Participate, bid and take home the heart you love.

The Tamaqua Has Heart Auction & Gala will be held Sept. 28 at the former Scheid's Department Store at 24 W. Broad St., which is currently receiving a makeover for the event.The preview and registration is at 6 p.m. The auction is at 7 p.m.There is an admission fee to the event.Leona Rega, Tamaqua Community Art Center director, said the gala is a nice way to include the public through the art installation, and noted that a lot of the artists are local."We sent out over 125 letters to businesses, individuals, colleges, hospitals, cemeteries, coal companies," Rega said. "Tickets are limited."Rega said tickets for the auction and gala may also be purchased by calling the art center at 570-668-1192 or by going to

www.tamaquaarts.org.The 'right' fitAs of July 7, a core group of volunteers have been working to clean up the century-old, 16,576-square-foot building in preparation of the auction and gala.Since then, Rega said over 80 volunteer hours have been spent doing work such as pulling staples, cleaning and doing prep work.Kyle Whitley, volunteer and project organizer, said it was decided that the auction and gala would be held at that building, rather than the art center."We use the art center for everything," Whitley said. "The Heart project is unique, so the gala has to be unique."Whitley added, "The heart represents Tamaqua. This building is in the heart of Tamaqua, so there's the correlation."Volunteer Wandie Zammer-Little said the building is the right fit to host the auction and gala, "Mainly because we like to be different."The projectThe Tamaqua Has Heart Project is a near two-year public art initiative headed by a small group of volunteers.It is a joint project that involves the Tamaqua Community Art Center, the Tamaqua Area Community Partnership, Rural LISC and members of the community.A direct result of the successful "Dear Tamaqua" project organized by the Tamaqua Community Art Center in 2015, the project has brought the community together to showcase the town's past, present and future.A total of 13 fiberglass hearts were created by artists in town and individually decorated to highlight different aspects of the town, both past and present.The hearts were installed throughout downtown Tamaqua in time for Memorial Day. They will remain on display until Labor Day."The Heart of the Community," which is covered with the handprints of community members, will remain on permanent display on West Broad Street.The others will be auctioned at the gala, as proceeds will benefit future art center activities.Rega said the Tamaqua Has Heart Committee is grateful to the building developer (Joe Bennett), the sponsors, the Tamaqua Area Community Partnership, the artists, and the community, "All for believing in this project."Whitley said the auction and gala "will be an experience unlike any other.""Tamaqua Has Heart is to shed light on the empty spaces in the downtown," he said. "And it gives people a chance to see things they haven't seen."