Francophiles attending the Beaujolais Nouveau gala in Bellevue Friday will have the chance to bid on more than a dozen travel packages as well as some rare and valuable works of art. An original lithograph by the French painter Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec is likely to draw the most interest.
(The gala, which celebrates the release of the first Beaujolais of 2007, is sponsored by French-American Chamber of Commerce and takes place at the Westin Bellevue.)
The “restrike” lithograph, donated by Seattle artist Isa D'Arleans, shows the Irish cabaret performer May Belfort in a scarlet gown, holding a cat. “I love this bold image, which demonstrates the artist's fascination with the overt sexuality of Paris nightlife at the end of the 19th century,” said Ms. D'Arleans. On stage, May Belfort often dressed in a baby bonnet and performed with a girlish lisp songs like “Daddy's Going to Buy Me a Bow-Wow” and “I've Got a Little Cat, I'm Very Fond of That.” The estimated value of the piece is $1,500.
More traditional (though hardly less desirable) travel-related auction items include a pair of first-class tickets on Delta Airlines, two round-trip tickets to Paris on Air France, four round-trip tickets on Alaska Airlines, and two round-trip tickets on Continental, and a seven-day cruise on Holland-America.
A five-night stay at Le Lagon resort on Vanuatu is one of several vacations offered.
Among the local experiences offered: a private discovery tour of Seattle, a happy hour pub crawl in Belltown (that would be Cornichon's contribution), a private tour of the Seattle Art Museum's Roman art exhibition, a salmon dinner for 12, and a one-day trip aboard a Foss tug.
Last-minute tickets remain available, either online or by calling the FACC's office at 206-447-4703.
