Question:  What common ground can there be among a pastel’s subtle shading, an afternoon sail on a gaff-rigged schooner, and Safari in South Africa?

          Answer:  All three items--and many more--were offered for sale at the Second Annual Fine Art and Other Treasures Auction at the First Parish Unitarian Universalist Church in Kennebunk on Saturday, March 29th. 

The Saturday evening event began with a silent auction while attendants enjoyed a variety of gourmet desserts created by professional chef Martha Huestis.  Then Auctioneer Ki Leffler will once again brought her talents to the podium for the live auction of fine art submitted by local artists, including Daphne Pulsifer, Suzanne Payne, Pat Eich, Mary Gannon, Wendy Good and photographer Jane Cole.  Artists donated half of their proceeds to First Parish Church.

In addition to the fine art, the silent auction included a six-day South African Photo Safari for two, a sailboat cruise on the Schooner Eleanor in Kennebunkport, restaurant gift certificates, merchandise from local shops, and an assortment of services from body massage to house painting.

          The Photo Safari on the private Zulu Nyala Game Reserve includes two open Land Rover trips each day with experienced guides.  Last year a local couple, Patrick Conner and Marsha Lawsen, won this trip from another local fundraiser. Conner says, “Based on our experience, we would recommend this trip to someone who is looking for what we all a ‘controlled’ adventure. It was exciting, amazingly novel, educational in so many ways, and just plain great fun all around.”  Conner and Lawsen saw elephants, hippos, huge storks, antelopes, wart hogs and a pride of lions setting off on their evening hunt.

Caption:  “Resin Bird ,” bronze, 8” x 8 ” by Daphne Pulsifer.

Caption:  “Spring Baby,” bronze, 8” x 7” x 2” by Daphne Pulsifer.