Plains Presidential Auction: Sit with Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter, bid on their items!

From peanut farmer to solar farmer, former President Jimmy Carter has installed solar panels on about 10 acres of his land in Plains, Georgia, four decades after he turned heads when he installed solar panels on the White House roof as part of a push to increase "clean" energy use in America.

Credit: Erik S. Lesser/Getty Images

Credit: Erik S. Lesser/Getty Images

From peanut farmer to solar farmer, former President Jimmy Carter has installed solar panels on about 10 acres of his land in Plains, Georgia, four decades after he turned heads when he installed solar panels on the White House roof as part of a push to increase "clean" energy use in America.

A bottle of homemade red wine from an ex-president of the United States’s personal collection. A fishing fly tied by that same former Angler-in-Chief.Not to mention his and his wife’s baseball signed by their beloved Atlanta Braves’s Cy Young-winning pitchers.

That all just sounds like the contents of the coolest presidential museum ever. In fact, it's a small sampling of the unique items donated by Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter for the Plains Presidential Auction 2017, to be held May 20.

A fundraiser for the Plains Better HomeTown Program and the Friends of the Jimmy Carter National Historic Site, the auction is the centerpiece of a two-day event that will let folks rub elbows (figuratively, anyway) with the former first couple and the tiny southwest Georgia town that's always been home during their long, remarkable lives.

Former President Jimmy Carter and First Lady Rosalynn Carter wave to a beauty queen during the Peanut Festival on Saturday September 26, 2015 in Plains. Much of Plains is within the Jimmy Carter National Historic Site and Preservation District run by the National Park Service, which is making Carter an honorary national park ranger on Sunday. Ben Gray / bgray@ajc.com

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Among the nearly 50 items being auctioned off, many come directly from the Carters and cover the spectrum from an arrowhead from the former president’s personal collection to the microphone used at the Plains “Welcome Home” rally that greeted them on their return from the White House.

Several are experiences you almost can't put a price on. Such as: Fishing (in President Carter's private pond) and lunch for 10 with him, Rosalynn Carter and Sybil Carter (widow of President Carter's brother Billy);  a "personal twilight walking tour" of the Boyhood Farm (now a part of the National Historic Site, it's where President Carter grew up) and dinner for 10 with President and Mrs. Carter; and a tour of the Carter Center in Atlanta, plus a lunch for 10 people that includes the former first couple. Find more information about the live and silent auction and items here.

 Related video: The hometown folks throw a surprise 90th birthday ice cream party for Jimmy Carter

The home town folks of Plains throw a 90th birthday party for their most famous son.

Ticket prices for the 7 p.m. auction to be held at the Plains Community Center range from $25 to $100. For those looking for a truly one-of-a-kind experience, however, packages that include hotel lodging, front row seats at the auction and a Friday evening cocktail party/auction preview attended by the Carters are available.

The irrepressible Paula Deen with Jimmy Carter during an event in Plains this weekend. Photo by Jill Vejnoska jvejnoska@ajc.com

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One remaining $2,500 package includes two nights for two people in the Presidential Suite of the Historic Windsor Hotel in nearby Americus and seating next to President and Mrs. Carter during Saturday evening's auction (the other $2,500 package, featuring lodging in the Plains Historic Inn's Presidential Suite, has already been snapped up). A limited number of $2,000 packages that are still available include rooms at those two hotels, seating on the same auction row as the Carters, the Friday cocktail party and a Saturday morning brunch with Mrs. Billy Carter and her children.

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The auction is another in a long line of events the Carters have thrown themselves into to help boost their hometown and its historic sites. Last year, they welcomed colorful celebrity chef Paula Deen to town for a weekend of painting classes and other events that was a fundraiser for the same two nonprofits the auction will benefit. Meanwhile, the 92-year-old Jimmy Carter and his 89-year-old wife are front and center throughout the annual Plains Peanut Festival each fall, handing out awards, signing books, greeting visitors and enthusiastically cheering on the parade from the bunting-draped balcony of the Plains Historic Inn.

Rosalynn and Jimmy Carter arrive for a ceremony Wednesday morning in Plains celebrating the construction of a solar “farm.” Jimmy Carter leased the 10-acre site he owns near his home to Atlanta-based SolAmerica Energy, which says the project will provide power to over 50 percent of Plains. Photo by Jill Vejnoska/jvejnoska@ajc.com

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And back in February, Carter, a lifelong farmer, leased 10 acres of his land to help solar power much of Plains.

For additional information, including how to order tickets or bid on items even if you can't attend the auctions, visit www.friendsofthejimmycarternationalhistoricsite.org. For reservations, email pbht@sowega.net or friendsofjimmycarter@outlook.com.

Or call Ruth at 229-824-5373 or Kim at 229-928-4825.