Wine Tasting Jazz Fundraiser for Stoneridge Montessori

This past Saturday February 11 I partnered with Eric Steenstra of the Mortgage Network to sponsor a wine tasting Jazz fundraiser for Stoneridge Montessori school of Beverly. Our hope was to both support a local pillar of the community as well as show our appreciation for clients and business partners. The turnout was fantastic.

Banquet Room at The Hooper Mansion

We wanted to put the event in a venue that would draw interest not just for the sake of fund-raising but would also make for a fun night out. Since we also planned to include live jazz, we settled on the Hooper Mansion in Marblehead whose lower parlors were perfect for the wine tasting while the upper banquet hall accommodated the band, hors d’oeuvres and artwork being raffled for the fundraiser.

We were lucky to have Stoneridge parent and wine expert Jill Viselli leading an informative and multifaceted wine presentation. Viselli featured a series of “old vs. new” wine styles, a blind A/ B taste test challenging attendees’ ability to differentiate a $15 bottle from a $50 bottle as well as a discussion of the history and origins of the featured wine styles. Wines from the tasting were available throughout the evening at several open wine bars allowing guests to try any and all while mingling and enjoying music and drinks courtesy of Eric and I.

Wine Tasting

By a stroke of luck North Shore sax master, member of the world renowned Boston Horns and founder of the Salem Jazz and Soul Festival Henley Douglas Jr. was available and brought his Good Times Jazz Trio to provide music for the event. The crowd may have come for the wine and well intended fundraising spirit but they most definitely stayed for the stellar music.

I had the opportunity to meet and chat with many members of the parent community at Stoneridge. The school will soon be merging with the Harborlight Montessori to create a larger, more diverse and presumably equally enriching program for North Shore toddler through middle school and members of Harborlight attended as well. My son has had a great experience at Stoneridge in their pre-K program and it was a pleasure to underwrite and help organize this event. I hope to spend more time with clients, business partners and members of the communities where I work through similar events coming soon.