Lights! Cameras! Auction! Yes, I've used that line before, but not for 50 straight years…. which is what WCET-TV is celebrating with its 50th annual "Action Auction" Tuesday April 25 through Saturday April 29.
Yes, it's old school fund-raising. It's also fun to watch because you can get some great deals on wine, art, pottery, hotels, restaurants, Reds tickets and all kinds of stuff while supporting public television.
For example:
HOTELS: You have the chance to stay at hotels all over Greater Cincinnati, including the Radisson the night of WEBN-FM's Riverfest fireworks and many places downtown (21c Museum Hotel; Lytle Park Residence Inn; Homewood Suites and Hampton Inn in the old Enquirer building at 617 Vine St.; Hotel Cincinnati Netherland Plaza).
TICKETS: CET has lots of Cincinnati Reds tickets, plus deals for Kings Island, Taft Museum of Art, Playhouse in the Park, May Festival, Summerfair, Kentucky Speedway, Kentucky Symphony Orchestra, LaComedia Dinner Theater, Cobb Liberty Centre Theatres, Danbarry Cinemas, Creation Museum, Go Bananas Comedy Club, Funny Bone comedy club; Entertrainment Junction, Lazer Kraze, Milford Theatre Guilde and Ft. Thomas Village Players.
ROAD TRIPS: If you're up for a road trip, you can get tickets to Keeneland; Kentucky Derby Museum; Renfro Valley music shows; Louisville Zoo; Dollywood; Pigeon Forge's Tribute Theater and Country Tonight Theatre; Ober Gatlinburg tram; Big Splash Adventure water park in French Lick, Ind.; The Stephen Foster Story in Bardstown; Neil Armstrong Air & Space Museum in Wapakoneta; Actors Theatre of Louisville.
Plus there are hotel/condo deals in Hilton Head; Denver; Jacksonville; Portland, ME; Plymouth, Mass.; Gatlinburg and Sevierville, Tenn; and Lexington KY.
UNIQUE EXPERIENCES: Offerings this year range from being a "Hamilton County Sheriff for the Day" and lunch with Sheriff Jim Neil; dinner for four at a Cincinnati firehouse; a private tour for 10 at the Cincinnati Observatory; tours of the WLWT-TV studios and Cincinnati Public Radio.
MEAL DEALS: Bidders will see gift certificates for the Hofbrauhaus, Newport's New Riff Distilling, Skyline Chili, Frisch's, Jet's Pizza, FirstWatch; Arnold's Bar & Grill; Arthur's, Bacall's Café, Taste of Belgium, Outback Steakhouse, Subway, Cincinnati Dinner Train, Papa John's, Marx Hot Bagels, Smokey Bones, The Farm and more.
COLLECTIBLES: Do you want a 1976 Cincinnati Reds World Champions bat with facsimile signatures of the entire team? Or an A.J. Green autographed football; dolls and doll clothes; Charley Harper's Cardinal Close-Up print; the Cincinnati Parks & Public Spaces collage; a 1914 railroad map of Ohio; leather-bound Shakespeare set; Michael Jordan Starting Lineup figures, coins and cards; antique hickory shaft golf clubs; baseball cards; or antique tools?
GIFT CERTIFICATES: You name it, they've got them for golf; bowling; bowling balls; biplane rides; massages; a cookie cake; car washes; dentistry; ice sculptures; air duct cleaning; YMCA and Mercy HealthPlex memberships, Metro bus passes; Red Bike rentals; roller skating; stringed musical instrument repair; wedding invitations, rugs; lighting; ceiling fans beach tote bag; garage door opener; battery-powered screwdrivers; ; laundry supplies; and 48 pounds of Glier's Goetta.
And lots more.
The bidding will be open 5:30-10:30 p.m. Tuesday April 25 through Friday April 28, and 3 p.m. to about midnight on Saturday April 29.