COLDWATER, MI (WTVB) – The Tibbits Opera House received a huge financial boost Saturday night, as the Tibbits 39th Annual Auction grossed over $70,000 for the historic theatre’s annual operating budget.
As in previous auctions, dinners and special experiences highlighted the items up for bid and garnered some very generous donations. High bids for the evening came from a jet ride to Boyne, Michigan for lunch, complete orthodontic treatment from Dr. Baron Whateley and Coldwater Orthodontics, two separate dinners donated by Kathy and Rick Merrill, as well as several trips.
This year’s Barton S. Tibbits Sponsorship was purchased by Kaiser Electric along with the Bairs and the Austens.
With the theme of this year’s auction, “Tibbits at the Hop,” the opera house was decorated with 50s-era memorabilia. More than 400 guests attended with many arriving in leather jackets and poodle skirts in keeping with the theme.
Nearly 700 items were up for silent auction in the art gallery and another 62 were available for the entertaining live auction on stage led by Darren Spieth and Dan Satow, owners of Norton Auctioneers and Spieth & Satow Auctioneers.
