Two hard working volunteers on the Mat-Su College Fine Arts Advisory Council, Sharon Allen and Janice Strong, confer on auction items during the first annual “Tie the Knot Community and College” fundraiser held at the Palmer Depot last Friday night February 12, 2010. The proceeds of the auction will be used to support the first Artisan Festival on campus for the community and the college planned for 2011 with the goal of making this annual event for artists throughout the state. The evening was sparked by the humor and energy of the auctioneer, radio station owner John Klapperich, and capped by the generous contributions of featured artist Shane Lamb. This is a very worthy cause and important to the cultural growth of the Matanuska Valley. Next year, I (your humble blog writer artist) have the honor of serving as featured artist at the second annual auction. Plan now to attend, and start saving your money to bid high on my donation 
Gail Niebrugge, Alaska landscape painter
Wonderful evening with lots of fun for a most worthy cause–Thanks Gail for donating a great picture for our lst time event –It was sincerely appreciated by everyone!! Sharon Allen
Sharon, you and the committee should be very proud of yourselves for a nice event. I’m looking forward to the day when we have the summer artisan festival!
Gail