Sideline Wine & Dine: Eat, drink to help Orlando kids
A local event promises to let guests enjoy a social gathering full of food and drink while supporting a program that helps children in need.
Sideline Wine & Dine is hosted by Florida Citrus Sports, an organization that manages and promotes college bowl games in Orlando.
The event, which will be at 7 p.m. Friday at Orlando’s Camping World Stadium, benefits the organization’s giving arm — the Florida Citrus Foundation — and its MVP Summer Camp. The tickets are $90 and they are available at EventBrite.com.
“We are trying to make a difference in our marketplace,” said Tony Martin, president of the Florida Citrus Foundation. “We’re trying to make a difference in our footprint and we’re using our stadium to do it.”
The MVP Summer Camp is a free eight-week program for middle-school students who are in free or reduced lunch programs.
More than 90 percent of those participants live in the neighborhoods surrounding Camping World Stadium.
The program was created more than 20 years ago after the foundation decided it wanted to have a more direct impact on local children.
Campers enjoy instruction from community speakers; activities such as basketball, football, dance, soccer and swimming; and lessons on computers and the internet.
“It’s meant to be a camp that teaches character, attitude and discipline,” said Steve Hogan, CEO of Florida Citrus Sports.
This is the second year that the Sideline Wine & Dine is the camp’s main fundraiser. The event marries the social aspect of a past golf tournament with the fun of previous “sip and strolls,” he said.
“That’s really what people want,” Hogan said.
The event’s food will be provided by Sus Hi Eatstation, Ruth’s Chris Steak House, 4 Rivers Smokehouse and more than a dozen other eateries, while drinks will handled by 15-plus businesses, including Coopers Hawk Winery & Restaurants, Lakeridge Winery and Orange County Brewers.
There’s an added bonus to the event — a chance for a behind-the-scenes look at the stadium.
The Sideline Wine & Dine is held in the stadium’s suites, with informal tours held of areas such as the locker rooms. Many of Florida Citrus’ members have never seen much of the stadium except those parts open during sporting events, Martin said.
“While that stadium was primarily driven by tourist tax,” he said, “for us it’s now being used for other things that are making Orlando a better place to live.”