The Gala Chef Tasting and Live and Silent Auction for Nazareth Home is from 6 to 9 p.m. Oct. 16 in the beautiful atrium of the Hammond federal courthouse, 5400 Federal Plaza. Tickets cost $60.
The annual fundraising event will feature hors d'oeuvres and desserts prepared by some of the area's finest restaurants and caterers, including Nicole Bissonnette, owner and chef at Bistro 157 in Valparaiso; executive chef Glennard Brooks (formerly of the Genesis Convention Center), Hilton Garden Inn in Merrillville; chef Carl Lindskog, executive chef, Paparazzi Restaurant in Valparaiso; Jack Mix, owner of Comfort's Catering; Gary Sanders, owner and executive chef at Miller Bakery Cafe in Gary; and chef Terry Zych, hospitality program chairman of Ivy Tech Community College in Michigan City.
Tom O'Donnell, local lawyer and celebrity auctioneer, will call the live auction, in which one of the featured items is a race car enthusiast's dream day at the track. A Heaven On Earth spa package from the House of Bianco, Notre Dame football tickets, White Sox tickets for spring 2009 and a fishing charter on Lake Michigan are just a few of the many items to be featured at this year's auction.
Besides the traditional raffle, a new 50/50 raffle will be included at this year's event. In the traditional raffle, guests can take a chance on winning an overnight lodging, dinner/breakfast package at the Radisson Hotel, a Gamba's Ristorante gift certificate, a Sarkissian painting or a handmade quilt. The 50/50 raffle winner will split proceeds with Nazareth Home.
Proceeds from the gala are slated for the operational costs of Nazareth Home in East Chicago.
Infants and children are placed at Nazareth Home through referrals from the Department of Child Services and receive individualized care 24 hours a day. They most often have unique medical challenges that require the attention of dedicated staff and volunteers.
Nazareth Home is committed to meeting the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of these infants and children faced with extraordinary challenges in life as a result of being abandoned by or removed from families without the capacity to provide appropriate care. Sister Barbara Kuper is the director and foster mother. Nazareth Home is a wonderful example of how it takes a village to raise a child.
Also new this year, a gala advisory committee has been formed to build sponsor revenue for the event. The committee is led by Tom Collins, president of Collins Interests. Members include Kuper, Reggie Dotson, Ana Grandfield, Beth Kaminski, Karren and Patrick Lee, JoAnne Markiewicz, Hilda Pabey, Barbara Pfister, Terry Quinn, Cindy Rucinski, Milt Triana and Janice Moss-Woods.
The General Planning Committee is led by co-chairmen Judy Schlosser and Peggy Guernsey. Planning committee members are Kuper, Gretchen Bray, Barbara Dabrowski, Leroy Fassett, Yolanda Herrera, Joyce Koch and Eileen McKern.
The gala is the culminating event this year celebrating 15 years of Nazareth Home providing foster care in the community. The home is a ministry of the Poor Handmaids of Jesus Christ and is administered by Ancilla Systems Inc. For ticket or sponsorship information, call Paula at (219) 947-8522.
Well, golly
Deputy Barney Fife can take the bullet out of his pocket now because the Old Sheriff's House Foundation is proudly presenting Mu-u-u-rder, in Ma-a-ayberry!
This fun, murder mystery dinner fundraiser takes place Oct. 3 at St. Elijah Serbian-American Hall, 8700 Taft St. in Merrillville.
Board member Dan Rohaley and his hardworking wife, Joann, are organizing this benefit and hope to sell out the hall.
Tickets cost $50 per person for a great dinner and the chance to solve the murder. Get friends together and reserve a table for 10. Children are welcome.
Doors open at 5:30 p.m., and the action begins at 6 p.m. There will be a silent auction and a cash bar.
Call to reserve tickets at (219) 663-5994 or (219) 765-5655.
