MOUNT VERNON—Fifteen families will enjoy a scrumptious homemade pie for Sunday dinner, thanks to the Mount Vernon Kiwanis Club Celebrity Pie Auction held early Saturday evening on Public Square.
If they last that long, that is. As delicious as they looked, buyers might have devoured the pies by the time Lonestar took the stage later that night.
The inaugural celebrity pie auction at the Mount Vernon Music & Arts Festival brought in $4,135.
Also up for auction were hand-crafted, one-of-a-kind furnishings for homes or offices.
The 2024 Wood Design Challenge’s theme was “Boutique Decor.” Items included bowls, coffee tables, and picture frames.
Susan Ramser was the highest bidder in the design challenge, paying $3,000 for Matteo Lybarger’s Dry River coffee table. Lybarger made the 24-inch-by-4-foot table from Ohio Buckeye wood and a small piece of walnut.
The design challenge brought in $9,200.
Auctioneers John Sperry and Jerry Scott kept the bidding lively in both auctions, and the crowd egged on the friendly competition between bidders.
Celebrity pie auction
The following Kiwanis Club members donated pies for the auction:
•Matt Starr, Mount Vernon mayor, and Joanne Starr, Apple: Cliff’s High Performance, $275
•Bruce White, president/CEO Knox Community Hospital, and Kathy White, Key Club liaison, Blueberry: Terry Scott, $275
•Chris Hiner, regional president Park National Bank, Peach Bourbon Cheesecake: Dr. John Berry, $275
•Jeff Scott, executive director Knox County Foundation, and daughter Annaliese Scott, Cherry: Jay Nixon, $300
•Dr. Carson Castleman, president Mount Vernon Nazarene University, Chocolate Cream: Todd Sands, $225
•Judge Jay Nixon, Knox County Probate and Juvenile Court, Peach: Wendi Fowler, $200
•William Seder, Jr., superintendent Mount Vernon City Schools, 2 Peanut Butter: ACS Title, $300; Pie #2 resold to Wendi Fowler, $300
•Dr. John Berry, president Central Ohio Technical College, Strawberry: Matt & Joann Starr, $200
•Cindy McDowell, senior closing officer ACS Title, Dutch Apple with Caramel: Dave McDowell Auctioneer, $250; resold to David Bouchard, $100
•Tina Cockrell, public health education & nursing division director Knox Public Health, Pumpkin: Diane Goodrich, $125
•Noreen Boardman, vice president Heartland Promotional Products, Strawberry Rhubarb: Drenda Keesee, $220
•Alicia Misarti, Kenyon College, Apple: Kathy White, $170
•Mike Copley, chief operations officer CES Credit Union, Oreo Cream: Cliff’s High Performance, $100
•Natalie Mizer, Ohio Eastern Star Home, 2 Strawberry Surprise: Dave McDowell Auctioneer, $225; Pie #2 resold to Wendi Fowler, $100
•Mount Vernon High School Key Club, Buckeye candies in pie dish: Dave McDowell Auctioneer, $300
•Halle Krajenski, United Way, Butterscotch: Drenda Keesee, $175
•Tyler McCann, Round Hill Dairy, 2 quarts ice cream: Wendi Fowler, $20
2024 Wood Design Challenge
Thirteen artisans donated 25 items for the design challenge auction:
•Ryan Gallwitz, live edge white oak sofa table: Drenda Keesee, $500
•Fox Haver, maple and walnut checkerboard: Drenda Keesee, $200
•Matt Haver, “The Way Next to the Water” picture made from pine sourced from Mount Vernon Public Square: Matteo Lybarger, $100
•Carrie Haver, Dragon Fly sun catcher made from live edge walnut slab: Joel Mazza, $275
•Mark Haver, wooden bowl: Joel Mazza, $200
•Mark Haver, industrial-design shelf: Brian Carlisle, $70
•Brian Carlisle, wine rack: Mandy Heagren, $200
•Brian Carlisle, bowl: Melissa Francis, $325
•Brian Carlisle, bowl: Drenda Keesee, $400
•Adam Estes, Star Burst with oak, red cedar, black walnut, and elm: Matt and Joanne Starr, $400
•Adam Estes, poplar wood stand end table: Matt and Joanne Starr, $550
•Adam Estes, poplar vase: Todd Sands, $260
•David McGough, walnut bowl: Richard Stobaugh, $240
•Matteo Lybarger, Dry River coffee table: Susan Ramser, $3,000
•Carrie Haver, flame bench/coffee table: Mandy Heagren, $450
•Terry Frazier, walnut plate: Baylee Scalice, $175
•Terry Frazier, maple bowl: Jacob Francis, $135
•Terry Frazier, cherry bowl: Matteo Lybarger, $150
•Terry Frazier, cherry ring holder: David Bouchard, $120
•Terry Frazier, bottle opener made from an 80-year-old hedge fence post: Brian Carlisle, $100
•Jesse Ryals: Drenda Keesee, $200
•Jesse Ryals, “Western Landscape”: Brian Carlisle, $50
•Jesse Ryals, hand-carved bowl: Todd Sands, $50
•Gregg Gebhardt, 54-inch coffee table from Rainbow Poplar: Cliff’s High Performance, $600
•Dudley Thomas, walnut coffee table: Noelle Walton, $450
