Big Ski Chair Affair
A ski lift chair donated by Whitefish Mountain Resort and redecorated by artist: Lorinda Smith sits outside the Hidden Moose Lodge in Whitefish. The chairs will be sold at the Big Ski Chair Affair Auction is September 21 at 7 p.m. at the Craggy Range Bar and Grill. The event is a fundraiser for the SNOW Bus and Glacier Park Express. (Brenda Ahearn/Daily Inter Lake)
A ski lift chair donated by Whitefish Mountain Resort and reimagined by artists Paula Greenstein and Chris Marie Campbell sits on display at the Stumptown Marketplace in downtown Whitefish. The chairs will be sold at the Big Ski Chair Affair auction at 7 p.m. Sept. 21 at the Craggy Range in Whitefish. The event is a fundraiser for the SNOW Bus and Glacier Park Express. (Brenda Ahearn photos/This Week in the Flathead)
Detail of a ski lift chair redecorated by students of Summit Prep School sits on display at the National Parks Realty office in Whitefish.
Nanci Williams carefully recreates draws for the ski lift chair she designed for the Big Sky Chair Affair Auction. The chair had been on display in front of the Purple Pomegranate and Nelson’s Hardware until it was vandalized. Williams will have the chair completely restored and made ready for the auction on September 21, but she will not be putting it out on public display again. (Brenda Ahearn/Daily Inter Lake)
Detail of artwork by Nancy Williams that was deliberately vandalized and is currently being redone.(Brenda Ahearn/Daily Inter Lake)
A ski lift chair donated by Whitefish Mountain Resort and redecorated by artist: Steven Miller sits outside Mackenzie River Pizza Co. in downtown Whitefish. The chairs will be sold at the Big Ski Chair Affair Auction is September 21 at 7 p.m. at the Craggy Range Bar and Grill. The event is a fundraiser for the SNOW Bus and Glacier Park Express. (Brenda Ahearn/Daily Inter Lake)
A ski lift chair by artist Steven Miller sits at Mackenzie River Pizza Co. in Whitefish. (Brenda Ahearn/Daily Inter Lake)
A ski lift chair donated by Whitefish Mountain Resort and redecorated by artist: Shelby Powell sits outside the Craggy Range Bar and Grill in downtown Whitefish. The chairs will be sold at the Big Ski Chair Affair Auction is September 21 at 7 p.m. at the Craggy Range. The event is a fundraiser for the SNOW Bus and Glacier Park Express. (Brenda Ahearn/Daily Inter Lake)
A ski lift chair donated by Whitefish Mountain Resort and redecorated by artist: Dee Dee Cooper sits outside Frame of Reference in downtown Whitefish. The chairs will be sold at the Big Ski Chair Affair Auction is September 21 at 7 p.m. at the Craggy Range Bar and Grill. The event is a fundraiser for the SNOW Bus and Glacier Park Express. (Brenda Ahearn/Daily Inter Lake)
A ski lift chair by artist Dee Dee Cooper sits outside Frame of Reference in downtown Whitefish.
A ski lift chair donated by Whitefish Mountain Resort and redecorated by artists: Michelle Saurey, Mark Baumbach, and Terence Gill sits outside the Walking Man Frame Shop and Gallery in downtown Whitefish. The chairs will be sold at the Big Ski Chair Affair Auction is September 21 at 7 p.m. at the Craggy Range Bar and Grill. The event is a fundraiser for the SNOW Bus and Glacier Park Express. (Brenda Ahearn/Daily Inter Lake)
A ski lift chair donated by Whitefish Mountain Resort and redecorated by artists: Michelle Saurey, Mark Baumbach, and Terence Gill sits outside the Walking Man Frame Shop and Gallery in downtown Whitefish. The chairs will be sold at the Big Ski Chair Affair Auction is September 21 at 7 p.m. at the Craggy Range Bar and Grill. The event is a fundraiser for the SNOW Bus and Glacier Park Express. (Brenda Ahearn/Daily Inter Lake)
A ski lift chair created by artists Michelle Saurey, Mark Baumbach and Terence Gill sits outside the Walking Man Frame Shop and Gallery in Whitefish.
Next week art and outdoor culture will collide at the Big Ski Chair Affair.
Ten ski chairs of varying designs have appeared around Whitefish over the summer as public art installations.
All of the ski lift chairs, donated by Whitefish Mountain Resort, are part of the Big Ski Chair Affair, a fundraiser presented by the Big Mountain Commercial Association to raise money for the winter SNOW bus and the summer Glacier Park Express.
The masterpiece chairs, reimagined by local artists and community members, are set to be auctioned off at 7 p.m. Sept. 21 at Craggy Range in Whitefish.
Each chair is sponsored by a local business, and is on display until the auction at the sponsor’s business. Artists who created the chair designs include Lorinda Smith, Deb Stika, Susan Miller, Shelby Powell, Steven Miller, Paula Greenstein, Chris Marie Campbell, Michelle Saurey, Mark Baumbach, Terence Gill, Nanci Williams, Dee Dee Cooper, Ruth Lane, Louise Barker, Paula Rindal, Sally Glutting and students from Summit Prep School.
The sponsoring businesses are Hidden Moose Lodge, Whitefish Lake Restaurant, Craggy Range Bar and Grill, Mackenzie River Pizza Co., Firebrand Hotel, The Lodge at Whitefish Lake, National Parks Realty, Stumptown Marketplace, Walking Man Frame Shop and Gallery, Purple Pomegranate, Nelson’s Hardware, Frame of Reference Fine Arts Gallery, and JoBeth Blair of PureWest Real Estate. Olie Bircher welded the legs on the chairs.
The auction event is free and open to the public. Those wanting to bid on the chairs don’t need to be present at the auction. To establish bidding arrangements, contact Rick Cunningham at 406-253-9192.
The Big Mountain Commercial Association is a local nonprofit organization funded by member businesses. Its mission is to build cooperation and develop new ideas and projects that will enhance Big Mountain and Whitefish.
For more information, visit http://bigmtncommercial.org/events.