Food and fun for a good cause
The annual Great Chefs and Wineries gala might just have found a more permanent home. This year, the event — which fundraises for Marin nonprofit Lifehouse — will be held Saturday at the Festival Pavilion at Fort Mason in San Francisco.
Last year's event, which raised $700,000, was held at the Craneway Pavilion in Richmond, and turned out to be a one-off. After five years at San Rafael's Peacock Gap Golf Club, and 10 years at the old Fireman's Fund campus in Novato, the event had outgrown nearly every event space in Marin County.
“They decided to turn the Craneway facility into pickleball courts, which came as a surprise. And then they decided not to,” says Jennifer Hudson, marketing and development manager for Lifehouse. “So, it's been a little bit of a journey in that regard. We did really like Richmond but it just wasn't going to work out because they weren't going to have events there anymore.”
This is the 34th annual fundraiser for Lifehouse, a 75-yearold Marin nonprofit organization dedicated to providing support services to individuals with developmental disabilities.
This year's event will feature rock legend and former Marin resident Huey Lewis, who returns as honorary chairman. Pride & Joy will perform and chef Heidi Krahling, owner of San Anselmo restaurants Insalata's and Marinitas, will also return as the culinary host. (Hear more from Krahling on the most recent Barfly Podcast episode.)
“There's just nothing big enough here in Marin County,” says Nancy Dow Moody, Lifehouse's president and chief executive officer. “So, we moved it to San Francisco, to the Festival Pavilion building. We are expecting a sold-out crowd of over 500 people this year and we are really happy to be in this new building with so much space.”
Liquor sponsors for this year's event include Marin's Alamere Spirits and King Floyd's Bar Provisions.
“This is our third year participating in Great Chefs and Wineries, and we are just happy to contribute in any way we can to such a great organization that does so much for