Wine lovers and arts aficionados will have a chance to indulge
in their passions and help out with a much bigger cause
– aiding the victims of Hurricane Katrina – this Saturday at the
28th Annual San Juan Bautista Art and Wine Day.
Hollister – Wine lovers and arts aficionados will have a chance to indulge in their passions and help out with a much bigger cause – aiding the victims of Hurricane Katrina – this Saturday at the 28th Annual San Juan Bautista Art and Wine Day.
Organizers hope to draw thousands of people to the annual event, which will feature vendors selling only handcrafted goods and art work as well as wines from six local wineries, San Juan Bautista Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Halina Pochron Kleinsmith said.
After witnessing Hurricane Katrina’s devastation of the Gulf Coast region, the Chamber decided to focus the event on supporting the Red Cross and the victims of the hurricane.
“We are asking everyone to decorate with red balloons, banners, ribbons and red crosses to emphasize our effort on this day,” Kleinsmith said. “Because we have changed the scope of the show, we need to really drive that fact home and leave no doubt in anyone’s mind that we are putting our efforts toward helping Hurricane Katrina victims.”
The chamber will donate 25 percent of the fees it collects from the more than 100 vendors to the Red Cross. A Red Cross informational booth and donation station will also be set up at the event. Kleinsmith also said the chamber is encouraging all San Juan Bautista business owners to donate 10 percent of their profits on Saturday to the Red Cross.
In an effort to save money, the event has been shortened to a single day, instead of two days as it has been in the past. Increased competition from other, similar events and a desire to bring the event back to its roots also contributed to the chamber’s decision to shorten the event, Kleinsmith said.
Kleinsmith believes the fine food, wine and art is the event’s main draw.
“A lot of people come because they love to wine taste,” she said.
Event patrons can purchase a souvenir wine glass for $4 and wine pours for $5. Wine lovers will have dozens of selections to sample from with each of the six wineries bringing two or three different wines.
