Bidders uncorked the power of giving during the 2017 Southwest Florida Wine & Food Fest, raising $3.2 million for pediatric health care. One hundred percent of ticket sales and live auction bids from the event benefited SWFL Children’s Charities, Inc.’s beneficiaries, Golisano Children’s Hospital of Southwest Florida, Florida Gulf Coast University and Florida SouthWestern State College.
The two-day event featured Chef Vintner Dinners on Friday, Feb. 24 at private venues throughout Southwest Florida. Cape Coral residents Scott and Jenny Kashman opened their home in the Rose Garden community for one of the dinners, the first to be held in Cape Coral in the event’s nine-year history. Presented with co-hosts David and Christin Collins, the theme of the evening was a “Haight-Ashbury 60s Revolution,” featuring a five-course plant-based dinner created by the talented Chef Timothy Duque of The Westin Cape Coral’s Marker 92 and Chef Dustin Valette of Valette from Sonoma County, California, paired with delectable wines from the evening’s featured vintner, Benovia Winery.
On Feb. 25, more than 350 people came together at Miromar Lakes Beach & Golf Club for The Grand Tasting & Live Auction. The weekend of giving concluded with an Uncorked Celebration Party at Six Bends Harley-Davidson, featuring live performances by The Loving Mary Band and Steeltown Religion.
Photos provided by Alina B Photography
