CHPT Holds Online Auction to Fund 1886 Stafford Opera House Repairs

Auction proceeds directed to the “Save Our Opera House” capital campaign

Columbus – The Columbus Historical Preservation Trust (CHPT) will hold its 3rd Annual Have Yourself a Tasty Little Holiday online auction from Nov. 8 to Nov. 12.

Funds raised will support CHPT’s “Save Our Opera House” capital campaign and will allow the organization to make much-needed repairs to the 1886 Stafford Opera House.

On the priority list of repairs is modernizing the elevator, which includes the build-out of a new mechanical room, an upstairs restroom remodel, and repairing interior water damage in the Grand Hall resulting from a leaking roof. Funds from previous auctions have been utilized to repaint the Grand Hal l, repair flooring at a second-floor entrance, and repair damage to the exterior of the building.

More than 50 items will be up for auction this year, including delicious homemade treats, holiday meals, gifts and decor, and a Christmas Tea.

All items have been donated by members of the community which allows CHPT to maximize their fundraising efforts.

“We are grateful to everyone who has donated to this year’s auction. Our success is because of their generosity,” auction chair Doris Klaus said, “Our goal is to raise $15,000 or more to continue repairs on Opera House. We would like to host more community events in 2024 and having a fully functional elevator and second floor restrooms is very important to making that happen.”

“We are so excited to see such a vast array of donated items for this year’s holiday auction,” CHPT President Julie Prause said, “We have many returning local bakers and chefs plus several new donors offering crowd favorite holiday foods. We also have a unique selection of experiences and gifts to bid on. There truly is something for everyone.”

“This year all winning bids will be matched dollar for dollar by a generous friend of CHPT,” CHPT executive director Melissa “Missy” Parker said, “This means every winning bid will have double the impact on our fundraising efforts. This is incredibly exciting, and we encourage everyone to bid high and bid often.”

Bidding will open at 8 a.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 8, and will close at 10 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 12.

To view the auction catalog, interested bidders can visit the Events page on the CHPT website www.columbushpt. org. CHPT will also be spotlighting a handful of auction items on their Facebook page www.facebook. com/Colum-busHistoricalPreserva-tionTrust through the last day of bidding.

To bid, create a user account via the online auction site. Guests can also sign up to receive email notifications to keep up