Local News: Wine & Chocolate Festival returns (7/26/21) Leave a comment
LE MARS Tickets are now available for the Alzheimers Association Wine & Chocolate Festival held in Le Mars on Thursday, Aug. 5, and Sioux City on Friday, Aug. 6. The Le Mars event will be at the Le Mars Convention Center and the Sioux City event will be at the South Sioux City Marriott Riverfront.
This year the Le Mars wine and chocolate event will feature a five course dinner and live auction.
Committee member Ann Cosgrove said the date and location were changed due to COVID concerns.
We switched to the Le Mars Convention Center upper level, so we could do better spacing of tables, Cosgrove said. Many are still leery of the COVID virus. The same reason was given for the switch from March to August for the event.
In the past several years, the local event has had an honorary family who shared their experience with Alzheimers.
This year our family decided to wait a year due to COVID, so instead we are honoring caregivers as our honorary family, she said.
The five course dinner will feature guest winemakers pairing their wines with the dinner menu which includes chicken and beef.
I think we have nine or 10 winemakers planning to attend in Le Mars, Cosgrove said.
The meal will be catered by Aggies Catering of Sergeant Bluff, with dessert provided by Piece of Cake in Le Mars and Palmer Candy.
Cosgrove highlighted several items on the live auction.
We do have the quilt that Sue Sitzmann donates every year. That will be on live auction. Hotopps will donate a ring as they have done in the past, Cosgrove said.
Another item is a golf package from Sanford International in Sioux Falls.
Thats an awesome package, Cosgrove said.
Other auction items include a tasting party for six from Oscar Carl Vineyard in Sioux City, and a package deal of four pre-season football tickets to the Vikings/Chiefs game in Kansas City for Aug. 27.
Cosgrove also highlighted another item, one that started as a charity item in Cedar Rapids.
As a result of the derecho last summer, a guy was taking the downed trees and making bats, selling them to donate for new trees or to charities. I did buy one of those bats and am donating that. I have their approval. Its a piece of history, Cosgrove said.
There will also be a number of silent auction items and the gift tag tree, for which those attending may purchase a ticket for $5 or five tickets for $20, and have a chance to win the gift cards.
In 1994, what began as the Wine & Roses Festival, has transformed into a two-day fundraiser known as the Wine & Chocolate Festival. Winemakers from across the United States participate with chefs to pair award-winning wines with each nights courses and of course chocolates. Both events also include unique silent and live auction items. This event is among the best-attended philanthropic fundraisers in Siouxland.
We are excited to gather in person again for this unique, hallmark event for the Alzheimers Association, said Lacy Abbott, development specialist for the Alzheimers Association Iowa Chapter. All proceeds from the event will help support Alzheimers Association care and support programs as well as critical research to help find new treatments and ultimately a cure.
More than 6 million Americans are living with Alzheimers a leading cause of death in the United States. Additionally, more than 11 million family members and friends provide care to people living with Alzheimers and other dementias. In Iowa alone, there are more than 66,000 people living with the disease and 73,000 caregivers.
Activities at the Le Mars event begin at 6 p.m., with check-in and winetasting. At 7 p.m., the welcome, presentation and dinner will be served. Closing remarks and check-out will be at 9 p.m.
Tickets and sponsorship opportunities for the Le Mars event are available at LemarsWC.givesmart.com or contact a committee member: Ann Cosgrove, Jackie Schlesser, Cindy Hanno, Julie Schultz, Erica Nore, Leslie Hoffman and Jill Mescher.
For questions on the Wine & Chocolate Festival, contact Abbott at lcabbott@alz.org or 712-454-5034.
