Maria Canton
Northern News Services
Yellowknife (Feb 09/01) - Being generous has its privileges -- like snagging one of Yellowknife's finest bachelors for the night.
And with that, let the bidding begin.
Already 25 bachelors have signed up to participate in the second annual Gallery Bachelor Auction taking centre stage next Wednesday night on, you guessed it, Valentine's Day.
With proceeds going to the Children's Make a Wish Foundation, scaring up contestants hasn't been all that difficult.
Take Gallery employee Earl Koch for example, who says he has no qualms about strutting his stuff for an audience of buyers.
"I'm not nervous about it because what it all comes down to is it's for charity," said Koch, who has been working at the downtown bar for a year.
"It sounds like there will be a good turnout for it."
And the crowd size will likely swell when the locals find out one of the bachelors will have -- concealed on his person -- a diamond ring for his lucky buyer.
With no strings attached, whomever buys the guy with the ring gets to keep it. All others will get the guy of their choice and his great conversation, a bottle of bubbly, chocolates and strawberries.
The Valentine's Day auction is the brainchild of the Gallery staff, with the charity aspect being the icing on the cake.
"There are a lot of single people in Yellowknife and this gives everyone something to do on Valentine's Day," said Lisa Tesar, Gallery manager.
"A lot of bars in the city have fund-raiser events and this is a fun way to raise money for our charity of choice, the Children's Make a Wish Foundation."
At last year's male auction, guys were going from anywhere between $10 to $50.
And what it all comes down to is that spending Valentine's Day at the Gallery will result in three things -- you'll snag a man, donate to a charity and not spend the day-devoted-to-couples alone.
