RHINELANDER - Looking for a new piece of furniture to spice up your home? How about a Hodag sculpture?

Four lucky people went home with a replica of the mystical creature Saturday night.

The fourth annual Hodag Auction hosted by the Downtown Rhinelander Inc. kicked off Saturday evening.

This year’s theme—The Hodag Howl.


Maggie Steffen, Downtown Rhinelander Inc., said "Every community needs one thing that makes them stand out and for Rhinelander it’s the Hodag. By having these Hodags on the street, it’s something that there all year long, it’s something that represents the community. And at the end it raises money. It’s just the perfect thing to do."
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Dozens of people came out to tonight’s event at the Trig’s River Walk Center in Rhinelander.

Four Hodags were auctioned off.

One of them went for $1700.

Jimmy and Sarah Smith, who went home with a Hodag said, "We said we want that it's very beautiful and we got it."

Each sculpture is sponsored by a local group and given a theme.

From “All Eyes are on the Hodag,” to “Cooperation Through Our School.”

Trig’s sponsored “Beauty of the Northwoods-Northern Lights” and Chef-O-Dog was sponsored by the Rhinelander Café and Pub.

Guests also got a chance to bid on several other items through a silent auction.

Like a Hodag lamp and a Hodag charm bracelet estimated at nearly 3-hundred dollars.

Kathy Brich, of Rhinelander Hodag Inc., said "A big plus of this project is to bring people into the downtown area. We have people from all over that are visiting our area to come and see the Hodags. It brings the locals to town to see the Hodags."

All of the money raised from tonight's event benefits the Downtown Rhinelander group.

Story By: Jenn Sullivan