The Crookston Rotary Club will be holding its fifth annual Beer & Wine Tasting Charity Fundraiser at the Crookston Inn Ballroom on Friday, April 22, from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. The event is open to anyone ages 21 and older, with tickets for the event costing $10 for pre-registration on their Facebook page and $15 at the door. All of the fundraiser’s funds go to various groups and businesses in the community.
After being canceled three times in 2022 and even more times in 2021 due to COVID-19, the Beer & Wine Tasting Fundraiser is back to help try and give back to the Crookston community. “It’s been hard to do fundraisers when the pandemic was on, so we figured now is the time to get back into it,” Rotary Club member Krista Proulx explained, “Because we need to raise money for the different community projects that we have scheduled for the year.” The event will have a few activities throughout the night, such as raffles for wine and beer and a silent auction and raffle for a few prizes. There will also be vendors such as McKinnon Company and D-S Beverages Inc. around the ballroom, where guests can taste the different wines and beers brought in with a wine expert to inform guests about the background of the drinks they taste and what foods taste best with them. There will also be food and refreshments such as hors d’oeuvres, charcuterie boards, doughnut holes, and sweets that have been donated by different establishments around Crookston, such as RBJ’s, B & E Meats, and Opdahl’s Donuts. While the event is back after being canceled for the past few years due to COVID, the Club is looking to try and be as close as they possibly can to pre-COVID times. They will provide hand sanitizer stations at the event and say people can wear masks if they choose for their safety.
The Rotary Club will give all of the funds raised at the Fundraiser to many different local organizations, such as the Food Bank and scholarships for the Crookston High School and the University of Minnesota Crookston. “One of the bigger sponsorships that we’re known for is the “Student of the Month” Scholarships that we present.” Crookston Rotary Club President Bob Magsam explained, “Each month throughout the school year, we select one UMC and CHS student that is awarded “Student of the Month,” and they are awarded a small scholarship from the Crookston Rotary Club. Which is a huge part of our program that we get good visibility with.” People can still donate to the event if they’re unable to make it or if they wish to donate more than $15 by becoming sponsors for the event or by donating prizes for the silent auction. “We’ve had quite a few people who have donated money and become a sponsor. If you donate $100 or more, you get ten free tickets that you can give to anyone, and quite a few people have donated to that.” Krista Proulx explained, “We also have had a lot of people who have given prizes for the silent auction. But if they want to give but are unable to make it, just reach out to either Bob or myself on Facebook or on our website.”
The current list of sponsors for the Fundraiser is: American Crystal Sugar Company, Best Used Trucks, Proulx Refrigeration Inc., Annette and Rick Thompson, Phil Thompson & Associates, Erickson Embroidery, McKinnon Company, D-S Beverages Inc., The Crookston Inn, Don and Mary Cavalier, Napa Crookston Welding and Machine, Inc., KROX, the Crookston Firefighters Association, Bingham Construction, and more.
There is still time to get your tickets or become a sponsor for the event. You can do so by contacting Bob Magsam at 218-280-1618 or by going to the Crookston Rotary Club Facebook page at www.facebook.com/CrookstonRotaryClub/ or on their website at www.crookstonrotaryclub.wixsite.com/crookston to purchase your tickets or make a donation.
