Puffin statues to go up for auction next month
AUTISM Guernsey’s puffins will be gathering for one final time at St Pierre Park when the 60 statues come under the auctioneer’s hammer on Tuesday 12 September.
They have been scattered around the island since the beginning of April, giving people the chance to travel around and track them all down.
Autism Guernsey fundraising manager Mandy Rowlinson said that they will start being collected at the end of August after which they will be taken to a store to be cleaned up.
‘Fortunately we have not had any vandalism apart from cars driving into the wooden plinths,’ she said.
‘A couple of the puffins have suffered from the weather, but these will be repainted or touched up before the auction.’
Commission bids for the birds are already being taken and several have been received.
People who would like to go to the auction in person will need to purchase a ticket in advance and Ms Rowlinson said as numbers are limited, these are being limited to two per family so that all those who want to bid will get a ticket. More than half the tickets have already been sold.
But anyone who just wants to see all the puffins will be able to do so free of charge in the hours leading up to the auction, when the statues will be displayed from 1-4.30pm around the St Pierre Park lake or inside the hotel, depending on the weather.
The ticket-only event starts at 5pm.
‘The Puffin Parade has been a massive success, with some fantastic feedback from the public including families and visitors,’ said Ms Rowlinson.
‘We have received around £500 in donations which is great news,’ she said.
The mobile app has been downloaded 1,333 times, hundreds of copies of the map were given away and hundreds of quizzes to win an iPad were sold.
People who have yet to complete the quiz or app have until midnight on 28 August to do so.
A raffle is also being organised and tickets for this will remain on sale around the island, including at the North and West Shows, until 3 September, and will also be available at St Pierre Park on the day of the auction.
n The Commission Bid form and auction catalogue are available at www.puffinparade.org.gg
n Tickets for the auction are available from Autism Guernsey either by calling 232879 or emailing office@autismguernsey.org.gg. They cost £15 each and include a glass of prosecco and canapes. Donations can still be made on the Giving.gg site under Puffin Parade.
