Imagine a perfect, sunny Saturday afternoon in Aptos Village Park. Now imagine strolling through the park sampling the decadent wares of 67 local food, wine and beer purveyors and you have the 9th annual “Gourmet Grazing on the Green” cancer benefit to be held on September 15th. Says event director Jeni Brill: “We’ve got the best that Santa Cruz has to offer.” Indeed, the list of participants reads like a who’s who of food and beverage icons from Santa Cruz and the surrounding communities.
Guests will be able to sip wines from standbys like Roudon-Smith and Burrell School and relative newcomers like Wargin Wine, owned and operated by Soquel native Mikael Wargin. Beer drinkers can enjoy a full-fledged beer garden featuring the likes of Santa Cruz Mountain Brewing Company—one of the original eight exhibitors. Brill says was the brewery was, “our token beer booth for a number of years”. For the first time, Beast BBQ will bring their rig to the beer garden, a setup Brill calls “The Beast in the Garden.”
Hungry? Chow down on some of Hula’s Island Grill’s tiki-themed bites or head over for some Mexican munchies with The Whole Enchilada. Ashley Hosmer, executive chef of the uber-romantic Shadowbrook, will also be there. Zameen Mediterranean Cuisine will serve up Middle Eastern snacks, while favorites like Severino’s, Peachwood Grill and Chaminade will also be on-hand with tantalizing treats. In addition to restaurants, businesses like Carried Away—which makes great food to go—and The True Olive Connection will be sampling their wares. Friends in Cheeses Jam Company will be spooning out their fruity goodness, too.
Brill notes that produce is donated by local farms like Coke Farms, Route One, Earthbound Farm, New Natives and Watsonville Coast
Produce and that almost all the vendors are local restaurants, chefs, wineries and breweries. She goes on to say, “We allow certain exhibitors from out of the area; they pay to be there and really resonate with the cause.” Speaking of resonating, Steve Velasquez Trio and the Blu Soul Band with vocalist Ané Watts will collaborate to provide live music. Expect sounds of R&B, Jazz, Latin and Funk to enliven the afternoon.
Santa Cruz Cancer Benefit Group’s mission is to “improve the quality of life for people living with cancer in the Santa Cruz community by raising money to support our beneficiary organizations and fund new research that will provide possible cures and better solutions for treating cancer.” They do this by raising money to donate to their beneficiaries: Jacob’s Heart Children’s Cancer Support Services; Hospice of Santa Cruz; Katz Cancer Resource Center at Dominican Hospital; WomenCARE; and the UC Santa Cruz Fellowship Program for cancer research.
Tickets to this year’s event are available on the website (www.sccbg.org) and at New Leaf Markets. The $65 ticket includes admission, a souvenir wine glass, and four hours of eating, drinking and enjoying the live entertainment starting at noon. If you can find nine other people, you can take advantage of the group rate: 10 tickets for $500. We defy you to find a more indulgent way to support a good cause.
About the author
Camilla M. Mann has crammed a lot of different jobs into four decades: florist, waitress, SCUBA divemaster, stock photo agency manager, stroller fitness teacher, writer, editor, and au pair. But, if she had to distill who she is today – tree-hugging, veggie-crunching, jewelry-designing mean mommy who loves to cook but hates to clean. Thankfully her husband and their boys clean like champs. Her current culinary goal: grow conscientious, creative kids with fearless palates! She blogs at culinary-adventures-with-cam.blogspot.com
