A Taste of Santa Cruz

by

A Taste of Santa Cruz Raises $30,000 To Help Fund Housing Grants

Moving the annual “A Taste of Santa Cruz” to October this year provided guests with more room to enjoy food, wine, networking and shopping at the auction. With over 300 guests in attendance, this year’s event, held on October 16th at the MAH, raised more funds than last year for the Santa Cruz County Realtors Housing Foundation closing cost assistance program.

“People loved being outside, being warm, and having more space.” ATOSC volunteer Connie Landes, Sereno Group, said. “We were very happy with the new live auction opportunity of asking the guests to donate through a “fund a need” program. We are very fortunate to have generous community members who helped us surpass our fundraising goals.”

New restaurants came on board this year to support the annual event fundraiser, now in its 14th year and the raw oyster bar was a highlight of the event.

“Each year we work on making the event better for the guests and we had so many compliments from the attendees that they had a fantastic time and enjoyed the wonderful food and wine being served and had more room to enjoy the event overall.” David DeTeso, USBank and Chair of the Santa Cruz County Association of Realtors Housing Foundation stated. “It is VERY rewarding to know all the work that our volunteers put into the event, along with the sponsor and restaurant support, helped us raise $30,000! We can not thank everyone enough for their time, dedication and energy.”

If you missed the Taste of Santa Cruz this year, mark your calendar for next October when we will be holding our 15th annual event.

Thank you to our generous sponsors for helping us make the event possible:

ATRIUM SPONSORS:
Bailey Properties
Bay Federal Credit Union
Chase Bank
Century 21 M&M Associates
Coldwell Banker
David Lyng Real Estate
Santa Cruz Lending
Stearns Lending
Opes Advisors
US Bank
Wells Fargo Home Mortgage
Xchange Solutions

GALLERY SPONSORS:

Band of the West BNP Paribas
Intero Real Estate Services
Karma Mortgage Solutions
Seabright Mortgage Company
The Madani Team
TIAA Bank
Vista Properties

In Kind Sponsors:
Blue Adobe Mortgage
Santa Cruz Sentinel

And HUGE KUDOS to our volunteers who donated their time to ensure not only that the event was a success, but that everyone had a really good time!
BIG THANKS especially to the planning committee who work for five months to make A Taste of Santa Cruz come together each year.

ATOSC Planning committee:
David Deteso
Connie Landes
Suzanne Schmidt
MJ Stearns
Inez Pandolfi
Shelly Vomvolakis
Selesa Webster
Will Allanson
Jerry Starr

Event Volunteers
Lela Willet
John Nink
Kim Havbo
Tamar Frey
Michelle Pappas
Jeff McCormac
Sherri Barcus
Loren Morse
Michelle Pappas
Kristie Goes
Brooke Squyres
Linda Pawlik
Liz Seeley
Spencer Hayes
Candie Noel
Kathy DeTeso
Kristie Goes
Jacob Willett
Linda Pawlik
Liz Seeley
Dwayne Dawson
Sandy Kaplan
Janet Vanzanen
Karen Schenk
Lori Doan
Lori Lester
Alex and Caroline

The Santa Cruz County Association of REALTORS® Housing Foundation was established in 2003, to bridge the gap to homeownership in Santa Cruz County. The mission of the Housing Foundation is to assist residents in our community realize the dream of homeownership by providing education, financial programs, and by supporting organizations who embrace our goals. Visit us at www.sccarhf.org or call for information (831) 464-2000.

by

Six Reasons You Should Buy Your ATOSC Ticket Today!

  1. Oysters. Yes, a raw oyster bar on the third floor and you can experience the luminescent oyster vodka shots to go with.
  2. 20 local restaurants are preparing today to serve you their best cuisine tomorrow at 5 pm. All you can enjoy.
  3. Wine lovers rejoice– vintners from 9 local wineries are picking out their favorite appellations today to serve you.
  4. The weather-it will be 75 degrees tomorrow and we have outside space to soak in all that fall warmth! We moved the event to October to avoid the rain and cold and we got our wish! Come enjoy the sunset from the third floor or share the joy of it all with your fellow attendees.
  5. Go to Hawaii. Or Maine or Scottsdale. Travel like a rock star with our live auction gifts and shop early for the holidays with dozens of valuable silent auction gifts.
  6. Support the Santa Cruz County Association of Realtors Housing Foundation as we give the gift of homeownership to first time buyers who may be your children’s teacher, your mother’s nurse, your mechanic…all the people who make up the society we enjoy so much in our County.

We are absorbing the fees for your Eventbrite ticket today. Go ahead. Buy them now. See you there!

Tickets at: www.ATOSC.com

Here is a sampling of our participating restaurants, wineries and breweries: 

5 Star Catering

Aldo’s

Alfaro Family Vineyard

Back Nine Bar & Grill

Bargetto Winery

burger.

Buttercup Cakes

Casa Nostra

DeVincenzi Cellars

East Cliff Brewing Co.

East Side Eatery

Gordo Gustavo’s

H & H Fresh Fish Co.

Hula’s

Jerk House

Kissed by An Angel Winery

Loma Prieta Winery

Marini’s Candies

McHenry Vineyard

Nothing Bundt Cakes

Percy’s Pies

Rosie McCann’s

Roudon Smith Winery

Shucked Raw Oyster Bar

Splash

Stockwell Cellars

The Turkey Boat

Vinocruz Wine Bar and Kitchen

Woodstock Pizza

by

Tickets on Sale Now!!!

The wait for the tastiest ticket in Santa Cruz County is over! Get your tickets for this year’s A Taste of Santa Cruz being held on a new date this year, Thursday October 18th from 5-8 pm at the MAH.
We moved the event up to October this year to take advantage of warmer and longer evenings so we can offer more outdoor event space for your dining and drinking enjoyment.

Tickets are $50 in advance and $55 at the door. Purchase tickets HERE.

Don’t Be That Sad Person When Tickets Are Gone
If you remember last year, we sold out over a week prior to the event, so don’t delay and purchase your tickets asap! And invite your friends, too!

There will be a bevy of unique and valuable prizes to bid on for the silent and live auction and all proceeds assist the Santa Cruz County Association of REALTORS® Housing Foundation’s grant program to help first time home buyers in Santa Cruz County.

The Taste of Santa Cruz has raised almost $400,000 since its inception in 2004!

Here is a sampling of our participating restaurants, wineries and
breweries:

Restaurants
Cafe Roma
Woodstock’s Pizza
Marini’s Candies
5 Star Catering
Splash!
The Turkey Boat
Aldo’s
Vino Cruz
Rosie McCann’s
Gordo Gustavo’s
Olive Garden
Casa Nostra
The Jerk House
Hula’s Island Grill
Buttercup Cakes
Percy’s Pies
H & H Fish – Oyster Bar
Back Nine Grill & Bar
burger.

Wineries and Breweries
East Cliff Brewing Co
Stockwell Cellars
Alfaro’s Vineyard
Kissed by An Angel Winery
Loma Prieta Winery
Roudon Smith
Burrell School
Bargetto
37th Parallel

If you need assistance purchasing a ticket, please call the Santa Cruz County Association of Realtors directly at 831-464-2000.

by

Santa Cruz County Association of Realtors Housing Foundation Thanks Local Sponsors For “A Taste of Santa Cruz” Support

As the Santa Cruz County Association of Realtors Housing Foundation is gearing up for the 14th annual “A Taste of Santa Cruz” event being held on Thursday October 18th from 5-8 pm at the Museum of Art History, they have already gotten sponsorship commitments for the 2018 event from the following generous local real estate industry sponsors:

Santa Cruz Lending, David Lyng Real Estate, Stearns Lending, Habitat for Humanity, Sereno Group, Bay Federal Credit Union, Opes Advisors, Xchange Solutions, Chase Bank, Coldwell Banker, Century 21 M & M, Wells Fargo, Bailey Properties, Madani Team/Keller Williams, Bank of the West, Seabright Mortgage, TIAA Bank, Intero Real Estate, U S Bank, Vista Properties and Karma Mortgage.

The people behind these companies are the reason “A Taste of Santa Cruz” continues to be able to produce an event that raises thousands of dollars each year for grants to help first time buyers become permanent residents of Santa Cruz County. We are beyond fortunate to have had many of these sponsors participate since the event’s inception in 2004. Thank you to each of these amazing community focused businesses for helping us bring the fun AND the funds to Santa Cruz County!

We are still looking for in-kind supporting sponsors and live and silent auction gifts if you would like to help us this year! Please send an email to [email protected] for donation forms and more information.

by

14th Annual A Taste of Santa Cruz Moves To New Date and Time

A Taste of Santa Cruz, the first “Taste of” event in Santa Cruz County, has traditionally been held in November for the past 13 years. The new date for 2018 is October 18th from 5-8 pm, an earlier start and end time. For the second year the event will be held at the Museum of Art and History in downtown Santa Cruz. This local culinary extravaganza offering “all-you-can-enjoy” tantalizing tastes from local Santa Cruz County restaurants, wineries and local craft breweries has helped the Santa Cruz County Association of REALTORS® Housing Foundation raise almost $400,000 since the inception of the popular fundraising event in 2004 to benefit its grant program to help first time home buyers in Santa Cruz County.

Tickets are $50 in advance and $55 at the door. Tickets can be purchased online at ATOSC.com beginning on September 4th.

“Last year, we sold out for the first time and we know it will again be a sell out with the level of incredible chefs, vintners and brewers bringing the best Santa Cruz County has to offer to the event this year”, said David DeTeso, the SCCAR Housing Foundation Chairman. “The Santa Cruz County Association of Realtors Housing Foundation is proud to once again offer this incredible event to the community to help more teachers, care workers and other vital members of our community purchase homes in the County.”

The Santa Cruz County Association of REALTORS® Housing Foundation was established in 2003, to bridge the gap to homeownership in Santa Cruz County. The mission of the Housing Foundation is to assist residents in our community realize the dream of homeownership by providing education, financial programs, and by supporting organizations who embrace our goals. Visit us at www.sccarhf.org or call for information (831) 464-2000.

by

Taste of Santa Cruz Raises Almost $25,000 For SCCAR Housing Foundation Grants

Over 500 attendees enjoyed the 2017 “A Taste of Santa Cruz” fundraiser on November 9th at the Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History and raised a near record amount of funds for the Santa Cruz Association of REALTORS Housing Foundation.

“We were unsure how changing the venue was going to affect the over all experience of the Taste of Santa Cruz this year and we were thrilled that not only did our tickets sell out two days before the event, the first time we have ever sold out of tickets ahead of time, but all the attendees loved the MAH,” stated David DeTeso, Chairman of the SCAR Housing Foundation and chair of the fundraiser. “Raising an almost record amount of funds to help local residents stay in our community by providing down payment assistance was the icing on the cake. We cannot thank our sponsors, vendors, volunteers and the community enough. This was truly a group effort and we are extremely grateful.”

The funds raised from the event will help fund closing cost assistance grants, which have helped dozens of first time home buyers become homeowners in Santa Cruz County in the past 13 years.

The Taste of Santa Cruz featured 2 local breweries and 15 local wineries, mostly members of the Santa Cruz Mountains Winery Association, for the first time this year, which drew wine lovers from around the county. 17 local restaurants brought their culinary talents to offer tastes to the attendees while sharing their hospitality and good will. Local real estate brokerages and mortgage companies were the main sponsors who provided the table space for both the wineries and restaurants.

The SCCAR Housing Foundation would like to thank these sponsors for coming on board to support this year’s “A Taste of Santa Cruz”

Atrium Sponsors: Opes Advisors, Sereno Group Real Estate, Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, Bailey Properties , Bay Federal Credit Union, David Lyng Real Estate, Santa Cruz Lending Group, Chase, US Bank

Garden Room Sponsors: Century 21 Showcase, Everbank, Habitat for Humanity, Intero Santa Cruz, Century 21 M&M and Associates, Stearns Home Loans, XChange Solutions

In-Kind Sponsors: Blue Adobe Mortgage, Century 21 LAD, Coastal Homes Magazine, Santa Cruz Sentinel, Coldwell Banker Real Estate, Monterey Bay Properties, Wells Fargo – Dan Fish

Thank you also goes to the volunteer steering committee for endless hours of hard work, brainstorming and commitment:

David DeTeso-US Bank-Chair

Connie Landes-Sereno Group-Co-chair

Chris Clayton-Sereno Group

Suzanne Schmidt-Old Republic Title

Inez Pandolfi-Century 21 Lad Realty

Will Allanson-Allanson Insurance

Jerry Starr – Santa Cruz Wine Growers Assoc.

Lela Willet -Anderson Christie, Broker Associate

We hope we see you at the 2018 “A Taste of Santa Cruz”!