The Mennonite Country Auction near Ritzville brought in more than $133,000 on Saturday, Oct. 3, for the relief, development and peace work of Mennonite Central Committee, and organizers say next year's sale will be the last.
Hundreds of people came out to Menno Mennonite Church, 1378 N. Damon Road, for the daylong event. Bidders competed for handmade quilts, and visitors filled up on fresh-pressed apple cider, apple butter, ham, bacon, sausage, cheese, pies, cookies, ice cream and maple syrup.
Bethel Mountain Band, a bluegrass gospel group from Salem, Ore., played through the afternoon.
Every dollar raised goes to Mennonite Central Committee, which runs relief and development programs worldwide. Four Washington Mennonite congregations support the auction, which dates to 1977.
The auction's website lists the 2026 total as preliminary, at more than $130,000 raised and about $133,000 forwarded to MCC. The site also announces that the 2027 sale will be the 50th Mennonite Country Auction and the final one.
Sources
- Mennonite Country Auction
- Mennonite Central Committee event page
- Ritzville Adams County Journal
- Ritzville Adams County Journal (2025 auction background)
