Camp Ewalu’s 36th Annual Quilt Auction set for Sept. 16
STRAWBERRY POINT — Camp Ewalu’s 36th Annual Quilt Auction fundraiser will feature a hybrid format, with an online auction Sept. 11-17 and an in-person auction on Saturday, Sept. 16, at the camp’s main site, three miles west of Strawberry Point just off Iowa Highway 3. More than 350 items for sale have been donated from congregations and individuals across Eastern Iowa. Proceeds will support the ministries of the Lutheran camp and retreat center.
The live auction event at Ewalu on Saturday will begin at 9 a.m. with in-person quilt viewing and the opening of the Country Store, which will have additional quilts and crafts available for purchase. Various odds and ends for quilting projects and fall plants will also be for sale. Refreshments, fresh produce, and baked goods will be available in the canteen all day. A short devotional service will begin at 11 a.m., followed by a noon lunch with freewill offering.
The live quilt auction will begin at 1 p.m. Sept. 16, with more than 120 quilts and quality hand-crafted items available for bids; attendees are encouraged to bring a lawn chair. Everyone, bidder or spectator, is welcome to attend, and admission is free all day. Steve Darrington and Tyler Tweten of the Decorah area will be the auctioneers. During the live auction, volunteers will provide free activities for kids, including art projects, cotton candy, yard games, and face painting.
Musical entertainment, beginning at 9 a.m., will feature keyboardist Shawn Vazquez of Maquoketa, covering numerous decades and genres of music, from Cole Porter to Henry Mancini to Bob Dylan. She is a member of the country band Lori Gravel and the Timber City Ramblers.
Anyone can bid on an additional 200-plus quilts and hand-crafted items online during the week before and one day after the in-person auction. Bidding for the Online Auction will be open from noon Monday, Sept. 11, until 7 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 17. The link for the Online Auction can be found at www.ewalu.org/quilt-auction. Items in the Online Auction also will be on display for viewing all day Sept. 16 at Camp Ewalu.
ABOUT EWALU:
Camp Ewalu is a year-round Christian ministry that serves nearly 200 Lutheran congregations in Eastern Iowa with more than 800 youth participating in its summer programs and hundreds more through its Day Camp evangelism programs. The camp also serves 1,500 environmental education students and hundreds more youth and adults who come to renew and grow in their faith throughout the year.
The camp’s mission is to serve all people as a place to connect the Word of God with the world of God. Ewalu’s main site and office are located just west of Strawberry Point, and Ewalu’s Stone Center retreat space is just north of Strawberry Point. Learn more at www.ewalu.org.
