The Great Salt Lick raises nearly 16k for Parkinson’s research
By Garrett Christensen on Thursday, October 1st, 2026 in Northeastern Oregon News Northeastern Oregon Top Stories
BAKER CITY – Following a two-year hiatus, The Great Salt returned to modest but enthusiastic fanfare. Hosted Saturday, September 26th, at Churchill School in Baker City, this year’s auction saw unique gala of 25 salt licks and brought in around $16,000 dollars for Parkinson’s research.
Though not the largest turnout when compared to the 42k raised in 2022, Artist Whit Deschner, the Great Salt Lick’s creator and primary organizer, remarked he was still satisfied with the 25 salt licks the auction received. In keeping with tradition, most of the participants also rushed in to drop off their licks the day before the auction, rather than a week in advance like they were reminded.
Nonetheless, the event was still memorable and ran smoothly. According to Deschner, the crowd was attentive (and sober) and didn’t need to be reminded to settle down. Some of the more memorable licks included one which had a mold taken of it and covered in a glaze, while another was completely covered in colored tile.
Beyond the money raised, the event was also something of a reunion for Deschner, who remarked, “All the different people that came. Families from Pennsylvania even, and some guys I worked with up in Alaska from 40 years ago showed up.” For Deschner, it was enjoyable to know about every other person in the crowd, even if trying to hold ten conversations at once was a bit challenging.
As for the Future of the Great Salt, Deschner commented that, while it has been fun, he’s still recovering from this year’s event and is not actively planning another for 2027 at this time.
For those unfamiliar, The Great Salt Lick is a unique contest and auction born from Baker City’s own ranching community and raising hundreds of thousands of dollars for Parkinson’s research at OHSU. Founded 18 years ago by artist Whit Deschner, the event, prior to 2026, had gone on to specifically raise $242,000 thousand dollars across its 16 active years, with the funds going to Parkinson’s Research at OHSU.
