Bidding for the 2026 Bearfootin’ Art Walk bears begins on Thursday, October 8 at 10am.
Our virtual auction has been a proven success in raising funds for 20 local nonprofits every year, raising over $500,000 in the last 5 years. The 2026 Auction will be completely virtual again this year, beginning October 8 and ending with a countdown celebration at the Historic Courthouse Plaza on Thursday, October 22.
How to bid:
All bidding will occur virtually via accelevents.com/e/ bearauction26. There will be no in-person bidding. Bidding ends at 6pm EST on October 22, 2026. After the auction ends at 6pm, all active bidders have an opportunity to outbid the highest current bid, extending each individual bears auction up to 3 minutes per bid, until there are no new bids within the three-minute period and the auction will be closed.
Starting bids for all bears will be $1,500 and minimum bid increments are $100.
Any bear can be purchased ahead of the bidding deadline at our "Buy Now" price of $10,000. The "Buy Now" option ends Tuesday, October 20 at 5 pm. BUY NOW must be purchased with credit card (processing fees apply) and cannot be guaranteed unless it is purchased online. Bears that are not purchased with the buy now option can exceed $10,000 at the final auction.
Visit hendersonvillenc.gov/ bearfootin or the auction site directly at accelevents.com/e/ bearauction26 for complete details on bidding and acquiring your bear.
To celebrate this exciting downtown tradition, the public is invited to a countdown event on Thursday, October 22 at the Historic Courthouse Square on Main Street from 4:30pm until 6pm. Attendees and bidders will meet the bears and their artists. While there won’t be voice call bidding at the event, attendees will be able to bid live via cell phone and can ask for setup assistance at a designated registration table. Bidders do not have to attend the in-person event to be a winning bidder, but winning bidders are encouraged to pick up their bear the evening of October 22.
2027 Bear Sponsorship Application Updates: Applications for a 2027 bear will open on Monday, October 26 through Sunday, November 1. Bear sponsorship applications will be accepted for one week in order to allow for complete applications to be submitted. If there are more than 20 applicants, sponsors will be accepted by random lottery.
ABOUT THE BEARFOOTIN’ ART WALK PROGRAM
Since 2003, the Bearfootin’ Art Walk has helped raise funding for Friends of Downtown Hendersonville (a 501c3 nonprofit) and a variety of local nonprofits. In addition to raising funds, the bears offer a window into good work being done by community organizations. The Bearfootin’ bears arrive as blank slates before local artists transform each in spectacular fashion, with many creative artistic themes. After the “Reveal” event in early May, the bears then take up residence in downtown Hendersonville for the duration of the summer and fall, up until the auction.
