Art, wine star in SCCA fundraiser

Published 9:33 pm Monday, September 26, 2011

Visitors to last year’s Art d’Vine fundraiser at the Suffolk Center for Cultural Arts enjoyed food, wine, entertainment, auctions and more to benefit the center. The main fundraiser for the center will return next week, featuring wines of the Northwest.

Lovers of wine, beer, food and art can make themselves at home at the Art D’Vine fundraiser for the Suffolk Center for Cultural Arts.

The event, which is put on by the SCCA Foundation Board, will be held at the center at 7 p.m. Oct. 7.

“It’s not only a wonderful time to socialize and have fun with members of the community and meet new people, but it’s fun,” said Susan Rawls, the co-chair for the event. “It’s just become one of the events that I look forward to every year, and so many other people do too.”

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The fifth annual Art D’Vine will feature a large wine selection with food pairings, a beer tasting, live music and both silent and live auctions.

“It’s our major fundraiser for the center for the year,” Rawls said. “The reason we have this is to, of course, keep our building running. Our big goal is to keep our education department thriving.”

She said the center hopes to raise as much as $75,000 to continue to provide arts classes for both children and adults.

This year’s event will feature wines from the Pacific Northwest.

“We are thrilled about this because (Washington and Oregon) seem to be the next up-and-coming locations for wine,” Rawls said.

In addition to a vast wine selection, Art D’Vine will feature a craft beer tasting for the first time this year, and in line with the theme, the tasting will feature beers from the Pacific Northwest.

Rawls said she hopes the beer tasting draws in people who might have avoided the event in the past because they don’t like wine.

“We’re really excited about that, because I think the craft beer tasting will bring in a different element to the event,” she said.

As guests are enjoying their food and beverages, they also will be able to bid on several items in the night’s live and silent auctions.

“In the auction, we try to keep it geared to the arts,” Rawls said. “We have all kinds of artwork in the silent auction, as well as the live auction.”

Some of the art styles featured include watercolors, wood carvings, jewelry and sculptures.

Rawls said the auctions also will feature food and entertainment items, as well.

The event’s silent auction will start at the beginning of the night at 7 p.m., and the live auction will take place at 8:30 p.m.

Tickets are available for the event now, and they cost $55 for SCCA members and $60 for non-members. Attendees must be 21 years old to attend and should wear dressy-casual attire.

For more information, contact Susan Babiy at the Suffolk Center for Cultural Arts at 923-0003.