Excited bidders gathered in Ipswich Town Hall on Wednesday night, each of them hoping to walk away with one of the much-loved Big Hoots.
The 50 ornately decorated owl sculptures have been brightening up the town centre all summer, with the aim of raising funds for St Elizabeth Hospice.
Now, each of them has been auctioned off to a new home – with £163,590 raised in total for the hospice.
To see the moment the team discovered exactly how much their efforts had raised, click the video below.
The biggest bid of the night was for the Ipswich Town Football Club themed ‘Towny Owl,’ which sold to an online bidder for a whopping £15,000.
Its artist was St Elizbeth Hospice nurse Sarah Edwards. She said: “I am absolutely amazed. I never expected ‘Towny Owl’ to raise such a fantastic sum for the hospice.
“I really am gobsmacked and emotional, as the funds raised will support our fantastic team and the brilliant hospice as we support our local community.”
The winning bidder for the popular ‘Feeling Hoot, Hoot, Hoot’ was Belinda Logan, who is currently receiving care from the hospice.
She said: “I really wanted to support the charity. I only have a short amount of time left but I wanted to leave a legacy for my family and to show our gratitude to the phenomenal hospice team.
“Anything we ask for the hospice team deliver. They have taken the fear out of what is a very scary time.
“I was too poorly to attend the auction tonight so I took part online, bidding from my hotel nearby, but when I saw I had won, I dashed down to see our Hoot and it is an amazing feeling - I am so pleased. ‘Feeling Hoot, Hoot, Hoot!’ will have pride of place in our family garden for years to come.”
The auction was conducted by Clarke and Simpsons, with all proceeds going towards the hospice’s work providing care free of charge to those living with progressive or life-limiting illness throughout East Suffolk, Great Yarmouth and Waveney.
Celia Joseph is the Community Relationships Fundraising Manager at St Elizabeth Hospice.
She said: “We are so grateful for the warm welcome the Ipswich community gave our hoots, throughout the summer, and we would like to say a massive ‘thank you’ to all the people and organisations who supported and engaged with the trail.
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