chocolate paintings. All chocolate and artwork is donated from various bakers, chefs, artists and businesses around the area. Refreshments are also provided.

Children will also have the chance to be involved in the event, as there will be a table set up for items available for bidding, starting as low as 10 or 25 cents. The Baldwin Children’s Choir will perform during a “little 10-minute intermission” between the end of the silent auction and the beginning of the live auction.

Although the event has taken place year after year, its appeal and tradition is what keeps people coming back.

“I think part of it is the tradition, is that it’s always been the same weekend. It’s always right before Valentine’s Day,” Deel said. “People kind of look forward to it. It’s a community event that’s pretty stable. For some people that come, they’ve been going all their lives, so it’s kind of a neat thing to do.”