6 p.m. - 10 p.m. -- Saturday, October 13th, 2018
18840 Los Gatos-Saratoga Road, Los Gatos
A fun night of great wine, beer, cocktails, music, food and inspirational people in support of NorCal SCI
Get ready for music that will mesmerize you
We are so excited to announce our music offerings for the night. Paul "Paulo" Renslow has been performing Spanish guitar in the Bay Area for over 20 years, focusing on the Classical and Flamenco genres because of their exquisite technique, natural style, and personal connection to his own roots and culture. He will bring the finest in musical ambience and atmosphere.
We will also be showcasing the fabulous sisters Krystina and Robyn Jackson. We met the two of them about a year ago and have formed a dear friendship with them. Krystina suffered a spinal cord injury in 2002 at the age of 19 but she has not let that stop her. In fact, earlier this year, Krystina became Ms. Wheelchair California and just competed in the Ms. Wheelchair America, finishing a second runner-up. They have agreed to perform a couple of songs during the evening.
“I shall drink no wine before it’s time! OK, it’s time.”
-- Groucho Marx
Our guests will experience no shortage of wine (and other fine spirits) to indulge themselves with throughout the evening. Upon your arrival, thanks to our generous friends at Enoteca La Storia in Los Gatos, a glass of welcome bubbles will be awaiting you. And that's to just get you started with. Throughout the evening, we'll be serving you from the nice collection of Bramble & Bier's beer, wine and brambles for your enjoyment. But save some room for we have a surprise pouring of some amazing premium wine donated by Enoteca La Storia that we'll be selling for $50 a glass with 100% of all sales going toward our fundraising efforts. How often can you be sipping on some truly exceptional wine and feel really good about who gets your money?
How will the funds from the evening be invested?
It's a fair question to ask of any non-profit organization and we're not excluded from that level of scrutiny. In 2018, and the subsequent years, our most capital-intensive undertaking will be the Road To Recovery (R2R) program that allows us to award block grants of up to $2,000 to those without financial means to pay for physical therapy, specialized medical equipment or minor home modifications not covered by any health insurance plan. Thanks to the financial generosity of our friends and family members, as well as several organizations, for all of 2018, we're in a position to award a minimum of $30,000 in grants. In 2019, our goal is to double that amount and by 2020, be in a position of awarding $100,000 to our community. None of that is possible without your financial consideration at the party and beyond.
What & where is Bramble & Bier at Jack Rose?
We've been asked this question a lot, so we thought it warrants some explanation. The Jack Rose is a social drink, popularized in the 1920s and frequently imbibed by some of our nation's greatest writers. Enjoyed by the likes of Hemingway and locally by Steinbeck, the Jack Rose might damn well be one of the oldest drinks in the new world. Laird's Applejack Brandy has been distilled since the 1700s, and George Washington himself requested the recipe from Robert Laird to supply his revolutionary troops with sustenance and payment. There are two rumors surrounding the genesis of the cocktail's name. One asserts that it is named after an infamous New York gangster, while the other claims that it was named after a special rose species called the Jacquemot rose.
In late 2013, Russ Stanley opened Jack Rose Libation House and the place became a neighborhood watering hole featuring some out of this world cocktails and terrific selection of craft beer. Its sun-drenched patio features musical acts during summer and if you're not there by 6 p.m., good luck finding a spot to park.
Russ opened Bramble & Bier as a restaurant in May of 2017 that sat right behind Jack Rose. It was positioned as a German-inspired beer house that served an assortment of small plates and handcrafted pizza. Their full bar carries a wide range of craft beers, including some of the more interesting and hard to find ones, and their craft cocktail list includes a variety of refreshing brambles. And so, our party will take place at Bramble & Bier which has space for upwards of 120 guests.
Over 20 Silent Auction items to please every taste
We’re grateful to the business community and our friends who have come through with some fun and exciting Silent Auction items for you to bid on. Our list is fairly close to being complete but we’re still anticipating a few more items before we can finalize it. We’ve made sure there are items of all price ranges and tastes so everyone would have an opportunity to participate in this auction. Remember, 100% of tonight’s proceeds raised from auction items or other giving opportunities will go directly to support our programs for this year and next.
In addition, we’ve planned a special raffle for a beautiful piece of jewelry. Ladies (and your men), be ready when we announce it as there will be a very limited number of tickets that will be sold.
To view our current listing of all our auction items, click HERE.
Bring your appetite, thirst & wallet/checkbook
We’ve told the management at Bramble & Bier to keep the food and drinks coming until you tap out. For the evening, we chose to do a heavy rotation of sumptuous appetizers that have been approved by the discriminating tastes of NorCal SCI’s founders and their fellow party planning organizers. Seriously, get a load of this selection:
Charcuterie Fromage Platter
Hummus, Veggies and Pizza Bread
House-made meatballs
House Tots
Cauliflower Crunch
Sambal Chicken Wings
Bacon Wrapped Dates
Gourmet Pizzas
POMEGRANITE BRAMBLE WITH VODKA
Did you ask about alcoholic beverages? Picture this:
30 beers on tap
6 varietals of wine
your choice of six brambles (made with vodka or gin), specialty cocktail of Bramble & Bier
Enjoy the evening responsibly. We want you to have a splendid time but we also ask you to drink responsibly. We STRONGLY advise a designated driver or, better yet, use of ride sharing services such as Uber or Lyft. The Los Gatos police don’t tolerate drunk driving, and nor should they, and so we urge extra pre-planning so you can have a memorable evening.
FINAL POINT: Every dollar raised during the evening goes straight into the services we provided. We ask you to open your heart and wallet with your financial participation in the variety of ways we’d be presenting you with throughout the evening. Bring a checkbook, if you can. Otherwise, we’d accept credit cards, too (but you know how much we hate giving up 3 1/2% of every dollar for those pesky fees).
