By Amy Hensel
989-345-0044, ext. 2467
ahensel@cherryroad.com
The Oscoda County Fairgrounds will host the 57th Annual Northern Michigan Relief Sale and Quilt Auction Friday and Saturday, August 2-3.
The two-day event begins at 9 a.m. on Friday with a garage sale, book sale and country store. Other booths sell baked goods, produce and ready-to-eat food. There is a silent auction 1 p.m.-6: p.m. and a kids’ auction which begins at 6:30 p.m.
The Open House begins at 4 p.m. This is a chance to view the quilts and other items which will be sold in the auction on Saturday. Entries in the Color Challenge will be on display beginning at 4 p.m. Quilters are given the same selection of different colored fabrics, offered at the previous year’s sale, to make a quilted hanging using some of each color. Visitors at the Open House can bid on their favorite design and the winner is announced on Saturday. All of the entries will be available to bid on during the quilt auction.
The Creative Corner is stocked with all kinds of handmade things such as wood items and fabric creations. If you like seeing red, visit the Color Theme Booth. This year’s theme is “Everything’s Coming Up Red.”
Hot pulled pork sandwiches, sloppy joes, hot dogs and pasties are on the menu for Friday evening. Finish your meal with pie and ice cream.
Sign up at 6 p.m. for the Relief Sale Run which begins at 7 p.m.
The Frye Family will perform gospel music Friday evening, starting at 7 p.m.
A family friendly movie will be screened at 9 p.m. Bring a chair for the movie and leave it in the car for the auction the next day.
Saturday starts with an all-you-care-to-eat breakfast of whole hog sausage, buttermilk pancakes with pure maple syrup, coffee and juice, served 6-10 a.m.
The general auction begins at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday. In a tradition unique to this sale, the first item for bid is a loaf of homemade bread. The quilt auction begins at 11 a.m.
People who want to participate in the auction without making a purchase may make blessing bids. Blessing bids are donations of a certain dollar amount given to a specific project.
The money raised at the Northern Michigan Relief sale is for worldwide relief. Because most of the work is done by volunteers only a small percent of donations goes to overhead. When you make a blessing bid, 100 percent of the donation goes to the designated project.
There is a pause from the quilt auction after an hour or so. If you’re hungry, choose from chicken leg quarters, roast pork and sausage sandwiches, sloppy joes, hot dogs and more pasties. On the sweet side try donuts, pies and homemade ice cream. The quilt auction resumes at 1 p.m. Once the quilt auction is over, any remaining general auction items are sold.
Thousands of people come to this annual event. The event is an opportunity to support worldwide relief efforts while having a lovely time at Oscoda County’s beautiful fairgrounds. Camping is available at the fairgrounds if you want to be right on the spot for all the fun.
For more information, and to view quilts and other items for bid, visit www.reliefsale.org or Northern Michigan Relief Sale on Facebook.
