Last Friday the annual arts auction returned to the school library. The auction functions as a fundraiser for the art department, selling students’ works to raise funds. The works include ceramics, photos, paintings and drawings and were available for purchase by art students and teachers. The auction ran from Bruin Block to 3:05. Throughout the day, students were able to come in with their teachers, enjoy some refreshments and look and bid on the art. The guitar ensemble performed, playing songs that varied from soft acoustics to a cover of Paint it Black.
“I really appreciate [the arts auction],” junior Cole Cochran said. “I travel to all these places, and I put effort into these photos, and to see that someone would pay that much for something of mine; it’s just nice to know that someone appreciates it.”
In addition to the auction, Friday also saw the return of Holiday Unplugged, now in its thirteenth installment. The concert featured a variety of artists on a variety of instruments: guitars, a ukulele, the piano, plastic cups, and more. Somewhat ironically, Christmas and holiday songs weren’t in the majority. The concert was mostly punctuated by a variety of alternative selections, interspliced with various Christmas carols and holiday standards.
“I think Holiday Unplugged is a cool concept,” sophomore Erik Wells said, “because you get to see people you know perform songs you’ve heard done a thousand different ways, so there’s a lot to draw from, even if Christmas music is a fairly limited genre.”
The arts auction and Holiday Unplugged are only the beginning in a series of arts events coming up throughout the school year. Lake Braddock Musical Theatre returns on Jan. 25 to 28 with Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Carousel. Mar. 10 to 12 sees the return of Lake Braddock Theatre’s Black Box show; this year it’s A. R. Gurney’s Dining Room. On the 17th is Spotlight Unplugged, as well as the art show later that month.