MooseFest heads for climactic gala
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Ziggy the Hippy-Pot-O-Moose by Rick Havlak stands in front of The Village Chocolate Shop in downtown Bennington. Albert J. Marro / Rutland Herald |
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By PATRICK McARDLE STAFF WRITER - Published: October 13, 2009
BENNINGTON – It's that time of year when leaves are turning, temperatures are dropping and the moose from MooseFest are moving on but while they will be gone from downtown today there will still be one more opportunity to see – and possibly even buy – a moose.
Lindy Lynch, chairwoman of the Bennington Area Chamber of Commerce's MooseFest Committee, said Monday the more than 50 moose statues that were displayed in the Bennington area beginning in May will be gone before most people reach work today.
"We have a full plan. Simultaneously, 10 teams will exit the town garage, after they have a nice breakfast, and they will be going off to their assignments," Lynch said.
The crews will take all the moose and their bases to the Bennington Center for the Arts for the end of MooseFest gala on Saturday.
Lynch said the only moose from this year's festival that will not be moved today is the one taken recently to the Albany, N.Y., International Airport. There will be some moose statues still around town, but they're holdovers from the first MooseFest in 2005.
The moose statues are "migrating" to the arts center, Lynch said, for the gala, a ticketed event which will raise money for the artists who created the moose, local schools and the chamber of commerce. Four nonprofits, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, the Bennington Free Library, the Bennington-area young professionals group and the Bennington Center for the Arts, will also receive donations from the sale of the moose.
Echo, the chamber's moose mascot, will be sold to benefit the family of Steven Wrathall, of Whitingham. Wrathall, the founder of the Southern Vermont Garlic and Herb Festival, died in April.
The gala starts at 6 p.m. with cocktails, hors d'oeuvres and live music. The auction, with Tennessee-based auctioneer Tim Milks, will begin at 7 p.m.
"We're hoping that people who want to come to a big party, even if they don't plan to buy a moose will attend and enjoy," she said.
In 2005, all the moose statues auctioned were purchased. Lynch said the most paid for a single moose was $24,000 while the average winning bid was $7,000.
Some of the moose in 2005, however, were purchased before the auction by the business or individual who sponsored the statue and its artist and others were sold through the Web site, eBay. This year, every moose seen at MooseFest will be sold at the live auction during the gala.
The "school moose," miniature versions of the larger moose which were decorated by local school students, Boy Scouts and day care centers, will be sold through a silent auction on Saturday.
Lynch said absentee bids for any of the moose could be submitted until Friday at 4 p.m.
The gala will be catered with foods that have a Vermont theme supplied by a local company and desserts will be served while music is played by an area disc jockey after 9 p.m.
Looking back at MooseFest 2009, Lynch said area businesses had let the chamber know that the event may have been even more successful than it was in 2005.
"At first everybody was (saying), 'Oh, moose again?' Nope, no naysayers right now, everybody thinks, 'Moose again.' … Everybody thinks it has been extremely successful for their business, including mine," said Lynch, co-owner of Kevin's Sports Pub and Restaurant in North Bennington.
John Shanahan, executive director of the Better Bennington Corp., said the downtown business owners with whom he works were very happy with the increase in foot traffic in a difficult economy.
"People just can't drive through town. They all have to stop and see the moose," he said.
At the welcome center that the Better Bennington Corp. runs on South Street, Shanahan said 230 visitors signed the guest book in August 2008. This August there were almost 550 visitors who signed in and Shanahan said many of them cited the MooseFest as their reason for visiting the area.
According to Lynch, tickets for the gala, which sell for $75, are still available at the door. For more information on the gala on the Internet, visit the Web site at www.benningtonmoosefest.com.
patrick.mcardle@rutlandherald.com
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