United Way held their annual tasting fundraiser, Sip & Savor on Friday, February 28th, 2025. Guests joined United Way at the Arrowwood Tennis Center to raise money to support our community. Proceeds stay in Douglas and Pope Counties to fund grants and programs that make a difference in health, education or financial stability. The event had live music by Blonde and the Bohunk and AMAZING food and beverage samples.
11 Local businesses made generous donations of food samples. Not only donating food for the event, but staff time needed to prep and prepare as well as serve event guests. A very special thanks goes out to these businesses: The Lure, Arrowwood, Papa K’s Rescue BBQ, Smokin’ Brew & ‘Ques, Cub Foods, Depot Smokehouse, Pioneer Grill, Qdoba, Longtrees Woodfire Grill, La Ferme and Elden’s Foods. The nights spread included: Pork Tacos, Caramel Brownies, Popovers, Breads, Oils, Olives, Cheeses, Lamb & Wild Rice Meatballs w/Corn Sauce, Jalapeno Poppers, Beef Tacos, Pork Burnt Ends, Chicken Skewers, Corn Salad, Coconut Chicken Curry, Chicken Tortilla soup, and Brisket.
Samples of beer, wine, spirits, mocktails, ready-to-drink and non-alcoholic beverages were donated from 20 different beverage vendors. These vendors also volunteered their time to support the event by serving products for the night. Vendors included: Bernicks, Beverage Wholesalers (Carbliss), BlackStack Brewing, Breakthru Beverage, Burr Vineyards, C&L Distributing, Carlos Creek Winery/Bold North Cellars, Cashwise, Fulton Brewing, Ida Graves Distillery, Odell Brewing Company, Ollie & Birch, Panther Distillery, Outlaw, Phillips Wine & Spirits, Rolling Forks Vineyard, Summer Lakes Beverage, Thousand Lakes Brewing Co, Vinocopia, and Viking Coke.
During the event guests were asked to come together to raise an additional $5,000 specifically for the United Way Endowment Fund. In honor of the United Way’s 50th Anniversary, we celebrated our history of serving the community for 50 years and raised funds to continue to serve the community 50+ years into the future. Guests made donations via a live giving thermometer that tracked donations made during the event totaling $5,500, surpassing our goal. As those in attendance were able to celebrate the impact made through United Way over the years, they were able to ensure that United Way will continue to serve the community into the future!
A number of sponsors supported this event either through financial or in-kind donations. Thanks goes out to them: Arrowwood, Cashwise, Smokin’ Brews & ‘Ques, Vivie, JS Event Rental, Vantage Bank, Pike & Pint, Echo Press, Sanford, Hilltop Lumber and Lennes Brothers Electric. Special thanks to top level sponsors Alomere, Geneva Capital, and Livewire Entertainment.
