An online auction of paintings, pottery, books, jewelry and more to benefit Preservation North Dakota is planned to begin today.

Online and silent auctions are being held in conjunction with the group's 15th annual Historic Preservation Conference on May 2-4 at the International Peace Garden.

The online portion of the auction will begin at 8 a.m. today and end at midnight April 30.

The silent auction portion will continue at the conference from 9 a.m. May 2 through 4 p.m. May 3.

Approximately 100 items have been donated.

They include:A round-trip travel package for two to Antigua, Guatemala, a Historic Ladbury Church hanging quilt created by Amy Munson of Bismarck, framed photos by Gail Mooney of Cummings and Dave Paukert of Michigan, hanging quilt by Kari Huber of Hazen, paintings by Ernesto Atkinson of Guatemala, Doug Stuckle of Fargo, photos donated by Janell Cole of Bismarck, limited edition collector's plate from Dutton's Valley Gallery of Valley City, and a baseball autographed by Harmon Killibrew, donated by Patrick Atkinson of Bismarck.

The online auction portion is coordinated by cMarket (www.cMarket.com), an online marketing company for non-profit organizations.

Online bidders will be able to place a secret maximum absentee bid on items to ensure that they have an opportunity to outbid silent auction bidders if they can't attend the conference.

The highest online auction bids will be entered as the opening bids for the silent auction portion of the fundraiser, where conference participants will have a chance to outbid the online auction bids.

The public may view the auction catalog, place online bids for auction items and donate additional items to the auction through the group's Web site, www.prairieplaces .org. The public may register online to attend the conference through the Web site.