MBA Executive Director Anna Maria Blescia shows a diamond ring in the silent auction during the MBA Wine Tasting held in 2019.
Online bidding system available for great auction items
MARGATE – The Margate Business Association’s annual wine tasting is taking its show on the road to the newly renovated recreation complex on Edgmar Circle, 6-9:30 p.m. Friday, July 23. The bucolic setting will enhance an unforgettable evening of wine, craft beer and spirit tastings, a silent and live auction, mouthwatering hors d’oeuvres and sweets, and blistering live entertainment by the Mas Tequila Orchestra. Tickets are $65 per person and can be purchased at www.mbawine.com or at margatehasmore.com.
The event will showcase palate pleasing fare from Steve & Cookie’s By The Bay, Bocca Coal Fired Bistro, The Little Sicilian and Rocco Gallaelli Innovative Catering Concepts, and fudge from Jagelky’s. Wine vendors include Allied, Fedway, Wilson Daniel’s and Fredrick Wildman & Sons. Cape May County will also be represented by Tuckahoe and Cape May breweries.
After 17 years of extraordinary success at Steve and Cookies By The Bay, MBA’s Daniel and Maria Walters Scholarship Program has awarded over $115,000 in scholarships for high school seniors who attended Margate City schools. The event also supports the MBA’S Children Fund, which anonymously provides warm clothing, school supplies, food, eye glasses, summer camp for latch key children, toys and more for children in the Margate schools.
The Wine Tasting Committee’s decision to hold the event outdoors was twofold: the ability for guests to spread out and maintain a comfortable distance and the opportunity to highlight the new recreation complex, which will feature multiple cornhole boards, a ping pong table and round café tables for either chess or checker enthusiasts.
Tuckahoe Brewery offers beer tastings during the MBA Wine Tasting Event held at Steve & Cookies in 2019.
Auction items generously donated by area businesses and individuals include a gift certificate for eight at Steve and Cookie’s, Michael Bublé tickets donated by 95.1 WAYV, an 8-foot surf board from Heritage Surf and Sport, an overnight package at Ocean Casino and Resort, gold and diamond earrings from Robert’s Fine Jewelry, and much more.
The live auction will be hosted by local celebrity Lou Solomon, and Mike Kelso from the “Mike & Diane Morning Show” on 95.1 WAYV.
The newest bidding technology for non-profits, called One Cause, is giving the MBA an opportunity to raise money through a virtual bidding system that is accessible from any digital platform, mobile tablet or desktop
Traditionally, the event would sell paper tickets, but not anymore. Thanks to online registration, no paper tickets are necessary. Bidders can browse all auction items online ahead of time and can bid in real time from anywhere, including at the wine tasting.
Co-chair Paula Hartman of Hartman Home Team of Berkshire Hathaway Home Services, Fox and Roach Realtors sees the technology as a true benefit to the event.
“People are so accustomed to doing everything from their smart phones, that this just seems like the natural evolution in event marketing. Regardless, if you are at the event physically or not, One Cause makes the entire process easier for people to bid on items but also to pay for them safely online.”
Dana and Co-chair Paula Hartman.
