I want to thank all those REBS members who volunteered to help out with the 2022 Mammoth Auction & Sale over the weekend of February 19 and 20, 2022. I don’t want to mention names for fear of leaving one out, but there were many of you who spent a day or the two days at the Lakeside Park Garden Center, Oakland, CA. I believe some of you even got the opportunity to visit the Bonsai Garden at Lake Merritt.
2022 Mammoth Auction & Sale recorded a new high in gross receipts from the live auction on Saturday. There were 110 auction items. Only one bonsai tree was returned to its owner having a reserve bid price of $1,500.00. Sometimes having a high reserve bid price works against you in a live auction. There were some 120 bidder number cards and catalogs sold. The Vista Room at the garden center was packed with standing room in the rear only. Bidding was very lively, ranging from $100.00 to $1,100.00 for bonsai trees.
Vendors and bargain sales took place on Sunday from 9:00 a.m. for vendors and 10:00 a.m. for bargain sales. The vendors did extremely well. Some bonsai supply items were sold out, especially Akadama soil.
The attendees for bargain sales started to line up outside the entrance doors to the garden center before 8:00 a.m. Bargain sales included bonsai trees, pre-bonsai, pots galore, display stands, bonsai equipment, etc. Only a few items remained at the 3:00 p.m. closing.
Some 100 or so sealed lunches were served both days to the volunteers. About 20 sealed lunches were sold to vendors and attendees for $8.00. The awesome sandwiches were prepared for the event by Safeway, Grand Ave., Oakland, CA.
COVID protocol required verified vaccinations and issued wristbands for entry to the garden center. Some 500 wristbands were issued. We ran out of wristbands early Sunday and resorted to marking in ink “VC” (aka Very Cool). Attendance was robust for the two-day event.
Again, I want to thank all the volunteers and attendees for making the 2022 Mammoth Auction & Sale a great success in fundraising for the Bonsai Garden at Lake Merritt.
Hope to see everyone in 2023.
George Haas
Mammoth Auction & Sale Chair
