Charity beer and wine tasting aims for $50,000

KOKOMO, Ind. (AP) - In 1994, Kyle and Lisa Rayl organized a small, charity beer and wine tasting that drew in 100 people and raised $1,400 - barely enough to cover the event’s expenses.

They donated the $1,400 to Bona Vista and covered the expenses themselves.

Kyle Rayl said he envisioned growing the event every year and someday donating $25,000 to the charitable organization that works with both adults and children to improve their lives. He never once imagined being able to give Bona Vista twice that much.

That’s the goal this year, though.

He said he wants to raise $50,000 on Saturday, the 20th anniversary of Soupley’s Greatest Spectacle in Tasting.

Brittnee Burton, director of development and public relations for Bona Vista, said that’s a real possibility, too.

Last year the event brought in $47,000, and with 42 sponsors this year, the event is $5,000 ahead of where organizers expected to be, she said.

“We’re hoping to push it up over that this year,” she told the Kokomo Tribune (https://bit.ly/1v93i3C ). “We love this event. It’s our favorite. It’s our biggest fundraiser.”

It raises two or three times as much as any of Bona Vista’s other fundraisers, making it a critical piece of the organization’s funding.

To meet its goal, the event has to draw at least 800 people out to the Bona Vista grounds to feast on food from local restaurants and sip wines and craft beers provided by Soupley’s and its suppliers.

Burton said organizers work hard to keep the event fresh to those people who look forward to coming out each year. How do they do that, though?

“Here is how,” she said. “Food vendors change each year, new drinks are introduced, and we have one of the biggest silent auctions in Central Indiana with different and exciting donations from the community each year. This year for the first time we have Mike Milligan and Steam Shovel as live entertainment.”

The band has a big fan base, she said, and hopefully they will all show up Saturday to support the cause. If they do, they’ll get the chance to sample foods from new vendors like A. Michaels, Pepperwhistle and Boondocks.

They’ll also have a chance to bid on one of this year’s 150 silent auction items.

There’s sports memorabilia signed by Indianapolis Colts players, a Chicago Cubs pitcher and Michigan State coach Tom Izzo.

People can bid on vacation packages to places like Bonita Springs or Fort Myers, Florida, and resorts in Virginia, Tennessee and Mexico.

There will be a patio set and fire pit, a John Deere Big Wheel filled with toys, tickets to amusement parks like Cedar Point and Holiday World and even a “Wheel of Fortune” package that includes tickets to the show and a piece of the wheel signed by the show’s host, Burton said.

“It grows every year,” she said.

This year, there also will be some special 20th anniversary features.

The first 500 people to attend the event will go home with a commemorative wine glass to celebrate the milestone. There also will be a special scavenger hunt. Nineteen helium balloons will be hidden in different tents. Each will have a dollar amount on it symbolizing the amount of money raised in each of the event’s 19 years.

Participants will have to find each amount and tally them all up to win the hunt. The winner will take home a $400 barrel of wine, Burton said.

Here’s a hint for the hunt: Soupley’s Wine & Spirits has raised more than $610,000 for Bona Vista since the event’s inception.

Rayl said he can’t think of a better organization to donate that money to.

“They affect a lot of families in the community,” he said.

___

Information from: Kokomo Tribune, https://www.ktonline.com