Excitement (and bids) are building in the second Algonquin Outfitters Paddle Art Auction

Photos courtesy of Algonquin Outfitters

With five days left to bid online in the second Algonquin Outfitters Paddle Art Auction, the fundraiser has already exceeded expectations.

Bidding on the 182 paddles submitted to the contest has surpassed AO’s $10,000 goal, with total bidding already in excess of $11,000. All of the funds raised will be divided among five arts-related charities: the Algonquin Art Centre, Artists in Schools – Haliburton, Oxtongue Lake for Arts and Culture, Tom Thomson Gallery in Owen Sound, and the Town of Huntsville’s reserve fund for future acquisition of public art

The company will be hosting a live event this weekend, with live music, a screening of the film Wild Temagami, craft beer samples from Lake of Bays Brewery, and a paddle viewing. The main event will be held on Saturday, September 28 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. (note the new date) with a sneak peek on Friday between 3-6 p.m.

At the Friday sneak peek, enjoy the music of Sean Cotton and craft beer samples.

On Saturday, Christine Heron and Jason Hack will play from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m., followed by the movie at 1:00 p.m. Paddle viewing will remain open until 4 p.m.

The auction site is mobile-friendly, so bids can be placed on the spot—if you see it and you like it, make a bid! AO staff will be there to help if needed.

Bidding will continue online into Sunday, September 29, with the auction closing one paddle at a time in 60-second increments beginning at 6:00 p.m.

There is a minimum bid of $25 per paddle. During regular bidding you can raise the bid by as much as you want, from $1 up.

If a bid is placed within the final minute for that paddle, a soft close will kick in: an additional 60 seconds will be added to the bidding time and will continue to be added each time a bid is placed. The soft close will continue until no further bids are received within the 60 seconds remaining for that paddle. (Closing of the other paddles will continue on schedule.) To prevent a drawn-out bidding war during a soft-close, a minimum bid will be imposed as the price of the paddle rises. Below $50, it’s $1, from $50-99 it’s $2.50, from $100-199 the minimum rises to $5, from $200-499 it’s $10 and above $500 the minimum bid increase will be $25.

You must register to bid—be sure you don’t leave it until the last minute. Although more than 40 paddles already have bids higher than $100 (seven of them exceeding $400), there are still many paddles with lower or no bids registered yet—something for every budget.

Once the auction closes all bids are final. Paddles can be picked up at AO in Huntsville, or shipped anywhere in the world (shipping charges apply: $25 within Canada, $50 within the rest of North America, and $100-$150 for anywhere else in the world).

Many of the artists proudly posed with their paddles before submitting them. You can see a few of them below. All of the paddles are available for viewing on the auction page here.