Culture of Course Virtual Auction

You may already be a loc-avore, someone who relishes the food produced in their

own neighborhood. But are you a loc-adventurer? That is, are you practiced in the art of finding

adventure in your own backyard? You could be, with one of 21 prizes up for grabs in the online Culture,

Of Course! auction, a benefit for the operations of the Lincoln City Cultural Center.

The list of auction items includes everything from luxurious hotel stays and unforgettable meals to

group workshops and original art, all donated by businesses who support the Cultural Center. You can

browse and bid online at www.32auctions.com/cultureofcourse , or make a proxy bid by calling 541-994-

9994. The 2020 Culture, Of Course! Auction will close at 10pm on Saturday, Oct. 17.

Culture, Of Course! is the LCCC’s annual dinner and benefit auction, usually held on the first

weekend of May. This year’s in-person event was postponed by COVID, then rescheduled for September

19, then cancelled again by the community response to the Echo Mountain Fire. In response, the

committee took the gala’s fundraising activities online and so far have raised more than half of the

original goal.

There are 21 chances for loc-adventure in the online auction, including:

• Plein Air in the High Desert – This wonderful package for six people includes a two-night stay at the

Good Bear Ranch—a luxurious log cabin just outside Baker City—and an outdoor painting workshop

with renowned High Desert painter George Keister. Plus, passes to local heritage museum, lunch at the

Latitude 45 Grille and a walking tour of charming downtown Baker City with Ginger Savage, Executive

Director of Crossroads Carnegie Art Center. Value: $1200.

• Mussel Beach – Delicious Food and Education…this winning combination is a local adventure led by

Paul Robertson of Robertson Environmental. Paul is also Project and Communications Manager of the

Cascade Head Biosphere Reserve and as a Lincoln City native really knows his biosphere at the beach.

He has donated a mussel harvesting short course and cook-out on the beach for up to four people. Value:

$150.

• Tour in a Teardrop -- Camp in comfort, for culture! This package is a three-night rental of a sleek and

sturdy Teardrop Trailer, picked up in Salem from Culture, Of Course! event partner, Teardrops NW. You

can choose a Sojourn or Commander model. Both include a queen-size mattress that sleeps two adults

and a galley with an Engel cooler, stove, water container, and wash tub, plus all the basic dinnerware,

cookware, and utensils you'll need for delicious camp cooking. They also provide essential linens and

propane in the side-mounted tank for your convenience. These Teardrops NW models can be towed by

mid-size sedans, vans, and trucks. No black-out days and good through the end of 2021. Value: $350.

• Romance of the Red -- Get to know the wines of Remy Drabkin, a McMinnville native who has been

winning the wine wars with her Old World Style creations. Her wine-crafting philosophy developed

under the guidance of Oregon wine industry pioneers and was informed by the Italian families she

counted as family friends growing up. Her eponymous Remy Wines and Three Wives Wines were

founded in 2006, baR (pronounced R bar) opened in 2011, and in 2017 she opened her second location at

the family’s vineyard in the Dundee Hills. This auction prize includes a special vineyard group tasting for

4 adults and a case of Three Wives Remy's Red 2017. Value: $360.

The list of adventures also features a ride in an historic biplane, a tasting menu extravaganza at the

new Bay House at Salishan Coastal Lodge, a stay (with class credit) at Sitka Center for Art & Ecology at

Cascade Head Ranch, and a guided fungi-foraging weekend at Camp Westwind on the Salmon River.

You and your friends can buy a culinary class, or a workshop in dyeing silk scarves, or a load of gravel to

pave your driveway—all to benefit the Cultural Center.

Do these sound a bit too thrilling?

“If you don’t feel like taking an adventure, that’s ok. We understand,” said LCCC Executive Director

Niki Price. “We’re doing some pretty serious nesting ourselves. That’s why we added some comfort

foods to the online auction. You can bid on pies from Captain Dan’s Pirate Pastry, cupcakes from My

Petite Sweet, and a quarter portion of grass-fed beef from the Schooner Creek Valley. We’ve got the right

bid item for you, even if you don’t want to leave the house: a Katia Kyte still life painting, a glass float

by Kelly Howard, and a mosaic by Joanne Daschel.”