The DBC Auction, our first in six years, will be held on October 9 at the DuPage County Historical Museum in Wheaton, 6:00 p.m.-9:00 p.m.
Auction Donations are Rolling In
The DBC Auction, our first since 2019, will be held at the DuPage County Historical Museum in Wheaton. Its purpose is to raise funds for club operations and our grants and donations program—and to provide a fun social event for members and friends of the club.
Auction Highlights
Mark your calendar NOW because you don’t want to miss this event. Here’s a preview of some of the 60 or so items we will be auctioning:
• Optics by Swarovski, Minolta, Sony, Bushnell, Vanguard, and Tamron
• Nine unique “experiences” to explore regional birding hotspots with expert birders and naturalists
• Bird feeders, handmade bird houses, a rain barrel, and birdbaths
• Numerous memberships and subscriptions plus tickets to regional birding festivals
• Original bird artwork, prints, stamps, and unique antique items
• Birdy gift baskets featuring craft brews, wine, spa items, and more
Auction Backstory: An Overview
A little back story for newer club members: in the past the auction was held every two years, but COVID
put a wrench in that and our last auction was in 2019. Its purpose is to raise funds for club operations and our grants and donations program—and to provide a fun social event for members and friends of the club. Auctioneers Denis Kania and Jeff Chapman will auction 50-60 items donated by members and businesses in the community, including gift baskets, artwork, birding optics and gear, feeders, garden items, special field trips, and more. In addition, the Birding Bazaar features tables of $3, $5, $10, and $20 of new or gently used member-donated items, which includes bird-related books, artwork, collectibles, and related items that members want to “rehome.” Finally, we run a raffle with additional items. The function includes a cash bar and a few munchies. Altogether, the auction will raise several thousand dollars we can use to manage club operations and our various programs.
Wanted: Your Donated Items
Here’s how you can help build our inventory of items for the auction, raffle and bazaar tables:
If you are an artist, crafter, or other creator and would like to donate your work, please speak to an auction team member to make arrangements.
If you have close ties with a business that might donate a relevant item, please speak to an auction team member to make arrangements.
If you have bird- or nature-related treasures you’re ready to pass on. You have two choices for delivering them to the auction team:
1. Bring them to the September 11 meeting, where auction team members will collect them. (However, if you have a large number of heavy books and/or DVDs, we ask that you bring them between 5:00-6:00 p.m. on auction night.)
2. Drop them off at the home of Jeff Reiter (Glen Ellyn) or Denis Kania (Naperville) by September 20. You can contact Jeff and Denis for address details at jreiter@wordsonbirds.com or djkan36@gmail.com.
For any donated items, we need the following information: your name and contact info, name and contact info of third party who might have donated the item (if applicable), short description, estimated value.
Our Donors Rock!
A big thank you to the 20 organizations who have already donated items—and a reminder to frequent
their businesses to show your thanks:
American Bird Conservancy
American Birding Association
Barn Owl Garden Center
Boomers Baseball League
Buteo Books
BWD (formerly Bird Watcher’s Digest)
Chicago Bird Alliance
Conservation Foundation
Cornell Lab of Ornithology
DuPage Forest Preserve
Ellyn’s Tap and Grill
Erva Tool and Manufacturing
Fermilab Natural Areas
Field Guides, Inc.
Illinois Audubon Society
Indiana Audubon Society
International Crane Foundation
Morton Arboretum
Red Hill Birding
Wild Birds Unlimited (Lisle)
Auction Planning Team
Thanks to the volunteers who are leading the planning of this special event: Diann Bilderback, Jeff Reiter, Denis Kania, John Baker, Jim Mateski, Lindsay Vacek, and Steve Mineck. Feel free to contact any member of the team with questions.