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Sun Valley Wine Auction Toasts 40 Years as Bids Go ‘Up and Up and Up’
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Sunday, July 25, 2021
 

STORY AND PHOTOS BY KAREN BOSSICK

Wood River Middle School Spanish teacher Ashlie Pulleiro Prada got a rouse from her audience as she sang “The hills are alive…” from “Sound of Music.”

And Trail Creek came alive with the sounds of cowbells Friday night as 350 supporters of the arts raised their paddles in support of the Sun Valley Museum of Art.

“The help the arts center provided impacted me so much as my teachers helped me become a better musician, become a better person,” said Prada, a recipient as a student of a music scholarship from the Sun Valley Museum of Art.

The wine flowed and the bids ran up as Sun Valley-area residents and out-of-town wine enthusiasts gathered for the wine picnic, auction and concert. It was a departure from the gala dinner under the big tent—the change made necessary because of COVID precautions.

But attendees dressed in casual attire relished the opportunity to visit out in the open over picnic tables and grilled lamb chops and trout.

Wine Auction Co-Chair Cyril Chappellet praised the efforts of his mother Molly Chappellet and Glenn Janss in starting the wine auction 40 years go.

“Without Glenn and Mom, we wouldn’t be standing here. Without our mothers we would have nothing,” he said.

Glenn Janss who founded the Sun Valley Center for the Arts, recently renamed The Museum, called the wine auction one of the funniest, most wonderful events she does as it brings together friends and vinters from all over the country.

She said it got its start when Molly Chappellet—her best friend--invited her to attend a wine auction in Napa.

“I heard bids go up and up and up, and all these people were so excited,” she recounted. “They were so into it and they were raising money for a nonprofit—the hospital. And I said, ‘This is what we need—a big fundraising event.’”

Janss would have done it immediately upon her return to Sun Valley, had it not been for wine experts  Jim Cimino and Jack Thornton who cautioned her to take her time and organize it the following year.

“Molly introduced me to all her vintner friends and the first wine auction was small—25 people,” she said. “And we ended up buying each other’s wines with the guarantee that we would bring them back for the next year’s auction. Of course, the auction has grown and grown and that’s so important. The mission of the center is to bring arts education to the children of our community, and that’s a big commitment.”

Janss got no argument from many of the attendees.

“I love the center’s involvement with the schools. I love that my kids get art mentors and then they come home and tell me about it,” said Kristen Coulter, whose oldest son Charlie was starring in St. Thomas Playhouse’s “Newsies” that evening.

Clay Mauritson, who owns Mauritson Wines in Healdsburg, Calif., was jazzed to attend in-person after last year’s virtual event. He described attending a vintner dinner in Croy Canyon the evening before where he ate the dishes of four James Beard chefs, including braised ribs and mac ‘n cheese.

“We sat outside as the moon came up and it was magical… the whole evening was amazing. And this picnic is amazing. I love the laid-back venue. People seem to be on cloud nine.”

A cheer went up from the crowd as the bidding neared the end. The Museum had exceeded the million-dollar mark with the help of a $25,000 matching grant from Wells Fargo and a few $50,000 gifts. And the money from the silent auction items hadn’t even been counted yet.

Kristin Poole, artistic director for the Sun Valley Museum of Arts, called 50 years a wonderful milestone for an organization that she said is an anchor in the community.

Wine Auction Director Peter Burke noted that the Museum has awarded a million dollars in scholarships to some 625 students, as well as teachers, over the years, to pursue music and visual arts education beyond the high school classroom.

“The pandemic provided a time for reflection, a time to grow. And, as we emerge from the pandemic, we remain more committed than ever to endowing the community with arts,” he said.

Janss concurred, reiterating the importance of art.

“The arts I believe are the soul of the community,” she said. “The purpose of art is washing the dust of life off our souls.”

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