PONCHO, Seattle’s top arts funding organization, will host its major fundraising event of the year on Saturday, October 3 at the Sheraton Seattle.

Artworks will be featured from the some of the area’s most noted established and emerging artists including such Northwest luminaries as Kenneth Callahan, Dale Chihuly, Dennis Evans, Peter Juvonen, John Franklin Koenig, Nancy Mee and Richard Royal.

The PONCHO Invitational Fine Art Auction will bring over 800 art patrons, collectors, gallery owners and artists together for an evening of dining, fine art and lively bidding to raise funds to keep the local arts community alive and thriving. Proceeds will benefit local visual art, dance, music, and theatre organizations and their arts education outreach.

PONCHO will be presenting up to twenty-five Artist Merit Awards recognizing outstanding work donated to the auction, as well as the PONCHO Artist of the Year Award honoring an individual artist’s achievement and community involvement. This year PONCHO also will feature the Artists’ Choice Award, the winner to be determined by a vote of the contributing artists themselves.

Items in the auction will be on display for public viewing at The PONCHO Invitational Fine Art Exhibition, a salon-style showing of the nearly 300 works of donated art. Works in all media will be displayed, including painting, prints, sculpture, fiber arts and glass at Western Bridge 3412 4th Ave South (at South Hinds St) Aug 13-15 & Aug 20-22. The exhibit is open to the public from noon to 6 p.m.

More details are available at the PONCHO website.