FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, August 18, 2023
Contact: Heidi Hagemeier, director of communications and visitor experience, 541-382-4754 ext. 166, hhagemeier@highdesertmuseum.org
Bid on Ski Passes, Concerts and MORE through High Desert Rendezvous’ Online Silent Auction
Officially Live Online TODAY
BEND, OR — This morning, High Desert Rendezvous — the High Desert Museum’s signature fundraising event — launched a VIP experience-packed silent online auction that’s open to all. The auction is now LIVE at hdm2023.ggo.bid and features once-in-a-lifetime experiences that vary from courtside tickets to the Portland Trail Blazers to VIP passes to Modest Mouse at McMenamins Edgefield in Troutdale.
The public can also bid on four-day ski passes to Central Oregon’s Mt. Bachelor, golfing for four at stunning Black Butte Ranch and tickets to see the Eugene Symphony. Other items include customized bundles catered towards idyllic date nights in Bend, hand-crafted clothing and first-chances at spots in the Museum’s popular 2023-2024 Kids Camp programs. Online bidding ends on Monday, August 28 at 12:00 pm.
“It’s heartening to see the community come together to support our exhibitions and programs,” said Museum Executive Director Dana Whitelaw, Ph.D. “We are excited the fundraiser involves participants outside the Rendezvous tent walls with the online silent auction and raffle.”
This year’s raffle winner will have the exciting opportunity to name the Museum’s brand-new bobcat. The male bobcat kitten arrived at the Museum in October weighing less than 3 pounds. By April, he had matured enough to begin making appearances in an atrium habitat across the hall from the permanent Spirit of the West exhibition.
Raffle tickets are still available at $50 each and the winner will be drawn at approximately 7:30 pm during Rendezvous on August 26. Ticket purchasers need not be present at the gala to win. The raffle does place parameters on appropriate names for the bobcat. Raffle tickets can be purchased at highdesertmuseum.org/bobcat-raffle.
This marks the 34th year of the High Desert Rendezvous, making it one of the longest-running fundraisers in Central Oregon. The Museum features up to nine temporary, rotating exhibitions annually, cares for more than 100 animals, and welcomes more than 8,600 school-age children per year for educational field trips and programs. Rendezvous helps to support these exhibitions and programs, as the Museum continues to serve children and lifelong learners throughout Central Oregon and beyond.
The 2023 Rendezvous Honorees are Julie and Wayne Drinkward. Julie Drinkward served as a Museum trustee for a decade, and the couple have long supported the Museum in time and talent. The Drinkwards strongly believe in the importance of STEM learning and are particularly inspired by the Museum’s educational initiatives, from camps, programs and exhibitions that engage students to teacher training opportunities.
The 34th annual High Desert Rendezvous is presented by First Interstate Bank.
ABOUT THE MUSEUM:
THE HIGH DESERT MUSEUM opened in Bend, Oregon in 1982. It brings together wildlife, cultures, art, history and the natural world to convey the wonder of North America’s High Desert. The Museum is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization accredited by the American Alliance of Museums, is a Smithsonian Affiliate, was the 2019 recipient of the Western Museums Association’s Charles Redd Award for Exhibition Excellence and was a 2021 recipient of the National Medal for Museum and Library Service. To learn more, visit highdesertmuseum.org and follow us on Facebook and Instagram.
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