For 21 years one event has brought artists and bakers of all types together to raise money in one delicious fundraiser.
The Baldwin Community Arts Council Chocolate Auction is held annually to raise money for art-based scholarships at Baker University.
This year’s chocolate auction was held Saturday and Sunday at Stony Point Hall.
“It’s really a great way to help young artists continue their school,” Sandy Davidson, student academic services tutoring coordinator, said.
Davidson has attended the auction for three years and donated some of her own work for this year’s auction.
In addition to the regular auction Sunday, a dinner and dance was held at 7 p.m. Saturday.
The dinner and dance were added to make the auction transition into more of an event and to allow for a preview of what would be in Sunday’s auction.
“We wanted to make it a celebration of the arts,” Administrative Assistant Myra Glover said.
Glover said the addition was very successful and is something that will be continued.
“The dinner was fabulous,” Davidson said. “The food was great, it was elegant and everybody was so nicely dressed. It’s like the social event of the season.”
During the ceremony, former Baker University employee Tom Russell was honored. Russell served as the chair of the art department from 1963 to 1982 and is a member of Baker University’s Faculty Hall of Fame. It was Russell’s wife, Alice Ann Callahan, who started Baldwin City’s chocolate auction in 1988.
“With Tom’s connection to the auction and with his art on display in the Holt-Russell Gallery, it was the right time,” Glover said regarding honoring Russell. “It really was long overdue.”
Russell’s work is currently on display as part of “60 Years! Three Dedicated Artists, Teachers and Friends,” which opened Feb. 1 and will remain available through Feb. 28. The gallery is open from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and by appointment.
“This really is an honor,” Russell said. “I have painted every place and through the years I have learned to just take life as it comes and enjoy.”