Orono playground fund to benefit from auction

ORONO — The End of the Rainbow auction planned Saturday, April 7, to benefit the Orono Creative Playground, will offer more than 150 unusual items and services, from Continental airline tickets to an original oil painting by Michael Lewis, a local artist.

Doors will open at 6:30 p.m. at the Asa Adams School for a preview of items. Bidding will start at 7:15 p.m. Gourmet desserts will be available.

Mike Lufkin of Lakeview Auction Gallery will be the official auctioneer with Ken Barlow and Russ VanArsdale of WLBZ-Channel 2 television, who will be guest auctioneers. Admission will be free.

Organizers of the auction have been at work for several months collecting donated items and services. A feature will be celebrity doodles, including those of Betty Ford, Maurice Sendak, Robert Ludlum, Mister Rogers, Gordie Howe, Stephen King, Dave Brubeck and Pearl Bailey.

Other items will include heating oil, an Old Town canoe, art lessons, a Cajun dinner, a dessert a month for a year, piano tuning, dog boarding, compact disc player, handmade angel by Elaine Tucker, handmade scarves by Jennifer Pixley, balloon ride, well-child checkup, use of camp on Pleasant Lake for a week, junior racing skis, Bar Harbor Airways and Northeast Airline tickets, and a signed compact disc from Yo Yo Ma.

Absentee bids will be welcome and can be made by contacting Kathy Lena at 866-3839 or Jeannie Reed at 866-5586.

The auction is a major fund-raising event for the Orono Creative Playground. With playground construction set for June 13, more than $30,000 has been raised toward a final goal of $50,000