PROVIDENCE BAY—The Dewar Family Maple Syrup Auction in support of the Northern Cancer Foundation is almost open for its fifth straight year and organizer Travis Dewar says there will be plenty of sweet, sweet prizes for lucky bidders.
“Everybody wins out of this. We donate something very small and it produces a lot of money into the cancer centre, and a lot of joy to other people as well,” said Mr. Dewar.
The sap has been running for about two weeks now at the family’s sugar bush near Providence Bay.
“This event is so much fun and something that our family and many spectators look forward to every year. We want to thank everyone who has participated or donated in the past as you have made this a huge success,” said Mr. Dewar.
The idea for a maple syrup auction began in 2015 when Mr. Dewar heard of someone auctioning off a crate of Kraft Dinner as a hockey team fundraiser. He decided to recreate the idea with a sweet twist—the very first litre of Dewar family maple syrup each year is put up for auction with all proceeds going toward Health Sciences North’s Northeast Cancer Centre.
“The winner will not only receive the first litre of maple syrup made but will receive a receipt from the Northern Cancer Foundation in the amount of their winning bid,” he said.
“The cancer centre loves the idea of it; they’ve been excited to hear how well we do every year. We do have an emblem on the garden wall at the Northern Cancer Foundation and the emblem will get an upgrade this year once we’re above $3,000.”
New for this year’s event is the addition of mystery bid milestones. The family has set five mystery amounts in advance and whomever places the first bid above each milestone will instantly win a prize. Although the prizes won’t be syrup, Mr. Dewar said they are “sweet” and made right on the Dewar family farm.
Since the auction’s inception in 2015, the family has raised $2,870 for the Northern Cancer Foundation. In 2017, the first litre eventually sold for a whopping $850. Several others also make donations directly to the foundation even if they do not want to compete for the highest bid on the syrup.
The rules for the auction are straightforward: bid high, trash talk your opponents (though trash talkers are asked to use clean language), don’t get outbid, all bids must be in full dollar amounts at least $1 higher than the previous bid and all bidders should try to win at all costs. Above all, Mr. Dewar said he wants everyone to enjoy the auction.
“I really do enjoy seeing people defending their bids when others start with the trash talking. It’s all about fun,” he said.
Bids open this Friday, April 5 at 8 pm and close exactly one week later on Friday, April 12 at 8 pm. Since the auction is conducted over Facebook, Mr. Dewar cautions everyone to make sure they are bidding on the original post at the “Dewar Family Maple Syrup Shack” page and not on any shared copies.
Mr. Dewar invites anyone who wishes to make a donation or who has further questions to contact him through Facebook or call him at 705-929-3137.
