Organizers plan to host another silent auction
BARKER HANGAR — Raising their glasses to recovery, more than 1,400 people gathered here last weekend to provide hundreds of thousands of dollars to victims of Hurricane Katrina with a food-wine tasting and a silent auction.
LearnAboutWine hosted an encore to its “TASTE” summer events in the name of hurricane relief on Friday, Sept. 9. Dubbed “LA to LA — Los Angeles Supports Louisiana,” the fund-raiser attracted more than 1,000 professionals from Los Angeles for a night of live entertainment and a chance to try hundreds of fine foods and wines from local establishments.
Harry Shearer, famous for voicing numerous characters on “The Simpsons,” hosted the event and provided comedy relief. Also lending support was Marc Summers from The Food Network’s “Unwrapped” and the world-renowned DJ Paul Oakenfold, who spun the music. Supermodel Cheryl Tiegs, Annette O’Toole, along with Michael McKean, also lended their time, money, and star power to the cause. R2D2, the robot from Star Wars, roamed among the crowd, amusing those it occasionally bumped into.
For several hours guests sipped, schmoozed and sampled drink and delectables, situated on tables along the perimeter, donated for the cause by the food and hospitality industry.
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 attracted more than 50 local restaurants and 100 wineries from the Southern California area, including Sona, Table 8, Campanile, Josie, BOA and Valentino, who donated their food and chefs for the evening.
More than 100 stellar wineries from Beckman, Cobblestone, Bernardus, Flying Goat, Mauritson, Paige 23, Planeta, Talley and Torbreck lovingly turned up to pour their wines at the event. The VIP Lounge sponsored by Moet & Chandon poured champagne all night and raised more than $35,000.
One hundred percent of all proceeds went to Hurricane Katrina charities, which organizers sent this week. More than $100,000 in ticket sales and cash donations were raised for the Bush- Clinton Katrina Fund, while the silent auction brought in more than $100,000, which will benefit the New Orleans Hospitality Workers Disaster Relief Fund.
Due to the outpouring of silent auction donations on the day of the event, LASupportsLA will host another silent auction in the future in the hopes of raising an additional $200,000. Notable artists, such as Cindy Sherman and Raymond Pettibon, were among those who contributed.
Businesses 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.
Blackburn founded LearnAboutWine in 1995, which hosts classes, events and tours that delve into the wine 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.
Just five days after the tragedy struck in Louisiana — Tim Smith, one of Blackburn’s colleagues in the hospitality business, spurred him to host a large-scale charity relief event.
“I told Blackburn, ‘you name the place, and I’ll try to take care of the rest,” Smith said, describing how the two decided to shoot for the fund-raiser over a few quick e-mails.
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 hard to say ‘no,’ to food and wine,” Smith said. “I’m glad we are in a position to help.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on September 17, 2005. Read the original PDF.