Clue: The Game is On

COLDWATER – Get in the game with Tibbits’ 41st Annual Auction, Clue! The Game is On!, featuring five days of online fun with silent auctions Nov 3-7 and a live-stream live auction on Nov 7 at 7pm.

Over 300 items will be up for bid at what has become one of the historic theatre’s most entertaining benefit events. “With a creative new spin, the show will go on,” according to Christine Delaney, Tibbits Executive Director. “Like so many fundraising events in our community, the proceeds play an important role to our budget helping cover daily operations and maintenance of the 138-year-old theatre. We had to reimagine the event just like we reimagined Summer Theatre.”

Spieth and Satow Auctioneers will lead the auction which will be live streamed by Hometown Media Network. With the limitations of time for the live stream, it will feature about 12 items offered “live.” A special “Super Silent” silent auction will host other coveted items normally found in the live auction. Live and super silent items include unique dinners and experiences, jewelry, vacation getaways to Escanaba, Mackinac Island and Antigua, flowers each month for a year, handcrafted furniture, gym memberships and golf excursions, radio advertising, and more.

The rest of the items will be part of the silent auction which spans three days. These items include antiques, gift cards to area businesses, an assortment of gift baskets, household items, sports memorabilia, children’s items, art, entertainment and decor. All silent auctions open for bidding at 9am on Nov. 3. The silent auction will be divided into sections – Scarlet, Mustard, and Plum – in honor of the game characters. Bidding for each section will close on consecutive days, Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

The live auction at 7pm on Nov. 7 will be a streamed event starting at 6:30pm with a preview of items. Bidding during the live event will be online and through prior arrangement. Super Silent items will be featured during the live auction but will close 30 minutes after the live auction ends.

Participation in the event is easy, COVID safe, and can be done from the comfort of your home. An auction link at Tibbits.org has a preview of auction items with photos and descriptions. New items are added daily. Patrons can register at $5 per bidder account on the auction website, which also enters bidders into a drawing for a pair of tickets to a Tibbits event in 2021.

In-person viewings of the items are available by scheduling an appointment the week of Nov. 3 in socially-distanced groups at the historic Tibbits Opera House in Coldwater, MI.  Tibbits staff and trained volunteers will be available in advance and throughout the item-viewing appointments to assist patrons with registration, bidding, or any other auction needs. Once bidding opens the site allows users to bid, set up maximum bids and even receive notifications.

The Auction also features a large raffle sponsored by Great Lakes Chiropractic. Prizes are $1000, $250, and Tibbits Summer Theatre season tickets. Raffle tickets are still available for $10 at the Tibbits Administrative Offices at 93 W. Chicago Street in Coldwater.

Cash sponsors for the auction include Game Board Sponsor Ken & Becky Bible; Secret Passageway Sponsor James W. Gordon, CPA, PC; Room Sponsors Michael & Linda Burke, William & Sharon Chinery, Mark & Janet Ott, Senator Mike Shirkey, Taylor, Plant & Watkins P.C., Vested Risk Strategies; Character Sponsors Aviza Insurance Agency, Inc., Bronson Banking Center, Branch Insurance Agency, Doug’s Auto Recyclers, Jimmy John’s, Marble Lake Resort & Marina, Bernie & Becky Stankewicz, Linda Woodhams; and Weapon Sponsors Branch County Abstract & Title, Inc., Michael & Laurie Caywood, Joyce Hubbs, and Blue Ox Credit Union.

For more information on the Tibbits 41st Annual Auction or to enter the auction site, click on the auction banner at www.Tibbits.org or call Tibbits at 517.278.6029.