San Dimas Boosters Plan Art Auction

If it works for athletes, it can work for scholars too, reasons Joe Lyons and other San Dimas High School academic boosters.

They are hoping to mirror the astounding success of the high school’s Saturday night bingo, which primarily aids sports pro gram, with a more intellectual alternative.

The academic boosters will hold an art auction Saturday at the San Dimas Civic Center. Preview time is 6 p.m. The $3 admission includes light refreshments. The auction starts at 7 and includes photographs, sculptures and paintings donated by local artists and Principal Colleen Gaynes.

A professional art distributor will auction these works along with those of nationally known artists. The distributor gets a commission on the sales of art that it provides.

Proceeds will be used to support the academic decathlon team and to pay for Scholastic Aptitude Test prep courses, field trips and letters, like those athletes receive, for students who achieve A or B averages.

The academic boosters have a tough act to follow. The athletic boosters have raised close to $1 million, said bingo organizer Doug Shultz. They’ve built a football stadium and a weight room. Workers broke ground last weekend on a $300,000 field house, which will include a snack bar, restrooms and locker rooms.

The Saturday night bingo, a community fixture for four years, draws between 250 and 400 players per session.