Of Wine & Words Gala & Silent Auction
Last Friday, my husband & I spent a beautiful evening at the 7th annual Of Wine and Words gala & silent auction. Proceeds went to The Reading Connection, a nonprofit with a huge heart based here in Arlington. The Reading Connection enriches lives of at-risk children by providing them with books and opportunities to have books read aloud to them. (I was an English major in college, so this cause truly is dear to my heart!)
The ballroom was filled with table after table of various items up for bid. For those of you who have never been to a silent auction, the way it works is that you simply write down your bid amount and your assigned number on the sheet of paper correlating to the item that you hope to win.
There were so many items we wanted to bid on. Hotel stays, 50 yard line Redskins tix, restaurant certificates, wine, spa packages, framed prints, books, toys, dance lessons.. it was so much fun to browse and bid. Hubby and I put in 3 bids in hopes of winning at least one.
Along the entire perimeter of the ballroom were the food and wine stations. Chateau O’Brien at Northpoint, a Virginia-based winery, provided tastings all night. My personal favorite was the Rosé - sweet and refreshing.
The food was catered by several of the restaurants that we all know and love, and they did quite an amazing job at keeping all of us immensely satisfied. Some included Liberty Tavern, Eventide, Restaurant 3, Willow, Lebanese Taverna, Hudson Restaurant & Lounge, and Artisan Confections. Liberty Tavern served an assortment of sandwiches and desserts; Eventide served bison tartar; Restaurant 3 served andouille sausage & grits; Willow served onion & gruyere quiche tarts; Lebanese Taverna served lamb kabobs with hummus. It was an absolute feast.
Guest speaker was Carla Hall from Top Chef who very appropriately read aloud to the room “Green Eggs & Ham” by Dr. Seuss. The emcee for the night was Brian Van de Graaff from ABC 7/WJLA-TV, and he did an awesome job at keeping the room abuzz.
I’m happy to say that after the bidding closed, we became the proud owners of the ‘Banned Book Basket’! In addition to the banned book basket, Michael Scruggs over at Lyon Hall handed me an entire loaf of freshly baked sourdough bread on our way out. We’ve enjoyed the loaf all weekend long with butter and jam.
Since the gala, I’ve thought a lot about the difference between going out, and going out with a heart. Many of us spend large amounts of our paychecks out on the town enjoying great food, drinks, and friends. Why not spend the money on all the same things, but have the money benefit others AND write it off as a tax deduction? It’s a win-win. My hubby and I enjoyed several of the areas most popular restaurants and wines, we won an awesome auction item, we made new friends, met neighbors, and on top of that, we directly benefited the lives of at risk children. I’m very much looking forward to participating in Of Wine and Words in the future, both as an attendee and even as a sponsor of an auction item.
