By Renee Larr
On June 25 the Lupus Foundation of America-Indiana Chapter will be holding a fundraiser to benefit lupus patients. The 4th annual, A Tasteful Affair, will be held at the Mansion at Oak Hill from 6 to 9 p.m. and tickets are $50 per person or $30 for lupus patients. Proceeds will go toward medical research, patient education and 15 patient support groups.
“It’s a beer, food and wine tasting event with ten area restaurants participating. So far we have Sullivan’s, Granite City, Ocean Prime, Stone Creek Dining Company, the Melting Pot, GiGi’s Cupcakes, Hella’s Greek Café, Bravo and Paradise Bakery. Some of the wineries are Mallow Run, Easley Winery and Cooper’s Hawk. We’ll have beers from Upland Brewery, Sun King Brewery and Bier Brewery,” said Morgan McGill, chief executive officer of LFOA-IC.
There will be both a live and silent auction for participants. Guests can bid on 60 to 80 different items such as a weeklong stay in New Mexico, a mountain getaway in Asheville, North Carolina, a three-hour of Channel 4 News Station and Ippolita earrings from Reis-Nichols Jewelers.
Marianne Lyles, WTTV Channel 4 morning anchor, will serve as the master of ceremonies and Ken LaRose, Butler University associate athletic director for development, will serve as auctioneer.
“He’s a really great auctioneer that gets everyone bidding against each other,” said McGill.
The event is structured differently than a normal food and beer/wine tasting. Guests can purchase any of the wines they taste throughout the evening during the event.
“The restaurants give us their chosen signature dish that they wish to prepare and then we work with our wineries and distributor and we pair each restaurant’s chosen menu with a selection of three different wines,” said McGill.
New to this year’s event is the wine pull. Each guest will pay over $20 and will be given a ticket with a number. There will be 40-45 bottles of wine but each will be covered so guests can’t see the bottle. Guests receive the bottle of wine that corresponds to their number. There will be a reveal of each bottle at the end of evening with bottles ranging in cost.
Even if guests can’t attend they can still donate by visiting lupus.org/Indiana. Sponsorships are still available, as well.
