Dear Rotary: Could you buy my pig? Bonsall Rotary prepares for Wine, Brews, & Blues event on Sat., May 17 to raise funds

It’s that time of year when lots of positive things are happening in the community. Local 4-H and FFA students raising market animals are on their final descent towards the annual San Diego County Fair and Bonsall Rotary is preparing to host its 19th annual Wine, Brews, & Blues event to benefit multiple worthy endeavors – including 4-H!

Joe Bill Carter, one of the 22 active Bonsall Rotarians that will present the Wine, Brews, & Blues event, said his organization received a letter from Fallbrook 4-H member Mia Carrillo, 11, inquiring if the club would buy her pig at the county fair with some of the proceeds from the charitable event. (See letter on this page)

“Each year Bonsall Rotary allocates $5,000 in proceeds from the event to buy animals in the Junior Livestock Auction, which will be held July 5 this year at the Del Mar Fairgrounds,” said Carter, who added that the budget usually allows for the purchase of seven or eight animals.

“In addition, several individuals in our Rotary club buy animals as well, amounting to at least another $5,000 – sometimes more,” explained Carter.

Carrillo was given the idea to write to Bonsall Rotary by longtime Fallbrook 4-H leader Lynn Orcutt. She addressed the letter to Rotarian Roland Grable, who also has a history as a 4-H leader.

Bonsall Rotary uses one of the pigs they purchase to make into sausage to serve at the annual Wine, Brews, & Blues event, which features a wide variety of delicious food samples from area restaurants.

“We have half the sausage made hot and half regular,” said Carter. “In our huge silent auction at the event we also auction off a 4-H pig and a freezer.”

Attendees at this year’s Wine, Brews, & Blues event at the Center for the Arts in Escondido will find the venue configuration slightly different from previous years.

“This year’s layout allows closer access to the parking area,” said Carter. “We try to give it a little different twist each year; the event will be the same, if not better!”

It takes a full year of planning for the popular Rotary extravaganza, which results in overall charitable proceeds of about $40,000.

“With the charity partner program we have in place, we have really been able to expand these dollars and increased the value of that money,” said Carter. “In addition, we now have Rotary partners, which are similar to charity partners, but we ask more of our Rotary partners.” Non-profit organizations (charity partners) are provided an opportunity to purchase tickets to the event at a significant discount and raise money for their own efforts by selling the tickets at the regular price.

“They make the profit on all the tickets they sell,” said Carter.

The Wine, Brews, & Blues event takes place on Saturday, May 17, from 5:30 to 10 p.m. at the California Center for the Arts, 340 N. Escondido Blvd., Escondido, Calif. The event features numerous samples of food, handcrafted beer, and wine; live Blues bands performing on two stages, dancing, a large silent auction, art sale, and more.

For tickets (choose the charity to benefit), visit http://www.bonsallrotary.com. Guests must be 21 years of age or over.