Harvest of Hope fundraiser returns with its 18th fundraiser at St. Aidan’s Episcopal Church of Malibu
Tables of cheese, crackers, wines, and actionable items filled the St. Aidan’s Episcopal Church of Malibu for the 18th annual Harvest of Hope Fundraiser on Saturday, Oct. 7.
Attendees enjoyed an evening of live music, delicious food, and an opportunity to support local organizations. Children were able to enjoy arts and crafts and Angel City Fiddle Squad live music while attendees enjoyed the featured wine and beer.
St. Aidan’s Episcopal Church Director of Worship Arts and Christian Enrichment Thomas Craig Buckley organized the fundraiser this year and said the event helps them raise funds for their mission projects for the year.
“It’s a celebration of the community. We have wines and beers to taste, alcoholic and non-alcoholic, and activities for children; it’s just a time a time for us to get together and celebrate a new season and try to help others,” church member Sky Stipanowich said. “I do believe we have at least 80 to 90 items at this silent auction, there’s artwork, there are spa days, there are hotel retreats, there’s something for everyone, it’s really a time to celebrate togetherness and community and care for others.”
This year’s fundraiser supports organizations such as the Episcopal Relief and Development, the Malibu Community Labor Exchange, Habitat for Humanity, and Vida Joven de Mexico Orphanage.
“It’s also a gathering for our church family to come together with friends and spend an afternoon wine tasting, all while raising money for good causes,” Buckley said. “There was a team of eight of us that have been planning this for about five months now, and we kind of updated new things, got a new cater, a new band, which is Angel City Fiddle Squad, it’s an afternoon to come together and celebrate goodness.”
“The team this year worked really, really hard to get silent auction donations and surprised to ourselves that we got more than we had room for which is always a great thing, but that’s one of our big sellers is that silent auction, and we’re thankful for all out donations,” Buckley said. “I chaired the event this year, and I’m pretty happy with how it turned out.”
Buckley said the event is an opportunity to gather and enjoy the event.
“The great thing about this event is that people want to sit and chat and — hopefully spend some money, but it’s just about people coming together, and in a time for me this right now in a time where coming together can be difficult and we can put life aside and just sit and be with each other, I think that was my main focus of energy for this event which is coming together.”
The Harvest of Hope Festival Planning Committee is grateful to the vintners and craft breweries for providing wines and beers for the festival as well as the businesses and individuals for their generous contributions to the silent auction.
“Our next big event that’s coming up is our recital on Nov. 12, the cool thing about our music program here is that we have the opportunity to hire four Pepperdine students, so we have a really good connection with Pepperdine students, we try to grab them as freshmen’s so they can be here all four years, which serves as a job for them in college, but it also gives them a church home based,” Buckley said. “The money will help raise money for the music industry here but also help a way to showcase the talent we have here at St. Aidan’s.”
To learn more about the chuch and upcoming events, visit http://www.staidanschurch.org/#home.