Sonoma's 19th Annual Salute to the Arts
Celebrates Italian heritage of the Wine Country
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Sonoma's 19th Annual Salute to the Arts Celebrates Italian heritage of the Wine Country |
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Press RoomSonoma Salute to the Arts - A Food, Wine and Art Extravaganza / MEDIA CONTACT / Current Press Releases / See Also /Sonoma Salute to the Arts - A Food, Wine and Art Extravaganza Sonoma's 19th Annual Salute to the ArtsShowcase of the Culinary, Winemaking, Visual, & Performing Arts Celebrating the Italian Heritage of the Wine CountryFor Immediate Release Sonoma, CA - Sonoma Salute to the Arts, California's ultra-premium and most well seasoned food, wine, and art festival, puts on an entirely new act every summer: artful themes, exceptional foods and wines, contemporary and traditional art, and exciting, involved sponsors. The 19th annual festival, scheduled for July 30 & 31, and August 1, 2004, will sport an official new automobile: Maserati. Not only will the cars echo this year's theme: Ciao! Sonoma, they will add pizzazz, color, and high style to Salute to the Arts, the Wine Country's largest gathering of connoisseurs. The weekend of events will celebrate the Italian heritage of the Wine Country with traditional music, dance, and Venetian Masked Balls. Don a mask, a gown, black tie attire, or a costume for the Salute Celebration, the Festival's Opening Night Gala at Buena Vista Winery on Friday, July 30. Gather first in historic Sonoma Plaza at 5:30 p.m. for a sparkling wine reception and preview of the Festival's art competition. Place your bids and be sure to check on them Saturday, as the auction will close at 1 p.m. Works that are not sold will be offered at retail until Sunday evening at 6 p.m. Take a shuttle from The Plaza, beginning at 6:45 p.m., to Buena Vista Winery. Indulge in sumptuous cuisine and select vintages presented by Sonoma County chefs and winemakers, dance beneath the stars, and enjoy a panoply of surprises, from the Tuscan countryside to the streets of Venice. The Salute Celebration is considered by many to be Sonoma Valley's most exotic party of the year. On Saturday and Sunday, July 31 and August 1, taste regional cuisine as chefs present favorite recipes, enjoy live cooking demonstrations presented by Viking Range Corporation, and sip the current releases of Sonoma County wineries and craft breweries. Enjoy music and art on expansive lawns and beneath century old trees from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; food, wine and craft brews, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Browse through exhibits by Wine Country artists, including Sonoma Valley Arts Alliance board members Claudia Wagar, Thomas Patrick and Dick Cole, 2004 poster artist. His signed Ciao! Sonoma posters will be offered for sale at the event. Don't miss the Fine Art Pavilion, which features entries in the Salute to the Arts Visual Art Competition Exhibit. Stop by the Sonoma Valley Arts Alliance booth to add your own brush strokes to the art-for-all-ages mural created annually during the event. Take a seat under the trees to enjoy theatrical performances, dance, choral presentations, poetry readings, jazz, classical music, and blues on three stages. Raise your paddles high at The Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn & Spa, the elegant setting for this year's Salute to the Arts Live Auction & Dinner on Saturday evening, July 31, at 5:30 p.m. Enjoy Executive Chef Bruno Tison's hors d'oeuvres with an array of regional vintages as you peruse the silent auction. Then take your seat for dinner and experience the lush flavors of an exquisite Mediterranean menu. Tison arrived at The Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn just prior to the recent unveiling of the completion of the Inn's $62 million dollar restoration. He comes to Sonoma Valley from New York, having served as Executive Chef of New York City's most prestigious property, The Plaza, since 1989. Originally from France, Tison has created parties for royalty from around the world, orchestrated weddings and divorce parties for the rich and famous including Ivana and Donald Trump, his former employers, as well as a host of movie stars including Michael Douglas and Eddy Murphy. "I now look forward to serving the royal supporters of Sonoma Salute to the Arts, and promise them a very special evening," he said. The silent auction will feature large format bottles of wine painted by prominent local artists, gift baskets, Dick Cole's original poster artwork, and much more; the live auction will feature exclusive winemaker dinners, wine country excursions and getaways, and exotic vacation packages including a trip to Italy contributed by Maserati of San Francisco and American Airlines. This once-in-a-lifetime trip will offer its lucky winner the opportunity to drive on the course at the Maserati factory in Italy. Sonoma Salute to the Arts is sponsored by the Sonoma Valley Arts Alliance, ABC 7, KGO Newstalk AM 810, American Airlines, Viking Range Corporation, WineCountry.com, The Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn & Spa, Buena Vista Winery, Ledson Winery, and Maserati of San Francisco. Net proceeds fund scholarships for high school seniors in the visual, theatrical, musical, and literary arts; and will provide funding for approximately twenty Sonoma Valley arts, cultural, and arts educational non-profit organizations. Proceeds enhance and enrich artistic endeavors from theatre and opera, to public school music programs and children's art classes throughout the year. Tickets for the Salute Celebration are $75 per person in advance; $100 at door. Tasting packages for Sonoma Plaza are $25 per person in advance; $30 at the event. Tickets for the Salute Live Auction and Dinner are $150 per person, advance purchase only. The Complete Package which includes the Salute Celebration, a tasting package and the Live Auction & Dinner are $250 per person, advance purchase only; and a Benefactors Package which includes four complete packages; eight Patron's tickets; or six tickets for the Live Auction and Dinner, plus six tasting packages, value of $1,000, is offered at $750, advance purchase only. For information and tickets, call Summers-McCann Public Relations, the event's founder and producer, at 707.938.1133, or visit the Sonoma Salute to the Arts website at www.salutetothearts.com. xxx MEDIA CONTACT Tannia Summers at Summers-McCann Public Relations - Please visit the Downloads Page to obtain the above text as a Word document. Current Press Releases Sonoma Salute to the Arts Announces Winners of the Tenth Annual Visual Art Competition - August 2, 2004Press Releases Archives Page | Press Room Downloads See Also: Back to Top You are visiting the 2004 website - please click here to go to the current site. |
