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Amid cooling ocean breezes and owls hooting in the tall eucalyptus trees, the Friendship Center brought together a nice crowd of supporters for its casual Wine Down to celebrate and raise funds for the South Coast’s only nonprofit, fully licensed adult day-services program.
The fifth annual Wine Down featured 10 local vintners pouring their wines for tasting, along with beers — a new addition this year — in the lovely courtyard on the center’s Montecito campus. Asian-inspired hors d’oeuvres by Spices N Rice were generously passed out by the center’s volunteers, and live music by the Montecito Jazz Project was enjoyed by the crowd of nearly 150 supporters.
The Friday after-work gathering gave guests a chance to enjoy a lovely late summer evening and “wine down“ from the cares of the week.
A small silent auction, all lovingly prepared by committee volunteers, featured themed gift baskets.
Wines were poured by Andrew Murray Vineyards, Buttonwood Farm Winery, Consilience & Tre Anelli, Cottonwood Canyon Winery, Demetria Estate Winery, Fess Parker Wines, Pali Wine Company, Palmina, Santa Barbara Winery and Vinemark Cellars, and beer was served by Surf Brewery.
Dana VanderMey is Friendship Center’s new board president, following the long tenure of the capable Marty Moore.
“I have been active with the center for six years, but I have known about since 1981,” VanderMey told Noozhawk. “My son went to pre-school across the street at All Saints By-the-Sea Episcopal Church. He told me one day that they went to visit the grandmas and grandpas. So I went down and took a look for myself. It is a wonderful idea to bring the two generations together.
“My son is now 38, so that was a long time ago!”
The Event Committee included co-chairs Kathy Marden and Sue Adams, along with Karolyn Hanna, Inge Gatz, Jacqueline Duran, Martí Correa de Garcia and Mary Walsh.
Generous sponsors included the Charles Bloom Foundation, MarBorg Industries, Dana and Randall VanderMey, Castle Wealth Planning LLC, Sharon Kennedy Estate Management, Boone Graphics, Louise and David Borgatello, Coastal Home Care & Senior Planning Services, Sue Adams, Garcia Architects Inc., Inge Gatz and Steven Gilbar, Karolyn Hanna, Vangie Herrera and Al Anglin, Sey Kinsell, Kathy Marden and Pat Forgey, Maravilla Senior Living Community, Dixie and Marty Moore, Visiting Nurse & Hospice Care, Mary Walsh and Linda Seltzer Yawitz.
In addition to providing adult day services for aging and dependent adults with cognitive impairments such as Alzheimer’s disease, Friendship Center offers a variety of activity-based programs. Connections is for those in early stages of memory loss, and Brain Fitness for Successful Aging is a six-week series open to anyone in the community wanting to take proactive steps to keep their memory and brain functions sharp.
Click here for more information about Friendship Center, or call 805.969.0859.
— Noozhawk contributing writer Rochelle Rose can be reached at rrose@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkSociety, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Become a fan of Noozhawk on Facebook.