Celebrating its 42nd year, the Sun Valley Museum of Art Wine Auction raised more than $1.2 million to support the Museum’s exhibitions, education initiatives and public programming. Held over five days in June, the week’s events welcomed more than 400 guests in the spirit of food, wine and the great outdoors to raise critical funding for arts and art education in Idaho’s Wood River Valley.
“This year we continued a long-held Sun Valley tradition with 21 events over the span of five days. We created new events, including a Cycle and Sip along the Wood River Trail and a river rafting winemaker dinner on the Salmon River, and expanded our beloved educational wine symposia,” said Jennifer Wells Green, Executive Director of the Sun Valley Museum of Art (SVMoA). “We are so grateful for the overwhelming generosity of our donors and community of supporters who showed up to the Wine Auction and Paddle Raise; it is always an affirmation of the importance to the community of the art and cultural experiences we bring to the valley every year.”
Wine Auction co-chairs Andie Laporte and Christopher and Jennifer Laporte were honored to host this year’s celebration. Andie, also President of the Museum Board, welcomed donors and members of the community to an unforgettable Magnum Pig Roast and Live Auction.
Longtime Sun Valley Wine Auction committee members Trish and Dave Wilson and Cheryl and Murray Hall hosted the evening’s festivities, starting with a Magnum tasting on the lawn of the historic Hall Barn in Ketchum, followed by a traditional Pig and Veggie Roast created by host and Pit Master Dave Wilson and award-winning chefs Bruce Kalman, John Tesar, Austin Simmons and their teams.
42nd Annual Sun Valley Wine Auction by the numbers
- Over $1.2 million raised by the Sun Valley Museum of Art for Arts programming, education and scholarships in the Wood River Valley, Idaho.
- Nearly $400,000 generated from the Paddle Raise to deliver accessible, dynamic, free and reduced-cost arts integration and educational programing to approximately 4,000 students in Blaine County, Idaho.
- Over 400 attendees.
- 42 years – age of the Sun Valley Wine Auction, officially the longest-running wine auction in the country.
- 29 of the finest vintners from Napa, Sonoma, Walla Walla and the Willamette Valley.
- 21 events, including Wine Education Symposia, Culinary Demonstrations, River Rafting, Cycle and Sip, and Pig Roast and Live Auction
- 13 renowned executive chefs from around the country – Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Nevada, New York, and Texas.
- 11 Winemaker Dinners hosted by Sun Valley and Ketchum residents.
- 10 Live Auction lots, including Winemaker for a Day, handcrafting a personal vintage of Phifer Pavitt Sauvignon Blanc with CEO / founder Suzanne Phifer Pavitt and winemaker Dr. Gary Warburton; Jet Set Napa Valley Séjour: A Curated Harlan Family Experience at the Harlan Estate featuring Napa Valley Reserve; and A Weekend of Wellness, Wine & Food with Chef James Porter, celebrity Chef Beau MacMillan and winemaker Dan Kosta at TERRA farm and manor in Prescott, Arizona.
- 1 River Ranch Wine Walk along the banks of the Big Wood River.
The Wine Auction’s critical Paddle Raise was introduced by a documentary film featuring local art educators Tyler Sant and Jackson Flynn, along with SVMoA student scholarship recipients Leo Star, Cassius Klingenfuss and Audrey Hernandez. These teachers and high school students told their story, in their own words, of how Sun Valley Museum of Art has impacted their lives and life paths.
“The Museum has been a force in the Wood River Valley for my entire life,” said Leo Star, dancer, artist, and recipient of the 2023 SVMoA High School Arts & Humanities Scholarship. “I attended their [youth] workshops and art camps, which were really important in helping me to develop the love I have for art.” Leo used his scholarship to fund his attendance at Ballet West summer intensive in Salt Lake City, Utah. Following Leo’s participation in the summer program, Ballet West invited him to join the Professional Training division, their year-round men’s program, their highest level of dance before a company position. Leo is planning to spend his senior year in Salt Lake City and will train full-time as a dancer, fulfilling a lifelong dream.
This year, the evening’s Paddle Raise generated nearly $400,000. These funds allow SVMoA to serve upward of 4,000 youth and teens in Blaine County, guaranteeing access to the arts, artists and performances from around the world, and unique, transformative educational experiences.
The Museum’s scholarships and other programs have helped allow individuals to pursue interests and continued education in the arts. SVMoA scholarships have redirected some of those lives and, in the words of educator Jackson Flynn, impacted “their life for the better.”
Next year’s Sun Valley Museum of Art Wine Auction will take place during the last week of June, 2024. For more information, visit svmoa.org.
About the Sun Valley Wine Auction
Founded in 1981, the Sun Valley Wine Auction is the longest-running wine auction in the country and the largest fundraising event for Sun Valley Museum of Art, a multi-disciplinary contemporary art museum in the Wood River Valley. The Sun Valley Wine Auction provides 50% of the Museum’s annual ncome and raises essential funds for the Museum’s educational outreach programs, which reach almost 4,000 student participants in schools across the Wood River Valley and beyond each year. The money raised during the Wine Auction enables SVMoA to offer programs free of charge to all students. In addition, the Wine Auction supports SVMoA’s annual Scholarship Program, now in its 24th year. The Scholarship Program has awarded more than $1,000,000 to local high school students, college students and educators to pursue the study of arts and humanities outside the Wood River Valley. SVMoA serves 24,000 people annually. Twenty-five percent of participants are children, and 60% of programs offered to children are free of charge. For more information about the Sun Valley Wine Auction, please visit sunvalleywineauction.org.
About Sun Valley Museum of Art
The nonprofit Sun Valley Museum of Art (SVMoA) has nurtured curiosity, sparked conversation and engaged the Blaine County community since 1971. Accredited by the American Alliance of Museums, SVMoA reaches an annual audience of 40,000 with its mission to enrich the community through transformative arts and education experiences. SVMoA’s diverse programming includes visual arts exhibitions, lectures, concerts, classes, and performances. SVMoA enhances K-12 arts education in local schools with elementary school education, student exhibition tours, professional artist residencies, arts-based classroom enrichment projects, and student and teacher scholarships. To learn more about the Sun Valley Museum of Art, explore upcoming events, become a member or get involved, visit svmoa.org.
