Aerospace Fundraiser Goes Virtual

SACRAMENTO REGION, CA (MPG) – A gala to aid the Aerospace Museum of California has adopted virtual format to raise funds on September 24. The Museum, which showcases aircraft and artifacts of aviation from WW II to the present, is located in the old McClellan Air Force Base, North Highlands.

Exhibits and outreach for science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education are supported wholly by public donation. As with many other non-profits, fundraising has been reshaped by the COVID crisis. Organizers hope the upcoming event will help the museum to stay open and allow programs -- including summer youth camps -- to continue.

In the “Dreams Can Take Flight” event, art, destination experiences, premium wine and beers and other gourmet packages will be auctioned. A behind-the-scenes museum tour will include wine and cheese and a West Coast Raisin squadron flyover, saluting the winning bidder and 20 friends. Separate packages will offer jaunts over Sacramento area: one in a Miss America RV-8 aircraft; another in a Beechcraft A-36 Bonanza. A 1983 Fender Stratocaster guitar is an additional prize up for grabs.

All items and experiences can be previewed on line; silent bidding on most items will begin on Monday, September 21, at noon. Real-time bids on VIP gems will begin at 7pm, September 24, closing an hour later. For this part of the fundraiser, public radio and television veterans Beth Ruyak and Jim Finnerty will partner as hosts.

The final hammer on other prizes will fall at noon, the following day. Art prizes include three hand-painted sun umbrellas. Artists Elizabeth Turner, Molly McBride and Trisa Pierce teamed up to paint a parasol called “She-dala.”  Sacramento Fine Arts Center member Barbara Hunt-Holt contributed a work called “Flower garden.” Carmichael artist Cameron Dax (16) took inspiration from his grandma’s pet carp to decorate his “Koi Pond” canvas. Civil Air Patrol Cadet Cameron has special interest in things that fly.  “The museum’s full of cool things that strike my curiosity,” he says. “I’m excited my art will help them raise funds. My mom really likes my umbrella. If she doesn’t win at the auction, I’ll paint her another for free.”

Anyone may register to participate in the online auction. For information, visit www.aerospaceca.org

Sponsors include: Aerojet Rocketdyne, Northrop Grumman, Safe Credit Union, McClellan Park, Dr. General Davie and Linda Martin, the Kelley Foundation, Taylor and Wiley, Larry Miles, Jim and Lindsey Cuff, Major General Jim and Mary Hopp, Roger and Marg Dickinson, Howard J. Stagg IV, Heidi Sanborn, Supervisors Patrick Kennedy and Phil Serna, Mayor Darrell Steinberg, Tatia Wagner and Tim Powell.