Alas, the end is now in sight for the Wallabies Gone Wild art trail but it is with great anticipation that we look forward to the auction of the big wallaby sculptures.

The auction is the pinnacle of our event and our excitement is building as we wonder who will bid, how many bidders there will be, which wallabies will prove the most popular, will there be any nail-biting bidding wars for a particular sculpture and where will the wallabies end up?

General feedback and the overall popularity of Wallabies Gone Wild tells us that there will be a great deal of interest when these sculptures go under the hammer.

The individual ’unlocks’ of the wallabies within the mobile phone app, which is sponsored by Tevir Group, have now topped 60,000, more than 15,000 paper trail maps have been distributed and more than 5,000 photographs of people enjoying the trail have been shared to picture galleries within the app.

26 large sculptures and four smaller ones will go up for auction, including the wallaby designed by the celebrated artist and designer Roger Dean, known for his work on many famous albums covers, and a wallaby that has been signed by many stars of the Isle of Man TT Races.

The remainder of the small wallabies will be returned to the schools and community groups which designed them and brought them to life.

The large wallabies of course could end up anywhere in the world, although we hope that at least some will stay on the island and be located where they can still be enjoyed by the public.

Indeed, at least one local community is fundraising to try to keep a sculpture in their town as they have become very fond of their wallaby and don’t want it to leave.

Three quarters of the profits from the auction will come to Hospice Isle of Man to help support our services and make them sustainable for the future.

The remaining 25%, plus VAT goes to our event partners, Wild in Art.

The auction will be hosted by both Charles Hanson and Murray Keefe. Charles is an auctioneer and television personality, best known for his appearances on Bargain Hunt and Antiques Road Trip. Murray Keefe, from Chrystals Auctions, will be hosting an online auction facility for those bidding from elsewhere.

The event is on Thursday, September 26, at the Villa Marina in Douglas, from 8.30pm with doors opening at 7pm. Registration for bidders closes at 8.15pm.

There will be two ticket options available: general admission tickets for £20, or for £30, guests can attend the auction with priority seating and a drinks reception prior to the auction.

For people who can’t be there on the night but would like to bid, our online bidding platform will open for registration two weeks before the auction and will be available to access for the duration of the event.

Tickets are available at wallabiesgonewild.im

For more information, please contact the Wallabies Gone Wild team on 647433 or email [email protected]

by Hospice Isle of Man

www.hospice.org.im

newsdesk@iomnewspapers