Decorah Turns Pictionary Into an Art Fundraiser~ When raising money for the arts involves trying to figure out what somebody just scribbled on a board.
DECORAH, IOWA ~ There are plenty of ways to raise money.
Bake sales.
Silent auctions.
Benefit dinners.
And then there’s Decorah, where apparently somebody looked at a game of Pictionary and thought:
“You know what this needs? Local artwork and a little friendly competition.”
ArtHaus held its HAUS PARTY on Saturday, August 29, bringing people together for an evening of art, music, creativity and one particularly unusual fundraiser, the Art Dash.
And yes, there was actual dashing involved.
Well… at least figuratively.
First, You Had to Figure Out the Doodle
Participants in the Art Dash made donations of $100 or more, which put them in the running to take home an original piece of artwork donated by a local artist.
But deciding who got first pick wasn’t simply a matter of drawing names from a hat.
Instead, participants competed in what organizers described as a giant game of Pictionary.
The faster someone correctly guessed what was being drawn, the better their position became in the order for choosing artwork.
So somewhere in Decorah Saturday night, people were essentially trying to determine whether a questionable collection of lines was a horse, a toaster or Aunt Mildred…
with original artwork on the line.
Local Art Goes Home ~and the Support Stays Local
Behind all the fun was a pretty wonderful purpose.
Local artists donated original pieces for the Art Dash, giving participants the opportunity to leave with something created right here in the community.
Meanwhile, money raised through the HAUS PARTY supports ArtHaus and its work providing accessible art classes, community events, opportunities for artists and creative spaces in Decorah.
Those who weren’t participating in the Art Dash could still be part of the evening, with music, art-making and plenty of opportunity to watch, and presumably offer completely unsolicited assistance to anyone struggling with a Pictionary clue.
Because everybody becomes an expert when they’re watching from the sidelines.
Sometimes Supporting Art Doesn’t Have to Be So Serious
There’s something especially fitting about an arts organization finding a creative way to support creativity.
Instead of simply asking people to write a check, ArtHaus brought artists, their work and members of the community together and made the fundraising itself part of the experience.
An artist donated something created with their own hands.
Someone else supported the organization.
And at the end of the night, original local artwork headed home with members of the community while support went back toward keeping creative opportunities available in Decorah.
That’s a pretty good exchange.
And somewhere in the middle of it all, somebody probably stared at a drawing and yelled:
“IT’S A CHICKEN!”
We don’t know whether it actually was a chicken.
But we’d like to cheer everyone on, and hope that someone got it right. ❤️
Deliverance Hope ~ Word ’Round Town
ArtHaus is a nonprofit arts organization in Decorah offering arts education, events and opportunities for people of different ages and abilities.
Keep Goin’ ‘Round Town
There’s always another story waiting just around the corner.