In this episode, we welcome back Dawn Baker, Associate Festival Manager with The Grand Rapids International Wine, Beer & Food Festival, and Barbara Anderson, Associate Vice President, Philanthropy, Hospice of Michigan.
Dawn & Barbara joined us for an insider's look at the Grand Rapids International Wine, Beer & Food Festival, which returns to DeVos Place, November 21-22, just in time for the holiday season. General Admission and Pairing tickets are on sale now at GRWineFestival.com and will also be sold at DeVos Place during the show.
Thursday, November 20, is the Cheers for Charity VIP night, from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. in the DeVos Place Grand Gallery, benefiting Hospice of Michigan.
Barbara Anderson from Hospice of Michigan talked about their involvement in the VIP night and how proceeds will be supporting Veterans Hospice Services.
Cheers for Charity features an intimate and upscale experience, with a dozen restaurants and specialty food producers serving mouth-watering small plates. Additionally, enjoy food and beverage tastings on the Meijer Food Stage, as well as a curated list of wine, beer, cider, and spirits. “Cheers for Charity” tickets are still available at $150 per person and on sale at GRWineFestival.com.
Online resources:
GRWineFestival.com Hospice of Michigan
Dawn & Barbara joined us for an insider's look at the Grand Rapids International Wine, Beer & Food Festival, which returns to DeVos Place, November 21-22, just in time for the holiday season. General Admission and Pairing tickets are on sale now at GRWineFestival.com and will also be sold at DeVos Place during the show.
Thursday, November 20, is the Cheers for Charity VIP night, from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. in the DeVos Place Grand Gallery, benefiting Hospice of Michigan.
Barbara Anderson from Hospice of Michigan talked about their involvement in the VIP night and how proceeds will be supporting Veterans Hospice Services.
Cheers for Charity features an intimate and upscale experience, with a dozen restaurants and specialty food producers serving mouth-watering small plates. Additionally, enjoy food and beverage tastings on the Meijer Food Stage, as well as a curated list of wine, beer, cider, and spirits. “Cheers for Charity” tickets are still available at $150 per person and on sale at GRWineFestival.com.
Online resources:
GRWineFestival.com Hospice of Michigan
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
This is iHeartRadio's West Michigan Weekend. West Michigan Weekend is
a weekly program designed to win form and enlightened on
a wide range of public policy issues, as well as
news and current events. Now here's your host, Phil Tower.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
This is West Michigan Weekend from iHeartRadio. Once again, thank
you so much for tuning in. Don't forget we are
a podcast. After you hear us on the radio, you
can check out the iHeartRadio app or woodradio dot com
in our podcast section, where you will see about five
hundred and forty available episodes. In this episode, we are
doing a part two of a very important conversation.
Speaker 3 (00:39):
We'd like to call those viics.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
And we are in studio with Don Baker, Associate festival
producer with Shows Fan to talk about the Grand Rapids
International Wine, Beer and Food Festival. Also with us Barbara Anderson,
Associate vice president of Philanthropy with Hospice of Michigan. It's
a lot more fun when we're in studio. I think
we did this rodeo about a year ago. Welcome back,
(01:03):
Barbara to my immediate right. If your scorecard at home,
Barbara's to my right and Dawn is to my far right.
Speaker 3 (01:08):
Welcome Don Baker.
Speaker 4 (01:10):
Thank you great to be back.
Speaker 2 (01:11):
So let's start with something that is just the high points.
The festival returns to de Vos Place. It's November twenty
first and twenty second. It is a must a tend event.
It is a spectacular event, and it's something you want
to be strategic and deliberate about.
Speaker 3 (01:30):
So we're going to say that.
Speaker 2 (01:31):
And then there's also I had the pleasure of attending
this event last year. There's a charity gala called Cheers
for Charity. Hospice of Michigan is the beneficiary of the
proceeds for that event, and that event still has tickets available,
and that is on what date, Don Baker.
Speaker 4 (01:51):
That's actually Thursday November twentieth.
Speaker 2 (01:53):
Thursday November twentieth, so it's kind of a kickoff to
the festival weekend. Barbara Anderson and down are with us
in studio. Let's first of all talk about Cheers for Charity.
This is a special event. And oh, by the way,
there's a little Isaiah Thomas thrown in. This is just
a little hint. We're going to talk about that.
Speaker 3 (02:12):
Dawn.
Speaker 2 (02:12):
Let's start with Cheers for Charity. This is we've had
these for the Auto show and the Gala. But this
is something that's relatively new to the Grand Rapids International Wine,
Beer and Food Festival started last year, right, and this
is the second year.
Speaker 5 (02:27):
Yes, it is, and I think that you know, the
partnerships meant to be. We did a lot of pre qualifying,
if you will, and Hospice of Michigan. So many of
us have a connection there through you know, a very
challenging time maybe within our families, and have really been
met with so many programs that they offer. But I
(02:49):
will just say this year is especially near and dear
to my heart. My father in law was a veteran
and at the end of his life did not receive
the kind of care that we would have hoped, followed
by my mother in law later and she did receive
Hospice of Michigan care. So this one for me is
a little bit of a tear jerker, and I just
have to let Barbara take it.
Speaker 3 (03:09):
From there, all right, Barbara take it from me here?
Speaker 6 (03:11):
Yeah, no, thank you, don We are so privileged to
be joining the Food and Wine Festival for the second
year and hopefully.
Speaker 4 (03:18):
Many to come.
Speaker 6 (03:19):
But last year we were fortunate to elevate our pediatric program.
And this year, you know, with the festival being so
close to Veterans Day, we have an incredibly robust veterans program.
We thought, let's shift the focus and really highlight what
we're doing with what we call our we on our veterans.
And you know, one in five Americans that we're serving
on hospice care are veterans. Wow, So it only makes sense, right, Yeah,
(03:43):
And those those folks, they might have really special needs,
unique needs at the end of life, and we have
special training and ways that we can help them and
their family actually navigate that. So we're not treating every
patient and every family just like you know the one
before them. We're really giving them that.
Speaker 4 (03:59):
Special lized care.
Speaker 6 (04:01):
And then the other piece to that too is being
able to really ceremoniously thank them. Some of these veterans,
we're finding out when we give them these special pens
and certificates, they've never been thanked before.
Speaker 3 (04:10):
Perhaps, Oh my goodness, which to.
Speaker 6 (04:12):
Be a veteran, especially end of life, I mean, isn't
that a profound experience?
Speaker 2 (04:16):
And Barber some veterans very sadly they die alone or
with little family, and that's what's so special about the
services you provide a Hospice of Michigan. I mean, can
you talk about that in terms of, you know, somebody
who maybe is isolator or limited family and working with those.
Speaker 6 (04:35):
People certainly, Well, we're going to meet every patient, veteran
or not, right where they are. So you know, if
they're living in a facility, we will go to that facility.
If they are living at their own home, if they
are living in their perhaps their children's home, we go
right there, do their bedside wherever they call home. And
we're going to create, like I said, whole program based
specifically for them. So it's it's incredibly unique to whatever
(04:57):
their needs are.
Speaker 2 (04:58):
And that that is the important part of the Cheers
for Charity event because, as you said at Pediatric Care
last year, this year focusing on hospice care for veterans,
and that number one in five, that's pretty staggering number. Persantly. Yeah,
So this is why if as you heard Dawn say,
you've got a veteran in your family, I just lost
my brother a.
Speaker 3 (05:19):
Year ago who was a Vietnam War veteran.
Speaker 2 (05:22):
This is a special thing and just you need to
treat yourself to a night out. I mean, come on,
I'm giving everyone listening permission to attend the Cheers for
Cherity Gala. Don What else do we need to know
about this? Tickets are on sale, they are available. It's
not a sold out event. We're talking about it because
this event is just days away. We're here on the
radio on Sunday, November ninth, in the event happens on Thursday,
(05:46):
November twentieth.
Speaker 3 (05:47):
What else do they need to know? Down?
Speaker 5 (05:48):
I feel like, you know, as a listener of your programming,
you're always looking for you know, what's out there? What
do I want to either go and participate in or
in this case, yes, there is a level of I
want to go support this. So I think that that
being the kickoff for an event that is focused as
(06:09):
a pre holiday celebration, if you will. You're thinking about
family already, You're thinking about friend groups. A lot of
people have friends giving right, all of those things are
kind of in the month of November, and often we're
thinking about what we are thankful for. And I can't
think of a better way to take action than to
enjoy this festival itself. But add to that the special
(06:32):
Cheers for Charity VIP night and we will have some
veteran VIPs there with us.
Speaker 4 (06:38):
So we have some.
Speaker 5 (06:39):
Veterans, yes, that have maybe a winery or maybe that's
I mean, I've got a list going right, they have
a brewery. So we're bringing in some of the industry,
if you will, and focusing on that some of the
restaurants space or small plates that you'll get or food
that's gourmet specialty and they are veteran owned. And so
(07:01):
here's this moment where you can actually look that person
in the eye and say thank you. And you're also
going to learn about some great options, whether it's for
enjoying just that evening or maybe it's planning ahead to
what's coming in the next couple of weeks.
Speaker 2 (07:17):
Sounds great and again a benefit the Cheers for Charity
VIP Night six to nine pm at de Vos Place,
the Grand Gallery. It is a wonderful thing and for
your one hundred and fifty dollars ticket, you get one
hundred and fifty tasting tickets good for food and or
beverage samples, and those proceeds benefit hospices we on our
(07:37):
veterans program, as you just heard Barbara Anderson talking about. Okay,
there's also do we let the cat out of the
bag about the VIP.
Speaker 3 (07:44):
Who's going to be there?
Speaker 6 (07:45):
We have several VIPs, I would say, yes, okay, Laid,
I mean, I'd be more than happy to talk about
all of them.
Speaker 3 (07:53):
You didn't even hesitate, Barbara, No.
Speaker 6 (07:56):
I think the one that you were probably referring to
is Isaiah Thomas, so obviously well known Detroit basketball player.
So we're very excited to have him specifically on Thursday,
and I know he'll be there for the rest of
the festival too, but he'll be doing our welcome on
Thursday evening. And then for you know, sort of skipping ahead,
we're actually excited to offer a auction package with a
(08:18):
meet and greet with Isaiah and his champagne. So that's
certainly exciting. And then I'm sure some of your listeners
know Jordan Carson, her band nine Mile Smiles actually coming
out of retirement especially for us, which we are so
excited about and joining her.
Speaker 4 (08:36):
For a song or two.
Speaker 6 (08:38):
Is Zach Filkins. And you might know that name from
the band One Republic.
Speaker 3 (08:43):
Okay, wow, Yeah.
Speaker 6 (08:45):
And he just happens to be a local vineyard owner.
So Filkins Vineyards is a local Michigan winery.
Speaker 2 (08:52):
Okay, So how do people sign up for that give
away you're doing with the private meet and greet with Isaiah.
Speaker 6 (08:58):
So at the event, we will be having a live
auction and they would just need to make a bid.
Speaker 3 (09:02):
Okay, there you go.
Speaker 2 (09:03):
So if you really want to kick it up a notch,
you go to Cheers for Charity and then then you
bid on that great event. That'll be fun to happen
as part of the event. It is a wonderful evening.
You've got an upscale experience. You've got a dozen restaurants,
especially food producers. You've got small plates, food and beverage
(09:24):
tastings and just a great event all in the Grand
Gallery at de Vos Place and Don Baker where did
they get tickets for this great Cheers for Charity gala?
Speaker 5 (09:33):
So all of the tickets for the festival Aret gr
Wine Festival dot Com. But you know, I do have
to tell you one of the other great things about
the Cheers for Charity.
Speaker 4 (09:42):
We're giving you lots of reasons to not.
Speaker 5 (09:45):
Stop but press go if you will, and is that
there's less people. So when you think about you know,
Isaiah Thomas, he's giving the welcome and it's in a
less the festival is very widely embraced, and so here's
this evening that is just a little bit more personal.
Add to that, yes, being able to meet Zach and
(10:08):
his wife Lindsay. They own the wine vineyard together, it's
Philkins Vinyard. They also are bringing their wine maker and
that's one of the only time, that is the only
time that the public would see Zach and his team
over this festival weekend, just due to the fact that
the man.
Speaker 4 (10:24):
Does travel the world touring with one Republic.
Speaker 5 (10:27):
But add to that, we also have yet a third
celebrity that will be there that night.
Speaker 4 (10:32):
So we have a.
Speaker 5 (10:32):
Detroit Lion linebacker some of you might know the name
Stephen Tullock. Great player, fantastic, Yes, and he is there too.
One of the things that he did, you know, was
over the course of the years, he was able to
study coffee, which was his fuel he said, during those
you know, very very demanding years. And so here he
(10:54):
is having brought that craft forward. He has Circle House
Coffee and fifty five cents of every bag that you
purchase is going to a charity. Now many of them
really back to what we're doing here in this evening and.
Speaker 4 (11:08):
So not through a veteran, but through hospice care and.
Speaker 6 (11:11):
Even incredibly generous Yes, yes.
Speaker 4 (11:14):
Yes, And so he's there that night too.
Speaker 5 (11:15):
I'm doing a special presentation food and beverage, kind of
a unique mocktail or cocktail whichever you prefer, of the
espresso martini type. Just saying we've got a lot of
entertainment happening, happening.
Speaker 4 (11:27):
That evel in three hours.
Speaker 5 (11:29):
Yeah, pack it in, pack it in. And yet you're
going to find a lot of people that.
Speaker 3 (11:33):
You know, absolutely yeah it is. It's a great night.
Speaker 2 (11:36):
And I want to go back to something you said,
Don Baker, if you get a little overwhelmed by the
crowds that happen on Friday and Saturday, this is a
great night to experience it and not feel so crowded.
It is a really great event. Cheers for Charity and
again you can get tickets at Grwinefestival dot com. There
(11:57):
are all kinds of hotel deals that are happening locally.
You want to throw in an overnight there, whether you're
doing that with Cheers for Charity or just you know
you're going to come down to the festival with some friends.
The one thing that and we're going to talk about
the show. But the one thing that I want to
encourage people is you want to get your tickets early
and make sure you arrange that. And then if you've
(12:19):
never been, it's such an easy, seamless success for doing
the tasting because you get a bracelet when you walk in.
Speaker 5 (12:26):
Right, the wriskband is loaded with your tasting tickets. Cheers
for Charity night, It's going to be loaded with one
hundred and fifty of those, and then depending on what
you choose as far as food and beverage, those will
be redeemed if you will or spent right, Yeah, and
that goes through the festival.
Speaker 4 (12:43):
But here's the cool thing. You come down Thursday night,
you end up running into so many people. You know,
you don't get to go through all of those on
hundred and fifty tickets. Great, come back Friday or Saturday.
Speaker 5 (12:53):
Make your plan and utilize those tasting tickets to enjoy
even more of the festival with different offerings.
Speaker 3 (12:59):
Right.
Speaker 5 (13:00):
So, the Cheers for Charity is a smaller footprint within
the festival. It's largely the Grand Gallery and around through
the Sequi Lobby, so beautiful space decorated just very patriotic
this year.
Speaker 4 (13:10):
I can't wait to see it all come together.
Speaker 5 (13:12):
But then the rest of the festival, three acres of
tasting experience.
Speaker 4 (13:18):
It is a sampling event.
Speaker 5 (13:19):
That's what it's meant to be, so that when you
go to said stores of your choice and you're looking
and it's it's you know, whatever you're looking for.
Speaker 4 (13:29):
Sometimes you're like, oh, do I want to try that?
Speaker 5 (13:32):
I think that's going to work for us or for this,
and it's going to pair with that and this. All
of those type of questions can be answered by your
experience at the festival, whether it is you know what
wine or what beverage gift you're going to give, or
maybe you're a foodie and you want to fill a
basket with a lot of unique gourmet and specialty foods.
Speaker 4 (13:51):
We've got that.
Speaker 5 (13:52):
We've got tasting sessions that offer you a chance to
not just taste product then, but to number one, have
it paired like the one that's for Isaiah Thomas. Very
limited seeding for that, so you're gonna want to get
your ticket. That is an add on ticket, just like
the pairings. If somebody has been there before, we'll circle
back to that one, Okay, but in addition, you know,
there's tasting sessions that really help you make good choices
(14:16):
and try different things, learn, get some recipes, my your
food demonstrations.
Speaker 4 (14:21):
Again, edutainment, that's what I.
Speaker 5 (14:23):
Like to call it, because you're being educated in a
lot of ways and you're walking away with, you know,
better knowledge.
Speaker 4 (14:30):
But on top of that, it's just really entertaining.
Speaker 5 (14:33):
Nine live music performances at the rest of the weekend too,
that's Friday and Saturday, and you're like, nine, how do
you get that in there?
Speaker 4 (14:40):
But we do.
Speaker 5 (14:41):
And we're very blessed in this area with a lot
of great musicians, Yes we are.
Speaker 4 (14:45):
So we're able to kind of feature that.
Speaker 5 (14:47):
But all of those things come together, you know, on
these two days, and you just don't want to miss it.
Speaker 4 (14:54):
I mentioned the pairings.
Speaker 5 (14:55):
Can I just go there, Phil, because I know that's
one of your favorite things.
Speaker 3 (14:58):
Right, we do have time remaining to talk about the pairings.
Speaker 5 (15:01):
The pairings are one of those things, as well as
the Cheers for Charity ticket and the Isaiah Thomas tasting
session that you need to check out. These one hour
seated dinners are brought to you by some really incredible
restaurants let's just talk about that. But they are a
seated four to five course dinner paired with whether it's
(15:23):
spirits or wine, so every course creatively put together by
a culinary team with the goal of really satisfying your palette.
We have a beer pairing Archival Brewing, we have Madrid
back with an incredibly creative four course lineup kitchen by
Wolfgang Puck. We've got CaCO Dining, Mudpenny first ever brunch pairing,
(15:48):
just saying, and then Wonderland Distilling. And what's really wonderful
after saying Wonderland Distilling is that some of these let's
see at least three to four of these restaurants who
are doing pairing dinners, which those tickets go fast again
limited to six hundred. So talk about the fact that
Cheers for Charity has some different options. They are featuring
(16:10):
these restaurants one of their dishes at Cheers for Charity nights.
So if by chance you waited too long, there's not
a ticket. There you go all those details, fill the menus,
the prices, the times, all of that.
Speaker 4 (16:24):
Gr Wine Festival dot Com.
Speaker 2 (16:26):
And this is Sunday and we're about ten days out
from the festival.
Speaker 3 (16:30):
Ten or eleven days out.
Speaker 2 (16:32):
You want to do this now because a lot of
these will be gone if you wait more than a
couple of days. Jerwindfederal dot com. If you have somebody
on your holiday shopping list that has everything, get them
Cheers for Charity tickets.
Speaker 3 (16:45):
That will be the best thing you can do.
Speaker 2 (16:47):
And it's a benefit for Hospice of Michigan their Veterans program.
What a cool thing you could do because they'll go
what and especially a wine lover, are you kidding me?
Off the charts? You will be their hero and you know, husbands,
just a moment if you're in the doghouse, I mean,
come on. Gr Wine Festival dot com. Gr Windfestival dot com.
(17:07):
This event the Grand Rapids International Wineber and Food Festival,
named by Forbes in twenty nineteen as one of a
dozen fall wine festivals in North America you don't want
to miss if you've never been. This is one of
those bucket list experiences that actually you'll want to do
over and over again. So it's so much fun. Cheers
for Charity again. That is on the twentieth, and then
(17:29):
the festival is on the twenty first and twenty second.
Coming up real fast, Don Baker, Associate festival producer Will Spade.
Of course, the Dr Phil forming here as always.
Speaker 4 (17:39):
Thank you and don't forget.
Speaker 5 (17:41):
There's more than we can talk about in this interview,
So gr Wine Festival dot com.
Speaker 2 (17:44):
Yes, And Barbara Anderson, Associate VP of Philanthropy at Hospice
of Michigan.
Speaker 3 (17:50):
What's the website?
Speaker 2 (17:50):
Real quick, HM dot org, HM dot org. Thank you
to both of you. We packed a lot in here,
but there's more. Grwin Festival dot com.
Speaker 4 (17:59):
Cheers.
Speaker 1 (18:00):
You've been listening to iHeartRadio's West Michigan Weekend. West Michigan
Weekend is a production of Wood Radio and iHeartRadio
This is iHeartRadio's West Michigan Weekend. West Michigan Weekend is
a weekly program designed to win form and enlightened on
a wide range of public policy issues, as well as
news and current events. Now here's your host, Phil Tower.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
This is West Michigan Weekend from iHeartRadio. Once again, thank
you so much for tuning in. Don't forget we are
a podcast. After you hear us on the radio, you
can check out the iHeartRadio app or woodradio dot com
in our podcast section, where you will see about five
hundred and forty available episodes. In this episode, we are
doing a part two of a very important conversation.
Speaker 3 (00:39):
We'd like to call those viics.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
And we are in studio with Don Baker, Associate festival
producer with Shows Fan to talk about the Grand Rapids
International Wine, Beer and Food Festival. Also with us Barbara Anderson,
Associate vice president of Philanthropy with Hospice of Michigan. It's
a lot more fun when we're in studio. I think
we did this rodeo about a year ago. Welcome back,
(01:03):
Barbara to my immediate right. If your scorecard at home,
Barbara's to my right and Dawn is to my far right.
Speaker 3 (01:08):
Welcome Don Baker.
Speaker 4 (01:10):
Thank you great to be back.
Speaker 2 (01:11):
So let's start with something that is just the high points.
The festival returns to de Vos Place. It's November twenty
first and twenty second. It is a must a tend event.
It is a spectacular event, and it's something you want
to be strategic and deliberate about.
Speaker 3 (01:30):
So we're going to say that.
Speaker 2 (01:31):
And then there's also I had the pleasure of attending
this event last year. There's a charity gala called Cheers
for Charity. Hospice of Michigan is the beneficiary of the
proceeds for that event, and that event still has tickets available,
and that is on what date, Don Baker.
Speaker 4 (01:51):
That's actually Thursday November twentieth.
Speaker 2 (01:53):
Thursday November twentieth, so it's kind of a kickoff to
the festival weekend. Barbara Anderson and down are with us
in studio. Let's first of all talk about Cheers for Charity.
This is a special event. And oh, by the way,
there's a little Isaiah Thomas thrown in. This is just
a little hint. We're going to talk about that.
Speaker 3 (02:12):
Dawn.
Speaker 2 (02:12):
Let's start with Cheers for Charity. This is we've had
these for the Auto show and the Gala. But this
is something that's relatively new to the Grand Rapids International Wine,
Beer and Food Festival started last year, right, and this
is the second year.
Speaker 5 (02:27):
Yes, it is, and I think that you know, the
partnerships meant to be. We did a lot of pre qualifying,
if you will, and Hospice of Michigan. So many of
us have a connection there through you know, a very
challenging time maybe within our families, and have really been
met with so many programs that they offer. But I
(02:49):
will just say this year is especially near and dear
to my heart. My father in law was a veteran
and at the end of his life did not receive
the kind of care that we would have hoped, followed
by my mother in law later and she did receive
Hospice of Michigan care. So this one for me is
a little bit of a tear jerker, and I just
have to let Barbara take it.
Speaker 3 (03:09):
From there, all right, Barbara take it from me here?
Speaker 6 (03:11):
Yeah, no, thank you, don We are so privileged to
be joining the Food and Wine Festival for the second
year and hopefully.
Speaker 4 (03:18):
Many to come.
Speaker 6 (03:19):
But last year we were fortunate to elevate our pediatric program.
And this year, you know, with the festival being so
close to Veterans Day, we have an incredibly robust veterans program.
We thought, let's shift the focus and really highlight what
we're doing with what we call our we on our veterans.
And you know, one in five Americans that we're serving
on hospice care are veterans. Wow, So it only makes sense, right, Yeah,
(03:43):
And those those folks, they might have really special needs,
unique needs at the end of life, and we have
special training and ways that we can help them and
their family actually navigate that. So we're not treating every
patient and every family just like you know the one
before them. We're really giving them that.
Speaker 4 (03:59):
Special lized care.
Speaker 6 (04:01):
And then the other piece to that too is being
able to really ceremoniously thank them. Some of these veterans,
we're finding out when we give them these special pens
and certificates, they've never been thanked before.
Speaker 3 (04:10):
Perhaps, Oh my goodness, which to.
Speaker 6 (04:12):
Be a veteran, especially end of life, I mean, isn't
that a profound experience?
Speaker 2 (04:16):
And Barber some veterans very sadly they die alone or
with little family, and that's what's so special about the
services you provide a Hospice of Michigan. I mean, can
you talk about that in terms of, you know, somebody
who maybe is isolator or limited family and working with those.
Speaker 6 (04:35):
People certainly, Well, we're going to meet every patient, veteran
or not, right where they are. So you know, if
they're living in a facility, we will go to that facility.
If they are living at their own home, if they
are living in their perhaps their children's home, we go
right there, do their bedside wherever they call home. And
we're going to create, like I said, whole program based
specifically for them. So it's it's incredibly unique to whatever
(04:57):
their needs are.
Speaker 2 (04:58):
And that that is the important part of the Cheers
for Charity event because, as you said at Pediatric Care
last year, this year focusing on hospice care for veterans,
and that number one in five, that's pretty staggering number. Persantly. Yeah,
So this is why if as you heard Dawn say,
you've got a veteran in your family, I just lost
my brother a.
Speaker 3 (05:19):
Year ago who was a Vietnam War veteran.
Speaker 2 (05:22):
This is a special thing and just you need to
treat yourself to a night out. I mean, come on,
I'm giving everyone listening permission to attend the Cheers for
Cherity Gala. Don What else do we need to know
about this? Tickets are on sale, they are available. It's
not a sold out event. We're talking about it because
this event is just days away. We're here on the
radio on Sunday, November ninth, in the event happens on Thursday,
(05:46):
November twentieth.
Speaker 3 (05:47):
What else do they need to know? Down?
Speaker 5 (05:48):
I feel like, you know, as a listener of your programming,
you're always looking for you know, what's out there? What
do I want to either go and participate in or
in this case, yes, there is a level of I
want to go support this. So I think that that
being the kickoff for an event that is focused as
(06:09):
a pre holiday celebration, if you will. You're thinking about
family already, You're thinking about friend groups. A lot of
people have friends giving right, all of those things are
kind of in the month of November, and often we're
thinking about what we are thankful for. And I can't
think of a better way to take action than to
enjoy this festival itself. But add to that the special
(06:32):
Cheers for Charity VIP night and we will have some
veteran VIPs there with us.
Speaker 4 (06:38):
So we have some.
Speaker 5 (06:39):
Veterans, yes, that have maybe a winery or maybe that's
I mean, I've got a list going right, they have
a brewery. So we're bringing in some of the industry,
if you will, and focusing on that some of the
restaurants space or small plates that you'll get or food
that's gourmet specialty and they are veteran owned. And so
(07:01):
here's this moment where you can actually look that person
in the eye and say thank you. And you're also
going to learn about some great options, whether it's for
enjoying just that evening or maybe it's planning ahead to
what's coming in the next couple of weeks.
Speaker 2 (07:17):
Sounds great and again a benefit the Cheers for Charity
VIP Night six to nine pm at de Vos Place,
the Grand Gallery. It is a wonderful thing and for
your one hundred and fifty dollars ticket, you get one
hundred and fifty tasting tickets good for food and or
beverage samples, and those proceeds benefit hospices we on our
(07:37):
veterans program, as you just heard Barbara Anderson talking about. Okay,
there's also do we let the cat out of the
bag about the VIP.
Speaker 3 (07:44):
Who's going to be there?
Speaker 6 (07:45):
We have several VIPs, I would say, yes, okay, Laid,
I mean, I'd be more than happy to talk about
all of them.
Speaker 3 (07:53):
You didn't even hesitate, Barbara, No.
Speaker 6 (07:56):
I think the one that you were probably referring to
is Isaiah Thomas, so obviously well known Detroit basketball player.
So we're very excited to have him specifically on Thursday,
and I know he'll be there for the rest of
the festival too, but he'll be doing our welcome on
Thursday evening. And then for you know, sort of skipping ahead,
we're actually excited to offer a auction package with a
(08:18):
meet and greet with Isaiah and his champagne. So that's
certainly exciting. And then I'm sure some of your listeners
know Jordan Carson, her band nine Mile Smiles actually coming
out of retirement especially for us, which we are so
excited about and joining her.
Speaker 4 (08:36):
For a song or two.
Speaker 6 (08:38):
Is Zach Filkins. And you might know that name from
the band One Republic.
Speaker 3 (08:43):
Okay, wow, Yeah.
Speaker 6 (08:45):
And he just happens to be a local vineyard owner.
So Filkins Vineyards is a local Michigan winery.
Speaker 2 (08:52):
Okay, So how do people sign up for that give
away you're doing with the private meet and greet with Isaiah.
Speaker 6 (08:58):
So at the event, we will be having a live
auction and they would just need to make a bid.
Speaker 3 (09:02):
Okay, there you go.
Speaker 2 (09:03):
So if you really want to kick it up a notch,
you go to Cheers for Charity and then then you
bid on that great event. That'll be fun to happen
as part of the event. It is a wonderful evening.
You've got an upscale experience. You've got a dozen restaurants,
especially food producers. You've got small plates, food and beverage
(09:24):
tastings and just a great event all in the Grand
Gallery at de Vos Place and Don Baker where did
they get tickets for this great Cheers for Charity gala?
Speaker 5 (09:33):
So all of the tickets for the festival Aret gr
Wine Festival dot Com. But you know, I do have
to tell you one of the other great things about
the Cheers for Charity.
Speaker 4 (09:42):
We're giving you lots of reasons to not.
Speaker 5 (09:45):
Stop but press go if you will, and is that
there's less people. So when you think about you know,
Isaiah Thomas, he's giving the welcome and it's in a
less the festival is very widely embraced, and so here's
this evening that is just a little bit more personal.
Add to that, yes, being able to meet Zach and
(10:08):
his wife Lindsay. They own the wine vineyard together, it's
Philkins Vinyard. They also are bringing their wine maker and
that's one of the only time, that is the only
time that the public would see Zach and his team
over this festival weekend, just due to the fact that
the man.
Speaker 4 (10:24):
Does travel the world touring with one Republic.
Speaker 5 (10:27):
But add to that, we also have yet a third
celebrity that will be there that night.
Speaker 4 (10:32):
So we have a.
Speaker 5 (10:32):
Detroit Lion linebacker some of you might know the name
Stephen Tullock. Great player, fantastic, Yes, and he is there too.
One of the things that he did, you know, was
over the course of the years, he was able to
study coffee, which was his fuel he said, during those
you know, very very demanding years. And so here he
(10:54):
is having brought that craft forward. He has Circle House
Coffee and fifty five cents of every bag that you
purchase is going to a charity. Now many of them
really back to what we're doing here in this evening and.
Speaker 4 (11:08):
So not through a veteran, but through hospice care and.
Speaker 6 (11:11):
Even incredibly generous Yes, yes.
Speaker 4 (11:14):
Yes, And so he's there that night too.
Speaker 5 (11:15):
I'm doing a special presentation food and beverage, kind of
a unique mocktail or cocktail whichever you prefer, of the
espresso martini type. Just saying we've got a lot of
entertainment happening, happening.
Speaker 4 (11:27):
That evel in three hours.
Speaker 5 (11:29):
Yeah, pack it in, pack it in. And yet you're
going to find a lot of people that.
Speaker 3 (11:33):
You know, absolutely yeah it is. It's a great night.
Speaker 2 (11:36):
And I want to go back to something you said,
Don Baker, if you get a little overwhelmed by the
crowds that happen on Friday and Saturday, this is a
great night to experience it and not feel so crowded.
It is a really great event. Cheers for Charity and
again you can get tickets at Grwinefestival dot com. There
(11:57):
are all kinds of hotel deals that are happening locally.
You want to throw in an overnight there, whether you're
doing that with Cheers for Charity or just you know
you're going to come down to the festival with some friends.
The one thing that and we're going to talk about
the show. But the one thing that I want to
encourage people is you want to get your tickets early
and make sure you arrange that. And then if you've
(12:19):
never been, it's such an easy, seamless success for doing
the tasting because you get a bracelet when you walk in.
Speaker 5 (12:26):
Right, the wriskband is loaded with your tasting tickets. Cheers
for Charity night, It's going to be loaded with one
hundred and fifty of those, and then depending on what
you choose as far as food and beverage, those will
be redeemed if you will or spent right, Yeah, and
that goes through the festival.
Speaker 4 (12:43):
But here's the cool thing. You come down Thursday night,
you end up running into so many people. You know,
you don't get to go through all of those on
hundred and fifty tickets. Great, come back Friday or Saturday.
Speaker 5 (12:53):
Make your plan and utilize those tasting tickets to enjoy
even more of the festival with different offerings.
Speaker 3 (12:59):
Right.
Speaker 5 (13:00):
So, the Cheers for Charity is a smaller footprint within
the festival. It's largely the Grand Gallery and around through
the Sequi Lobby, so beautiful space decorated just very patriotic
this year.
Speaker 4 (13:10):
I can't wait to see it all come together.
Speaker 5 (13:12):
But then the rest of the festival, three acres of
tasting experience.
Speaker 4 (13:18):
It is a sampling event.
Speaker 5 (13:19):
That's what it's meant to be, so that when you
go to said stores of your choice and you're looking
and it's it's you know, whatever you're looking for.
Speaker 4 (13:29):
Sometimes you're like, oh, do I want to try that?
Speaker 5 (13:32):
I think that's going to work for us or for this,
and it's going to pair with that and this. All
of those type of questions can be answered by your
experience at the festival, whether it is you know what
wine or what beverage gift you're going to give, or
maybe you're a foodie and you want to fill a
basket with a lot of unique gourmet and specialty foods.
Speaker 4 (13:51):
We've got that.
Speaker 5 (13:52):
We've got tasting sessions that offer you a chance to
not just taste product then, but to number one, have
it paired like the one that's for Isaiah Thomas. Very
limited seeding for that, so you're gonna want to get
your ticket. That is an add on ticket, just like
the pairings. If somebody has been there before, we'll circle
back to that one, Okay, but in addition, you know,
there's tasting sessions that really help you make good choices
(14:16):
and try different things, learn, get some recipes, my your
food demonstrations.
Speaker 4 (14:21):
Again, edutainment, that's what I.
Speaker 5 (14:23):
Like to call it, because you're being educated in a
lot of ways and you're walking away with, you know,
better knowledge.
Speaker 4 (14:30):
But on top of that, it's just really entertaining.
Speaker 5 (14:33):
Nine live music performances at the rest of the weekend too,
that's Friday and Saturday, and you're like, nine, how do
you get that in there?
Speaker 4 (14:40):
But we do.
Speaker 5 (14:41):
And we're very blessed in this area with a lot
of great musicians, Yes we are.
Speaker 4 (14:45):
So we're able to kind of feature that.
Speaker 5 (14:47):
But all of those things come together, you know, on
these two days, and you just don't want to miss it.
Speaker 4 (14:54):
I mentioned the pairings.
Speaker 5 (14:55):
Can I just go there, Phil, because I know that's
one of your favorite things.
Speaker 3 (14:58):
Right, we do have time remaining to talk about the pairings.
Speaker 5 (15:01):
The pairings are one of those things, as well as
the Cheers for Charity ticket and the Isaiah Thomas tasting
session that you need to check out. These one hour
seated dinners are brought to you by some really incredible
restaurants let's just talk about that. But they are a
seated four to five course dinner paired with whether it's
(15:23):
spirits or wine, so every course creatively put together by
a culinary team with the goal of really satisfying your palette.
We have a beer pairing Archival Brewing, we have Madrid
back with an incredibly creative four course lineup kitchen by
Wolfgang Puck. We've got CaCO Dining, Mudpenny first ever brunch pairing,
(15:48):
just saying, and then Wonderland Distilling. And what's really wonderful
after saying Wonderland Distilling is that some of these let's
see at least three to four of these restaurants who
are doing pairing dinners, which those tickets go fast again
limited to six hundred. So talk about the fact that
Cheers for Charity has some different options. They are featuring
(16:10):
these restaurants one of their dishes at Cheers for Charity nights.
So if by chance you waited too long, there's not
a ticket. There you go all those details, fill the menus,
the prices, the times, all of that.
Speaker 4 (16:24):
Gr Wine Festival dot Com.
Speaker 2 (16:26):
And this is Sunday and we're about ten days out
from the festival.
Speaker 3 (16:30):
Ten or eleven days out.
Speaker 2 (16:32):
You want to do this now because a lot of
these will be gone if you wait more than a
couple of days. Jerwindfederal dot com. If you have somebody
on your holiday shopping list that has everything, get them
Cheers for Charity tickets.
Speaker 3 (16:45):
That will be the best thing you can do.
Speaker 2 (16:47):
And it's a benefit for Hospice of Michigan their Veterans program.
What a cool thing you could do because they'll go
what and especially a wine lover, are you kidding me?
Off the charts? You will be their hero and you know, husbands,
just a moment if you're in the doghouse, I mean,
come on. Gr Wine Festival dot com. Gr Windfestival dot com.
(17:07):
This event the Grand Rapids International Wineber and Food Festival,
named by Forbes in twenty nineteen as one of a
dozen fall wine festivals in North America you don't want
to miss if you've never been. This is one of
those bucket list experiences that actually you'll want to do
over and over again. So it's so much fun. Cheers
for Charity again. That is on the twentieth, and then
(17:29):
the festival is on the twenty first and twenty second.
Coming up real fast, Don Baker, Associate festival producer Will Spade.
Of course, the Dr Phil forming here as always.
Speaker 4 (17:39):
Thank you and don't forget.
Speaker 5 (17:41):
There's more than we can talk about in this interview,
So gr Wine Festival dot com.
Speaker 2 (17:44):
Yes, And Barbara Anderson, Associate VP of Philanthropy at Hospice
of Michigan.
Speaker 3 (17:50):
What's the website?
Speaker 2 (17:50):
Real quick, HM dot org, HM dot org. Thank you
to both of you. We packed a lot in here,
but there's more. Grwin Festival dot com.
Speaker 4 (17:59):
Cheers.
Speaker 1 (18:00):
You've been listening to iHeartRadio's West Michigan Weekend. West Michigan
Weekend is a production of Wood Radio and iHeartRadio
Popular Podcasts
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Ruthie's Table 4
For more than 30 years The River Cafe in London, has been the home-from-home of artists, architects, designers, actors, collectors, writers, activists, and politicians. Michael Caine, Glenn Close, JJ Abrams, Steve McQueen, Victoria and David Beckham, and Lily Allen, are just some of the people who love to call The River Cafe home. On River Cafe Table 4, Rogers sits down with her customers—who have become friends—to talk about food memories. Table 4 explores how food impacts every aspect of our lives. “Foods is politics, food is cultural, food is how you express love, food is about your heritage, it defines who you and who you want to be,” says Rogers. Each week, Rogers invites her guest to reminisce about family suppers and first dates, what they cook, how they eat when performing, the restaurants they choose, and what food they seek when they need comfort. And to punctuate each episode of Table 4, guests such as Ralph Fiennes, Emily Blunt, and Alfonso Cuarón, read their favourite recipe from one of the best-selling River Cafe cookbooks. Table 4 itself, is situated near The River Cafe’s open kitchen, close to the bright pink wood-fired oven and next to the glossy yellow pass, where Ruthie oversees the restaurant. You are invited to take a seat at this intimate table and join the conversation. For more information, recipes, and ingredients, go to https://shoptherivercafe.co.uk/ Web: https://rivercafe.co.uk/ Instagram: www.instagram.com/therivercafelondon/ Facebook: https://en-gb.facebook.com/therivercafelondon/ For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iheartradio app, apple podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com
The Joe Rogan Experience
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.