Opening receptions for the September exhibit at the Eastern Shore Art Center, 401 Oak Ave. in Fairhope, will be held during First Friday ArtWalk, Sept. 7, from 6-8 p.m.

Wine, beer and hors d’oeuvres will be served along with live music. Admission is free for members and $2 for non-members.

This month, all galleries will host the Art Takes Flight pelicans.

Art Takes Flight, a project of the Fairhope Committee on Public Art (COPA), is one of the largest and friendliest outdoor public art events on the Gulf Coast.

For this month only, all 71 pelicans will be on exhibit until they’re auctioned off.

For the past five months, fiberglass pelicans — painted, decorated, embellished and festooned — stood on Fairhope street corners, in parks and lobbies, and hung off balconies for everyone who passed by.

The pelicans used in the project are from a model provided by the family of the late Fairhope sculptor, Craig T. Sheldon.

The Committee on Public Art is hosting its Buy, Buy Birdie auction on Saturday, Sept. 29, 5:30 p.m. Art Takes Flight has been a unique event in the artistic history of Fairhope.

The pelicans, each a unique design by a local artist, had flown the streets of Fairhope beginning last March, and now you have an opportunity to have a pelican of your very own.

At the Buy Buy Birdie auction, you can bid on 45 pelicans that will be part of the silent auction or participate in the live auction by auctioneer Christie King Ray of 25 more colorful birds.

Can’t you just see your very own pelican on the end of the wharf or flying off your back porch? The sky really is the limit!

Buy Buy Birdie promises to be a fun event. Come in your casual clothes, dine on the beach party buffet, dance to the music of Coconut Dave and play “Heads or Tails” to win some exciting door prizes.

You can make your reservations by sending a check to the Art Center or calling them at (251) 928-2228 to pay with MasterCard or Visa.

Cost is $45 per person before Sept. 15th and $60 per person after that. Pre-registration gets you right in the door with an auction number already assigned.

Many thanks to corporate sponsors The Fairhope Courier and WABF Radio, and to COPA Chairman Kay Friedlander, Auction Chairman Claudia Ainsworth, and Art Takes Flight co-chairmen Barbara Casey and Dean Mosher and their committees who have made this project possible.

Go help tell the pelicans bye-bye at the Buy Buy Birdie Auction.

Funds raised will be invested in future public art projects in Fairhope. To learn more about Art Takes Flight, visit www.arttakesflight.com.