The 32nd annual Talkeetna Bachelor Auction in the community of Talkeetna, Alaska, the jumping off point for tours and climbs of Mount McKinley, was reportedly the most fruitful ever, according to local radio station KTNA, via the Alaska Public Radio Network (APRN).
APRN reports that the auction raised over $14,000, with the average price of a bachelor rounding out to $335. The most expensive catch of the evening was local Tommy Potter. A community "philanthropist" paid $900 for him. Sure that's a lot of money for a date, but it's all for a good cause. All proceeds from the auction are donated to Talkeetna's nonprofits, often going to women and children in crisis.
A woman named Alison explained her purchase of bachelor "Dave" to APRN:
And indeed he did not. Kehir bought Dave for $700, a number even he was surprised by.
The auction traditionally falls on the afternoon of the same day as the Wilderness Women Contest, won this year by Virginia transplant Khalial Withen, and was originally conceived to help draw a bigger winter crowd to Talkeetna's historic bar, the Fairview Inn. But now, according to APRN, actual matches are being made and "several marriages have their origins in this event."
KTNA reporter Melis Coady signs off with a charming amendment to a popular turn of phrase: "from Talkeetna, where odds are goods but the goods are getting expensive."