Tickets are still available for the Nantucket Historical Association’s (NHA) Nantucket Lightship Basket Museum (NLBM) annual summer fundraiser: Baskets & Bubbly. In addition to the Garden Party there will be an online auction for nine days. Karen Butler and Jackie Kupper again chair this year’s fundraiser for their second year.
The online auction begins this Sunday, July 17 and bidding will continue to 4 pm on Monday, July 25. There are many one-of-a-kind auction items, including more than 25 lightship baskets and many basket-related items. The auction offer buyers around the world the opportunity to bid on exquisitely handcrafted items, such as a intricately woven mini pendant by Janet Carreau, jewelry designed and woven by Michael Kane, and an amazing petite basket woven and embellished by maker Nap Plank, plus many more unique pieces.
The Baskets & Bubbly Garden Party will be a special celebration to honor this iconic Nantucket craft, held in the garden of the NHA’s Historic Property, Hadwen House, at 96 Main Street, from 4 to 6 pm on Sunday, July 24. Tickets for this event can be purchased at NHA.org.
“Every Nantucket lightship basket, unique unto itself, carries with it the heart and soul of the person who made it, reflecting their creativity and ingenuity. It is with great pleasure and joy that we are inspired to do our small part in helping this historic basket craft, which originated on Nantucket Island, continue to be vibrantly alive and relevant to this very day,” explained Karen Butler and Jackie Kupper.
As an affiliate of the NHA, the NLBM retains all funds donated, which can be used to carry out its mission. The NLBM’s ongoing emphasis is teaching the craft and sharing the history of making Nantucket lightship baskets. A special exhibition Weaving Nantucket’s Past into Its Future: The Craft Continues, is open in the Hadwen House on upper Main Street. The NHA’s Decorative Arts program continues to offer an array of basket-themed workshops for youth and adults; classes and workshops can be found listed on the calendar at nha.org.