Bearfootin' Bears unveiled, hope to exceed last year's fund-raising total of over $100,000

This year marked the 20th year of the Bearfootin' Art Walk, where the Bearfootin' Bears are created and auctioned to raise funds for several area non-profits.

On Thursday evening in downtown Hendersonville, the 2022 Bearfootin' Bears were unveiled as the crowd cheered and gazed at the 20 new sculptures.

"This is the 20th time we've done the bears in downtown Hendersonville. The bear auction does a lot of things for our local non-profits and our community," Community Development Director Lew Holloway said. "Over the last three years, we've raised nearly a-quarter-of-a-million dollars for local non-profits."

Since 2003, the Bearfootin’ Art Walk has helped raise funds for Downtown Hendersonville and many local non-profits. The bears first arrive as white, blank canvases before local artists transform them.

"These artists do such an amazing job," Holloway said.

After Thursday's reveal, the bears will reside in downtown Hendersonville from now until the fall when the auction is held. Participants bid during the auction to raise funds for local non-profits and Downtown Hendersonville. According to a press release, winning bids up to $3,000 are split evenly between the downtown program and the nonprofit chosen by the sponsor, while bid amounts exceeding $3,000 are directed entirely to the non-profit.

The Bearfootin’ Bears will be dismantled after the auction and go to their permant homes of the winning bidders. In 2020, Friends of Downtown Hendersonville switched to a virtual format for the auction, allowing people to bid over the course of a month until a scheduled bidding cutoff. This turned out to be a big success, the city said.

The same bidding format was continued for the 2021 auction, which raised $102,000. For the 2022 Auction, the Downtown Events Team and Friends of Downtown Hendersonville are continuing with a virtual bidding format, similar to the previous two years. Bidding will begin Sept. 15 and will come to a close with an in-person event on Oct. 15 at the Historic Court House on Main Street.

The auction website is hendersonvillenc.gov/bearfootin. The bears are listed below and a map of Main Street shows where each bear will be placed.

2022 Bears

1. Healing Together

Sponsor: Meliora Cabinetry

Artist: Andrea Leigh

To benefit: Safelight

2. Celebration ‘22

Sponsor: Friends of Downtown Hendersonville

Artist: Diamond Cash

To benefit: Friends of Downtown Hendersonville

3. CarlSandBear

Sponsor: Friends of Carl Sandburg at Connemara

Artist: Mike Ayers and the Whetstone Woodworks Crew

To benefit: Friends of Carl Sandburg/D Hubbs & M Sollom Scholarship Program

4. Yona and Lily

Sponsor: H4Y Board of Directors

Artist: Linda Allen

To benefit: Homes For Youth

5. Haven & Bloom

Sponsor: Margaret Stallings Arnold & Ed Arnold

Artist: Heidi Mayfield

To benefit: Boys & Girls Club of Henderson County

6. Benny the Benevolent

Sponsor: The Lucy Clark Studio & Gallery

Artist: Maureen Chapman

To benefit: Community Foundation of Henderson County

7. There’s No Place Like Home

Sponsors: Aloft Hotel Asheville, Grant Laughter Jewelry, Woof Gang Bakery Asheville

Artist: Carol Clay

To benefit: Charlie’s Angels Animal Rescue

8. Unity

Sponsor: Hendersonville Woman’s Club

Artist: Amy Thomas

To benefit: Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Western North Carolina

9. Protect-and-Serve

Sponsor: Bridge Church Hendersonville

Artist: Elizabeth Pooler

To benefit: First Responder Ministry-Henderson County

10. Take The Road Less Traveled

Sponsor: Burlett Painting, LLC

Artist: Dee Ballenger

To benefit: Hendersonville Family YMCA

11. I Beg Your Garden

Sponsor: Four Friends of Downtown Hendersonville – Walt Slagel, Gayle Cinke, Beverly and Jack Maniscalco

Artist: Judy Dempsey

To benefit: Bullington Gardens

12. Charley

Sponsor: Kelly Green

Artist: Richard Norris

To benefit: Council on Aging

13. Daisy Dogwood

Sponsor: Dogwood of Flat Rock

Artist: Bethany Joy

To benefit: St. Gerard House, School for Autism

14. Barbara in Bloom

Sponsor: Nancy & Robert Rice

Artist: Natalie Ray

To benefit: Project Dignity of WNC

15. Dr. Shriner Bear

Sponsor: Hendersonville Shrine Club

Artist: Kevin Burns

To benefit: The Shriners Children's Hospitals

16. Mad Mountain Mama Bear

Sponsor: ShareWell Coffee Co. & Roastery

Artist: Jazz Rode

To benefit: True Ridge

17. Iris

Sponsors: Attorney’s Title, Homestead, Moe’s Original Bar B Que, RE/MAX Results, Sherman’s Sports and Army Store

Artist: Natalie Bennett

To benefit: Henderson County Hunger Coalition

18. Kala

Sponsor: BMW of Asheville

Artist: Miriam Hughes and Laura Bell

To benefit: United Way of Henderson County

19. A-“Flora”-ble Housing

Sponsor: Hendersonville Board of Realtors

Artist: Shayna Landreth

To benefit: Housing Assistance Corporation

20. Love Bug

Sponsor: Troy Drake & Danny Wiley

Artist: Kay Rose Sloat

To benefit: PFLAG Hendersonville

This article originally appeared on Hendersonville Times-News: Bearfootin' Bears unveiled, hope to exceed fund-raising total over $100K