After delighting visitors and residents for the past three months, the time has come for the Owls of Bath fly the nest! 62 of the decorated flock of will be sold at the Minerva’s Owls Auction to raise money for four local charities.
The auction will take place at The Apex Hotel in Bath on Wednesday 17 October and has already attracted considerable attention, with owl fans from across the UK and even the USA registering their interest in bidding.
Owl bidding is expected to start in the region of £2,000, with some expected to raise considerably more. All event profits will be donated to four charity beneficiaries – Royal United Hospital Cancer Centre, Bath Young Carers Centre, Roman Baths Archway Project and UK Little Owl Project.
Work by Artists including Inkie, Richard Twose, Brian Grimwood, and Horrible Histories illustrator Martin Brown is featured among the lots available and are tipped to be of particular interest to collectors both nationwide and globally.
Addison Gelpey, star of Channel 5’s prime time series ‘Storage, Flog the Lot’, will be auctioning the owls. Olympic Gold medalist Amy Williams MBE will assist Addison as he auctions some of the lots, including the owlet Amy has designed and decorated especially for the event.
Tickets for the auction are £45 and include a champagne reception, five course taster menu and auction catalogue. Telephone bidding will also be available and the auction will be streamed live online via The Auction Room, so that owl fans and collectors can bid from anywhere in the world.
The evening will also be peppered with fun fundraising activities including a chance to win Bath Rugby tickets and a hot air balloon ride, plus a live musical performance by 14 year old Bath busker and finalist of ITV The Voice Kids, Harry Romer.
Megan Witty, organiser of the Minerva’s owls Charity Auction says, “Our owls have gone on an amazing journey over the past 6 months from blank sculptures to the beautifully decorated owls which have been entertaining visitors to bath this summer. It will be sad to say goodbye to our feathered friends, but we’re thrilled that they’re set to raise some much needed funds for our local charities.”
The ‘Owls Hoot Farewell’ auction preview takes place on 29th-30th September, when all of the owls will be displayed on the Bath Recreation Ground for an owl-themed weekend, expected to attract over 10,000 visitors.
To register your interest in bidding or attending the auction, email email hidden; JavaScript is required. For tickets or further information see the Auction page of the website www.minervasowls.org.