Excitement builds about the upcoming auction to help ransom our friend and town symbol, Morris, the Tryon horse.

Beyond the Morris memorabilia collection on exhibit in TFAC’s Gallery One, ranging in date from 1929 to the present, opportunities will be available at the exhibit gala Saturday, July 28 to assist the fund-raising efforts of the Morris Ransom Project.

Both individuals and businesses have donated a range of items to help raise funds through an auction that evening.

Highlights of the auction will include a 12” x 16” framed plein-air oil on board of Tryon Peak by local painter Richard Baker, who, along with Carl Cartee, will curate the Morris exhibit.
Master glass bead maker Julie McIntyre has created a unique glass bead of Morris as a seahorse. Artisan metal craftsman Joe Cooper has offered his Morris 2 — a 2-foot tall copper and bronze Morris, the exact companion match to the Morris sculpture atop the Tryon Rotary Clock.

Some of the other auction items include a two-hour design consultation, as well as two Smith & Hawkins carved wood ducks named Pamela & Andrew, by Dan Ferebee of Bravo Interior Design & Outdoor Living, and another design consultation offered by local Tryon designer Gillian Drummond.
Ruthie Cohen, a well-known Asheville jeweler, has donated a piece as well. The Tryon Fine Arts Council has offered one of their signature items – a signed, limited-edition print by Pamela Rattray Brown.

An engaging History of the Tryon Toymakers and Woodcarvers by local businessman, author and publisher Mike McCue is also available for bid. For those in need of a little R & R, Edward & Jeanette Chapman have offered, subject to availability, a Banner Elk Weekend Getaway at their VRBO 402 Old Turn Pike Road. Numerous other handcrafted items have been donated too, for example, a forged bottle opener made from a Saluda Grade railroad spike, crafted by local blacksmith Bill Crowell of Saluda Forge.

Even area youth are helping with fund-raising efforts. Summer campers at both FENCE and the Serendipity Kids Ranch have produced 25 imaginative renderings of Morris, all of which are available for acquisition at the auction. Several of these images have been reproduced as laminated placements and will be given as door prizes during the course of the evening.

The public is invited to attend the All Morris, All The Time Exhibit and Auction Gala set for Saturday, July 28 from 6-9 p.m. in TFAC’s Gallery One. For a small donation, there will be light refreshments with finger foods, catered by Gayle and the Chefettes out of Asheville.

– article submitted by Crys Armbrust