[media-credit name=’RAY PFEIFFER/Herald file photo’ align=’alignnone’ width=’648′]
[/media-credit]CowParade Wisconsin raised more than $363,500 for a new University of Wisconsin hospital at an auction Friday, turning profits from the temporary, colorful cow display into a permanent part of campus.
CowParade Event Manager Becky Kronberg said overall, the live auction was a success, despite inclement weather.
"Friday was the first snowstorm, and as we were hearing reports of all the accidents we were certainly concerned and even had a fleeting thought of postponing [the auction]," she said. "But we had a great turnout … and were very pleased with the results."
Total proceeds from the event will not be released until after the online auction ends Nov. 21, Kronberg added, but the money raised at the live auction this weekend was already more than expected. In addition to auctioning the cows displayed throughout Madison this fall, the event raised $30,700 in a silent auction of "mini moos"– small fiberglass cows designed by local high school students.
"It was a wonderful auction," Kronberg said. "Raising that kind of money was more than we hoped."
According to Kronberg, the top cows Friday evening sold for $13,000 each. The UW Medical Foundation had the top bid for "If You Want to be a Moosaic Just Come Along With Me," and Windsor Elementary School placed the top bid for "Cowpiary."
Kronberg also said Julie Hustad, artist of "Cowpiary," is the mother of a Windsor Elementary student, and the school raised more than $7,000 in pennies to buy the cow back for display on school property. To reward the school's efforts, the DeForest Area Chamber of Commerce donated more than $5,000 towards the purchase of "Cowpiary."
Kari Fisher, artist of "If You Want to be a Moosaic Just Come Along With Me," said the honor of designing one of the top-selling cows Friday evening is "unbelievable," and the 150 hours spent on its construction was well worth it.
"I talked to the person who did the bidding, and he told me how [UW Medical Foundation] had been waiting all night to bid on my cow," Fisher said. "I was really honored and really touched beyond words — nothing I've made before has ever sold for that much money."
