Wine, raffle tickets and miniature koalas adorned the fancy tables of the Westbury community center for one night as Westbury Arts held their second-largest fund-raiser event of the year.
On Saturday, Westbury’s local art and culture center, Westbury Arts, held its annual wine tasting fund-raiser with this year being titled “Wines from Down Under.” The event centered around the wines and other cultural facets of Australia and New Zealand, with the entire room filled with the countries’ respective flags.
The occasion is the second-largest fund-raising event of the year for Westbury, next to its fall gala, with the art organization being classified as a nonprofit. According to Julie Lyon, president of Westbury Arts for 10 years, the theme of wine has shifted every year for the six years this event has been going on. Previous years have focused on wine from other regions such as California, France and Spain.
“Art is important because it has the ability to bring people together from different backgrounds,” said Lyon. “Wine is all over the world…Every region their own nuances to bring.”
Attendees of the fund-raiser enjoyed various types of wines originally from Australia and New Zealand. The wine was half donated by Empire Merchants, a New York wine and spirits distributor, and the rest was bought at a discount by wine vendor Total Wine. Various regional foods were paired with the wine in four courses. Shrimp Ceviche, mini quiches, lamb and chocolate cake landed on guests’ plates throughout the evening, all catered by Nana’s Cafe. The food was served by volunteer students from Westbury High School’s Naval Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps, who participate in this event every year.
Throughout the night, guests competed in a game of Trivia, covering various topics connected to wine as well as facts on the geography and history of Australia and New Zealand. Participants were encouraged to purchase raffle tickets that went toward a chance to win one of the many gift bags displayed in the front of the room, filled with wine, oils, toys, and other goods. So-called “50/50” tickets were also sold with a total prize pool of $520. Resident Jackie Peter, who won the pool, regifted the money to the art center.
In true Westbury Arts fashion, art was a center point of the event. A painting based on the logo for the event, painted by artist Roi Daconto, was sold off in a silent auction. Frame drum tunes were played at several points of the evening for the audience via Tom Cabrera, a professional drummer and member of the organization.
“The smile on everyone’s face is the testament to our success,” said Ren Zelaya, a board member and Chairman of the fund-raiser. “Art is a fundamental need to be human. Music is art, food is art, making a chocolate cake is art.”
The event started six years ago through a Westbury pharmacist, Ben Pardo, who got the idea from a wine tasting event at the Chamber of Commerce, which he attended. Pardo was later honored at a fall gala fund-raiser. No current estimate has been made of the total earnings generated from the fundraiser.
“Some have claimed the arts as a second responder,” said Tiffany Blair, executive director of Westbury Arts. “Second responders are here to save lives when our souls and spirits and creative selves are in danger. And so what it does is to sort of form a community and to transcend our services and to sort of provide a space where all are safe and welcome and we’re all celebrated.”
