Deck your door with a charity auction wreath

Author: Dina Magaril

In the spirit of holiday giving, the Mary Johnson Center held a silent wreath auction at Middlebury's Center for the Arts. Addison County community members and local establishments were asked to decorate wreaths using merchandise from their stores so that the wreaths could be auctioned off on Dec. 2 to benefit the children that the Mary Johnson Center serves.

This year's event marked the auction's 15th year since its beginnings as a small auction of twenty wreaths at Middlebury Union High School's cafeteria. The auction evolved from a "Festival of Trees" fundraiser in Princeton, New Jersey. inspired the Middlebury auctioneers.

"The [wreath auction] is a Middlebury-scale version of the N.J. fundraiser," joked Barbara Saunders, the co-director at the Mary Johnson Center.

Saturday's event showcased over 125 unique wreaths, each hand decorated by local merchants and artisans, as well as some eager amateurs hoping to dabble in a little Christmas decorating. Wreaths were delivered to the decorators, who were then given artistic license to adorn the wreaths however and with whatever they wanted.

One artist chose to forgo a little bit of the Christmas spirit in lieu of a little baseball fanaticism. Another, a local art teacher, adorned her wreath with an array of Boston Red Sox paraphenalia. Her wreath proudly displayed a Red Sox bottle opener that came with a verbal recording of an announcement of the team hitting a home run, as well as T-shirts and hats displaying the team's logo. As a final touch and reminder that this was a Christmas wreath as well as a dedication to the artist's favorite team, the wreath was topped off with two red socks hanging down from its center.

The decorating team at the UPS store created a particularly interesting wreath that wholly embodied the spirit of their postal store.

"They put their wreath in a box and hung it up with all these packaging materials inside," said Saunders.

An array of local establishments participated in the wreath decorating, including the Rainbow Room, the Sheldon Museum, Belladona, the Alpine Shop and even various massage therapists from town. The Belladona shop used merchandise from their store, including pinecones and evergreen, to decorate their wreaths. Andrea Solomon, the festival's coordinator, thought Belladonna's use of their own materials for their wreath added "a classy and beautiful touch."

Yet another local artist arranged over thirty hand painted gourds throughout her wreath, making her donation particularly memorable.

The wreaths were auctioned off starting at $25, with some going as high as $250. "It got really exciting towards the end when all the venders saw their items being bid on," said Solomon, adding that the event was "an overwhelming success." When asked if she could pick out her favorite wreath Solomon said, "there were so many good ones that it's hard to say that any one would be better than the others."

Aside from local volunteers and community members who came out to show their support, over thirty Middlebury students who participate in work-study at the Mary Johnson Center helped with the planning of the auction. "[The students' help] was invaluable," said Solomon.

The event culminated with a raffle to win prizes that were donated by local establishments. Geiger of Austria donated a jacket, while the Vermont Coffee Company and Vermont's Own donated gift baskets with merchandise from their respective stores. One anonymous donor provided a happy raffle winner with an American Girl doll.

In addition to lending a hand to a worthy cause, the event also marked the unofficial start of the holiday season in Addison County. "It's a great community event where you get to see your neighbors and look at some of the great wreaths they made, while enjoying some cider and cookies," said Saunders. Though an official count has not yet been made, Solomon predicts that the auction raised several thousand dollars. The money will go towards event programming such as ice skating outings, art supplies and Tae Kwon Do lessons at the Mary Johnson Center - programming that wil l further advance the center's mission to provide supportive programs for children who come from families who need to work outside of the home, particularly for single mothers with children.