OTHELLO — The Old Hotel Art Gallery will host a drive-thru birthday-party-themed meal on Saturday, Oct. 24. The drive-thru meal is one of the ways that the Old Hotel is revamping the annual dinner auction.

“Our theme this year is a birthday party since the art gallery is celebrating its 45th year of contributing to our community,” said Jenn Stevenson, manager for the Old Hotel Art Gallery.

Because of restrictions surrounding COVID-19, the Old Hotel is not able to hold the annual dinner auction as normal. The auction part of the event is being held online from Oct. 16 to 27 at charityauction.bid/TheOldHotelBirthdayBenefitAuction2020. The dinner portion is being held in a drive-thru style in which meals that have been purchased earlier will be delivered through the car window to attendees.

Stevenson said that the Old Hotel board decided to hold the dinner auction this way to continue the tradition without endangering the health of attendees.

“Even if we don’t have the attendance we want, it wasn’t going to be a possibility to be in-person,” Stevenson said. “We felt this was the best option for us.”

Tickets for the dinner are $20 and must be purchased ahead of time. They are available through members of the board and at the Old Hotel.

“The menu is barbecue meat, baked beans, Caesar salad, a dinner roll and, of course, a birthday cupcake,” Stevenson said.

The meat will be prepared by Tim Fought, with dinner rolls by Annette Horst and cupcakes by Marcella Hansen.

Dinner ticket holders should call the Old Hotel sometime between Oct. 20 and 22 during the hours of 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. to arrange a time to pick up their meals. Meals can be picked on Oct. 24 from 4 to 8 p.m. Meals will only be served according to the number of tickets purchased. At the time of pickup, drivers should park on Larch Street, in front of the hotel. A hotel volunteer will hand the meals into the car, making it unnecessary for occupants to get out of the car. Masks will be needed by the occupants of the car.

At the time of the meal pickup, bottles of wine and cans of beer will be available for purchase. Identification will be required to purchase.

To learn more about the Old Hotel Art Gallery drive-thru dinner and to purchase tickets, call 509-488-5936. The Old Hotel is located at 33 E. Larch St., Othello.

Rachal Pinkerton can be reached via email at [email protected].