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# A $1M Los Angeles toast to New Orleans
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/a-1m-los-angeles-toast-to-new-orleans/
- Published: 2005-09-09T15:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T07:45:43.000Z
- Author: Carolyn Sackariason
- Tags: Business, Santa Monica Airport, #archive-import

*Barker donates hangar for hurricane fundraiser*

In true LA fashion, about 1,000 people are expected to raise their glasses and buck up tonight for Hurricane Katrina victims by drinking wine, eating food from some of the area’s hottest restaurants and bidding on auction items donated by businesses throughout the country.

LearnAboutWine is hosting an encore edition of its “TASTE” summer events for hurricane relief, which is dubbed “LA to LA — Los Angeles Supports Louisiana.” The event will be held at Barker Hangar at the Santa Monica Airport.

Hosted by TV, radio and film personality Harry Shearer, the event is expected to attract more than 1,000 professionals from Los Angeles for a night of live entertainment, including DJ Paul Oakenfold and Berlin opera singer Brenda Jackson, as well as a silent auction, and food and wine from local establishments. One hundred percent of all proceeds will go to Hurricane Katrina charities.

The event was put together in one week, thanks in large part to dozens of well-connected people in the food and wine business, said Ian Blackburn, founder of LearnAboutWine. It has attracted more than 50 local restaurants and 100 wineries from the Southern California area.

Blackburn said he is determined to raise more than $1 million from the event, funds that will support hurricane relief efforts. Blackburn hopes to send money to New Orleans as early as next week.

“It was supposed to be a 200-person event, but it ballooned to 1,000,” said Blackburn, adding he’s amazed that people came together so quickly. “It snowballed and it became this A-list of restaurants from all of the best parts of LA.”

Businesses have bucked up, too, with more than 200 auction items, ranging from a stay at the Montage Resort in Laguna Beach to meals at some of the best restaurants in San Francisco and New York. About $225,000 worth of art has been donated for the auction. Blackburn hopes to raise double the amount of money taken in from ticket sales.

Blackburn founded LearnAboutWine in 1995, which hosts classes, events and tours that delve into the industry and are designed to teach participants about wine in a fun atmosphere. After nine weeks of 300 or more attendees at “TASTE” events held at Two Rodeo in Beverly Hills, LearnAboutWine took an annual rest during August. However, with the recent disaster, Blackburn and his colleagues were called to action.

By Friday morning — just five days after the tragedy struck in Louisiana — Tim Smith, one of Blackburn’s colleagues in the food and wine business, spurred him to host a large-scale charity relief event. The idea blossomed into resurrecting TASTE for an encore performance, with Blackburn and Smith calling upon some of the most well-connected people in LA to rally around the cause.

“It’s been an amazing group of people who get things done,” Blackburn said. “Everybody has been flooding in.”

More than 250 tickets have been sold, and Blackburn expected by the end of Thursday to have sold close to 500, given that he was selling about 10 tickets an hour.

Judy Barker, a longtime Santa Monica resident, donated the hangar she rents for events throughout the year.

The cost is $100 per person. Tickets can be purchased directly online at www.LAsupportsLA.com. All proceeds from the event are tax deductible and will go to support three key charities in the stricken Gulf Coast: the Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund, the New Orleans Hospitality Disaster Fund for displaced hospitality employees in the greater New Orleans area and the New Orleans Musicians Clinic, which provides health care support to musicians and their families.

There also are $1,000 VIP tickets available with a 6:30 p.m. “meet and greet” with Harry Shearer and a VIP listing on the Web site. Check for sponsorship opportunities at www.LAsupportsLA.com.

The Barker Hangar is located at 3021 Airport Ave. The event will go from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m., with a 6:30 p.m. VIP admission.

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on September 9, 2005.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/090905.pdf?ref=smdp.com)