Artistic ski chairs on auction block as fundraiser
Steven Miller created the bench that sits outside Mackenzie River Pizza Co. (Heidi Desch/Whitefish Pilot)
Some artistic ski chairs will be auctioned off this week for the Big Ski Chair Affair.
This summer 10 ski chairs re-imagined by local artists have been on display around town. The chairs will be auctioned off on Sept. 21 at 7 p.m. at the Craggy Range Bar and Grill.
The event is a fundraiser presented by the Big Mountain Commercial Association to raise money for the winter SNOW bus and the summer Glacier Park Express.
Whitefish Mountain Resort donated the quad lift chairs for the fundraiser and local artists used their creativity to transform them into benches, which have been displayed in front of their sponsoring businesses.
“They’ve done a great job,” Rick Cunningham, executive director of the association, said this summer. “They are neat pieces of art.”
Artist who created the chair designs include Lorinda Smith, Deb Stika, Susan Miller, Shelby Powell, Steven Miller, Paula Greenstein, Chris Marie Campbell, Michelle Saurey, Mark Baumbach, Terence Gill, Nanci Williams, Dee Dee Cooper, Ruth Lane, Louise Barker, Paula Rindal, Sally Glutting, and students from Summit Prep School.
The sponsoring businesses are: Hidden Moose Lodge, Whitefish Lake Restaurant, Craggy Range Bar and Grill, Mackenzie River Pizza Co., Firebrand Hotel, The Lodge at Whitefish Lake, National Parks Realty, Stumptown Marketplace, Walking Man Frame Shop and Gallery, Purple Pomegranate, Nelson’s Hardware, Frame of Reference Fine Arts Gallery, and JoBeth Blair of PureWest Real Estate. Olie Bircher welded the legs on the chairs.
The association is a local nonprofit organization funded by member businesses. Its mission is to build cooperation and develop new ideas and projects that will enhance Big Mountain and Whitefish. The group raises funds for the SNOW bus, the Glacier Park Express and Big Mountain Road winter maintenance.
To view a map of the chair locations or for more information, visit bigmtncommercial.org/events/
Those wanting to bid on the chairs don’t need to be present at the auction. To establish bidding arrangements, contact Cunningham at 253-9192.