Thanks for Supporting the Taste of HB

Thanks to the generous support of people like you, the 2010 Taste Committee is pleased to announce a donation of $25,000 to the Friends of the Children's Library (FOTCL). This is a 25% increase over the amount raised at last year's event!

These funds will be used to purchase books for the HB Children's Library and to support a variety of educational programs & informative activities for the children in our community. Once again -- THANK YOU!

Ready For The Taste?

We certainly are! This morning's count was 46 restaurants, 5 nonalcoholic beverages, 7 breweries and distributors, and 18 wineries and distributors pouring more than 30 great wines!

Before they are sold out -- don't miss this opportunity to upgrade general admission tickets to VIP status for just $20 more per ticket. The perks are terrific: 11 AM entry into a special VIP waiting area where you can sip champagne from Barefoot Bubbly while enjoying cheese and crackers and listening to the music of our live entertainment, the Sportin' Woodies.

You will also receive a free 10th anniversary Taste of HB T-shirt, our traditional souvenir wine glass, and a special VIP champagne flute pictured on the right.

And thanks to Brett Barnes & Duke's for donating a fantastic Hawaiian getaway vacation available to all who purchase a ticket. As a special reward, VIP status gives you a second ticket for this vacation that includes airfare, accommodations, and some meals.

And we're saving the best for last - all VIPs get early entry into the Taste tent (you will be inside at least 10 minutes before the main gates open)! Don't miss out on this incredible deal -- we are limiting VIPs to 200 lucky people, so get your upgrade before they are gone.

Please go to our website www.TasteHB.com NOW!

See you at the Taste --

Donations to the Silent Auction that Benefits the HB Children's Library

Here are just a few of the businesses that are donating goods and services to our silent auction. Please support our HB Children's Library by bidding on these items:

Personal Care and Services: Sharp Sparkle Housecleaning, Sandi and Mary at Shear Wonders Hair Salon, Body and Sol Tanning, Doggietown USA, Daniel & Co. Hair Salon, Bradford Renaissance Portraits, and Rowley Portraiture

Museums and Zoos: Aquarium of the Pacific, Bowers Museum, LA Zoo, The Reagan and The Nixon Presidential Libraries, Discovery Science Center, Santa Ana Zoo, Museum of Tolerance, and OC Museum of Art.

Retail Stores: Beef Palace, Harry's Fine Jewelry, Jonathon's Coastal Living, Jack's Surfboards, and Shopakemi.com

Sports Teams: LA Dodgers, LA Sparks, and Angels Baseball

More Wineries Coming to the Taste!

We've added even more of your favorite wineries to the Taste for your sampling enjoyment:

From Heck Estates Distributors - Kenwood, Valley of the Moon Winery, and Lake Sonoma Winery

From Wine Warehouse – Raymond, J.Lohr, Pendroncelli, Marin Ray, Angeline, Ecco Comani, and Louis M. Martini

We've also arranged to have these restaurants join us for the very first time: Sandy’s at the Beach (formerly Chimayos), Whole Foods Market, and The Corner Gourmet - SEE YOU AT THE TASTE!

Silent Auction News

Have you ever checked out the silent auction run by the Friends of the Children's Library at the Taste? For the last few months they've been collecting some terrific goods and services from local businesses in the area. These items will be offered to the highest bidder during the Taste:

Wouldn't you love to take home one of 4 one day Park Hopper tickets to Disneyland and California Adventure, or maybe two admissions to Universal Studios Hollywood? We have tickets to Adventure City, the Aquarium of the Pacific, and Wild Rivers Water Park. How about a Gondola Romance cruise? Treat your sweetie to a quiet dinner for Sunday brunch at the award-winning Five Crowns restaurant in Corona Del Mar, or throw your date to the excitement of gliding on Segways for an hour before enjoying dinner at the Black Bull Chop House from GW Segway Tours.

Explorer the many wonderful things that SoCal offers - The Museum of Tolerance in LA, the Santa Ana Zoo, The OC Fair, or The OC Museum of Art. Immerse yourself in history at the Reagan or the Nixon Presidential Library,or follow the ponies at the Los Al Racecourse --

At the Taste you can bid on all of these items and many, many more -- watch for the next silent auction posting. And don't forget -- buy your tickets for the Taste NOW to avoid the $10 per ticket price increase in 2 weeks!

Wines and Beers For Your Tasting Pleasure

A terrific selection of wineries and breweries are signing up for this year’s Taste. Join us - and enjoy sips from these great wineries: Christian Lazo, Stacked Stone, Toucan, OC, Wente Brothers, Barefoot, Pacifico Sur, Talin Cellars, and Jean De Roze.

We’re also featuring wines from Rex Goliath, Blackstone, Ravenswood, Monkey, Robert Mondavi, Clos Du Bois, Cupcake, Tempra, Mutt Lynch, Brophy Clark, Kallfelz, San Marcos Creek, Calacerous Winery, Constellation Wines, and Cayucos Cellars.

Beer lovers can try a great variety of brews: Sierra Nevada, Firestone, New Belgium, and Brewbakers - as well as Primo Beer, Palm Beer, and Boston Beer

The Sportin' Woodies - Live at the Taste!

We've got some great entertainment lined up just for you -

The Sportin' Woodies - With their roots in the blues, Willie Utley, Jack Lillycrop and Gerry Springthorpe have been performing together for over ten years in southern California bands like Big Neal and the Blue Rhythm Band, Push-Button Trany, and Who's Yer Daddy. Their current ensemble, The Sportin' Woodies', led by Utley and now joined by Eddie Mariscal on Guitar and Joel Helin on bass, offers an eclectic mix of songs spanning four decades of music history, including selections of jump-swing, blues, classic rhythm 'n' blues, surf guitar and rock.