Serving Boone, Blowing Rock, Banner Elk, and other towns of the North Carolina High Country | Founded 05-05-05

July 17, 2008 issue

Art Auction and Fine Dining for a Good Cause at the Mountain Palette Gala July 24


Story by Kristen StreetJewelry designer Mia Katrin designed these multicolor sapphire and tourmaline earrings in 18-karat gold especially for this year’s Mountain Palette Gala auction benefiting the Avery County Arts Council. The event will be held on Thursday, July 24, at Linville Ridge.

On Thursday, July 24, work by some of the High Country’s most talented artists will be auctioned off at the Avery County Arts Council’s Mountain Palette Gala. The event, which will be held at the Clubhouse at Linville Ridge, features more than 100 handcrafted items up for auction, as well as cocktails, live music and dinner. Tickets are $125 per person, and the event begins at 5:30 p.m.

The gala is the Avery County Arts Council’s main fundraiser for the year. Gala chair and council board member Chris Petti said, “Approximately 70 percent of our budget is derived from our fundraising efforts. Together with our generous donors, we are celebrating the Art of Living Well—with all proceeds going to maintain the programs and services of the Avery County Arts Council.”

The art up for bid ranges from sculpture to cloth to jewelry and includes two metalwork sculptures by Wayne Trapp, a dye-on-silk work by Roberta Nosti, a large Joan Sporn oil painting of a covered bridge, a glass cast corset by Ryan Blythe and an iron sculpture by noted Anvil Iron Studio sculptor Bill Brown. Other artists include Giselle Wiseman, Lottie Hoffman, Barbara Timberman and Mary Vogel.

Distinguished jewelry designer Mia Katrin has donated her latest creation, multicolor sapphire and tourmaline earrings in 18-karat gold that she designed especially for this event. Katrin’s studio is located in Fleetwood, and her jewelry is available for sale locally at Carlton Gallery in Foscoe and at Bellagio Art to Wear in Asheville. Her collections, Jewel Couture LLC, are in galleries across the country, including Las Vegas, Boca Raton and Philadelphia. Click to www.jeweljewel.com for more info and images of Katrin’s work.

Along with the artwork, many gift certificates for local businesses and restaurants will also be auctioned off. One gift certificate will entitle the high bidder to a champagne hayride for ten people at the Orchard at Altapass, complete with fresh High Country air and a storyteller to entertain the riders along the way.

The menu for the evening will not disappoint, either. It includes an iceberg and artichoke heart salad with heirloom tomatoes, organic shiitake mushrooms and tobacco onions in a brown butter vinaigrette, as well as such mouthwatering entrees as macadamia nut encrusted salmon, sun-dried tomato and chevre stuffed breast of chicken, and roasted lemon burre blanc with basil chiffonade. The dessert of the evening will feature South Carolina peach and pomegranate blueberry sorbets, fresh berries with homemade whipped cream, and even some artist palate shaped cookies. Coffee and tea service will also be available.

The gala will be a mix of live and silent auctions, with a little something for everyone. Tickets for this glamorous event go quickly, so call the Avery Arts Council at 828-898-4292 for more information.

Want To Go?
Date: Thursday, July 24
Time: 5:30 p.m.
Location: Clubhouse at Linville Ridge
Cost: $125 per person