• Residents still have a chance until noon on Friday to put in a bid on their favorite heart(s) before the auction closes.
• A credit card is required to make a bid because checks and cash payment not valid for the online auction.

In-person auction: In addition to the online auction, another 12 of the hearts, which stand five feet tall, are being auctioned off live Friday evening during a private event at the Arvest Bank Theatre at the Midland in Kansas City.

• A few of the hearts will not be going up for auction at all. Instead, they are being given to some of the art installations’ top-tier sponsors.

The proceeds: The Parade of Heats was designed to raise money for those who have been hurt by the COVID-19 pandemic.

• According to the Parade of Hearts website, the main beneficiaries of funds raised through the project include the University of Kansas Health System, the Mid-America Regional Council, AltCap, Visit KC and local artists.
• All proceeds accumulated from the auctions will go to charity, according to Parade of Hearts website.

Key quote: “We wish we could keep the hearts up forever, but the main mission for us was to raise critical funding to support so many impacted by the last two-plus years,” officials wrote on the Parade of Hearts Twitter page.

ONE WEEK LEFT!

We wish we could keep the hearts up forever but the main mission for us was to raise critical funding to support so many impacted by the last two+ years. A big part of that is auctioning most of them off. The online auction kicks off next week. Details soon… pic.twitter.com/WZSDX1uCtP

— ParadeofHearts (@ParadeofH) June 4, 2022

Background: The region-wide art installation had the hearts placed on both sides of the state line in 31 different cities over the span of three months.

• Nearly 30 of the hearts were in – or very near – Johnson County, including from western Shawnee and south of Interstate 435 to Prairie Village and the northeast part of the county.
• The Parade of Hearts was also reminiscent of the “CowParade” art project more than 20 years ago, which saw painted fiberglass cows pop up across the metro.