Dust off your cowboy boots and Victorian top hats. This attire will serve you well at Arts Benicia’s 24th annual Art Auction and Gala with the theme “Wild Wild West: Silver Screen to Steampunk.”

The art auction is an important fundraiser for Arts Benicia, as it provides support for all of the organization’s programs.

“This helps continue our programming in 2017: our exhibitions, our children’s and adult’s education programs and all of our events,” Arts Benicia Program Manager Mary Shaw said. “Without the money raised from this auction, it’s harder for us— since we’re nonprofit— to fulfill our programming needs. It’s really important, and we try to make it really fun.”

In its 24 years, the auction has drawn art lovers from across the Bay Area and even the Sacramento region to come to Benicia and bid on artwork as well as dress up in accordance to that year’s theme. Past years have included such themes as “The Great Gatsby” and last year’s “The ‘60s Experience: Mad Men to Magical Mystery Tour,” in which attendees dressed up as everything from hippies to New York ad creators. This year combines the fashions of the Wild West with steampunk, which fuses industrial technology with the Victorian era. As the steampunk style is a favorite among Benicia artists, Shaw said Arts Benicia had been looking to do a steampunk theme for a while but wanted to do something beyond steampunk.

“The De Young had an exhibit that was about the Wild West, but it was mostly about art from the West,” she said. “We just kind of combined it. We thought it would be fun to do a Wild West and steampunk theme.”

Attendees are encouraged to dress up, although Shaw says this is not a requirement. Suggested attire include cowboy boots, ten gallon hats, petticoats, top hats, spats, corsets and canes.

There will also be plenty of items to bid on in the silent and live auctions, including paintings, acrylics, prints, textiles, jewelry, pieces of hand-painted furniture, clothing items and more. Announcing these items will be Jim Reed, a cattle auctioneer who also performed the auctioneering for Arts Benicia last year.

“He’s very exciting and has a lot of good energy,” Shaw said. “He knows how to get people excited about the artwork and the auction.”

In addition to a chance to go home with a unique piece of art, the evening will provide an abundance of festivities. During the silent auction, DJ AL3X will be spinning tunes reminiscent of the Wild West, The Rellik Tavern will be providing pre-1900 cocktails, photographer Michael Van Auken will have a corner devoted to his steampunk works and First Street Cafe will be catering western-themed hors d’oeuvres. An evening of dancing is also to be expected.

“Wild Wild West” will be held at 6:30 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 24 at the Clock Tower, located at 1189 Washington St. Tickets are $55 at the door and $45 in advance. Advance tickets can be purchased online at artsbenicia.org/tickets or at Bookshop Benicia, located at 636 First St. For more information, contact the gallery by calling 747-0131 or emailing info@artsbenicia.org.

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