Fundraiser offers some Wine for Wildlife

极速168赛车官方网站图片 — Wine for Wildlife is a fundraiser for both the Park City Twilight Rotary Club and the Swaner Preserve and EcoCenter. The EcoCenter will use a portion of the money raised for adult and children programming and bringing in exhibits such as “Snow: Tiny Crystals Global Impact,” shown.

The Park City Twilight Rotary Club and Swaner Preserve & EcoCenter will raise a few glasses and celebrate Wine for Wildlife.

The event, a fundraiser for both organizations, is scheduled for 5 p.m. on Thursday, April 4, at the EcoCenter, 1258 Center Drive at Kimball Junction, said Betsy DeMann, Park City Twilight Rotary member, who is one of the fundraiser’s organizers.

“Of the money raised, 50% will go to Swaner, and 50% will go to the Park City Twilight Rotary Club for our service projects,” she said. “Our goal is always to give back to the community we’re part of, and that’s the goal for all the Rotary clubs across the world.”

The evening will feature an array of activities including wine education by Pamela Wood, president of the Park City Wine Club, live music by The Fuse, heavy hors d’oeuvres and a sit-down dinner catered by Joi Thomas, owner of Seasoned with Salt, DeMann said.

“Joi is an excellent chef from New York City,” she said. “Her family is from Jamaica, and she was trained at and worked for some really impressive New York-based catering companies. And she has found her home in Utah.”

Bartending services throughout the night will be handled by Elevate Bartending, DeMann said.

“Tom Brazill is the owner and lead bartender of that company,” she said. “He and everyone are donating their time to help us with this event, so we want to give them a big shout-out.”

One of the night’s highlights will be a silent auction, according to DeMann.

“We’ve had some great items and services that have been donated by local businesses in the community,” she said. (See list below) “We’ve had such a wonderful response, and they are all local partners.”

Twilight Rotary strived to make sure all local businesses had the opportunity to be involved with Wine for Wildlife, DeMann said.

“We did that because these are owned by wonderful owners who keep Park City unique,” she said. “Also, 99% of the businesses we reached out to had something to donate, and the 1% that weren’t able to donate, wasn’t because they didn’t want to. They wanted to but couldn’t, and I think that is what continues to impress me about the community. Everyone is so philanthropic, and that’s something to be very proud of.”

Swaner EcoCenter staff will also be on hand for some presentations as well, said Office Manager Emma Lowe.

“Some of us will greet guests and make short presentations to remind attendees what we do at the Preserve,” she said. “Attendees will also be able to interact with our permanent displays that teach about the wetlands. They will also be able to go out onto our back deck. We have binoculars available, and some of our naturalists will be on site to answer questions and help people spot what might be out there.”

Lowe hopes attendees will be able to see some migratory birds, sandhill cranes and beavers, who have made their home in a pond just outside the EcoCenter.

She also hopes people will enjoy the new traveling exhibit, “Snow: Tiny Crystals Global Impact,” that is currently showing through May 5.

“I’m excited to see how our community comes together to learn about wine and learn about wildlife and see the exhibit,” she said. “There is some fun programming connected with that exhibit coming up as well.”

The Park City Twilight Rotary Club wanted to team up with the Swaner Preserve & EcoCenter this year for a few reasons, DeMann said.

“We love their space, and we knew it would make a beautiful backdrop for the event,” she said. “A big piece of our community is our proximity to wildlife, and we think of the Swaner as a little jewel we have for visitors and locals alike to see the wildlife here. We have partnered with them for other hands-on service projects like their bird box clean up and the beaver dam analog installations.”

Another reason Twilight Rotary wanted to work with the EcoCenter on the fundraiser is to raise awareness of the club, DeMann said.

“All three of the local Rotary clubs — Twilight, Park City Rotary Club and Park City Sunrise Rotary — are really involved in the community, and Twilight is the newest of the clubs,” she said. “We have been in existence for five years. I’ve been a member for four years, and we hope to get more people involved.”

Wine for Wildlife is the second annual wine event organized by the Park City Twilight Rotary.

“Last year we had an event at the Utah Olympic Park,” DeMann said. “And like last year, our portion of the funds will benefit our service projects. We’re a younger club, and don’t have the money to write the big checks. So we do a lot of service projects.”

Swaner Preserve & EcoCenter will use its portion of the funds to maintain the 1,200-acre preserve, bring in more exhibits and support its adult and youth programming that include free Sunday Crafts and weekly Saturday nature walks on the Preserve, she said.

“Hosting events like this is a great way to help us remember why we do what we do, and events are some of my favorite times to interact with our community, bring people together and share our combined interest in nature and learn about the natural world,” Lowe said.

Local businesses that donated to the silent auction:

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