MHS Boosters to raise money with beer, wine tasting

West Oakland County residents will be sipping and sampling during the Huron Valley Milford High School Athletic Boosters’ 4th annual Food, Beer and Wine Tasting fund-raiser this week.

The benefit will be held Friday, March 23 from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. at Mystic Creek Golf Club & Banquet Center in Milford. This year, the boosters have accommodations for 250 people. Tickets are $35 each, and must be purchased prior to the event by calling Kelly Yates at 248-863-6435 or via the PayPal link at milfordboosters.com. Visa and MasterCard are accepted.

Colasanti’s Market, located just north of the border between Highland and Milford townships, is soliciting beer and wine vendors to donate products for tasting during the event. Participants will be privy to 27 white wines, 45 red wines, and up to 17 specialty beers.

“This is a very generous contribution by Colasanti’s that they make on an annual basis,” said Milford High School Boosters member Karen Tollis.

At the end of the evening, patrons can purchase their favorites at a 15 percent discount.

Some of the finest restaurants in Milford and Highland are donating signature dishes for the buffet table during the event.

“It’s an all-you-can-eat event so everyone can leave full and happy,” Tollis said.

Local restaurants — including Americus Coney Island, Highland House, Red Dog Saloon, Black Rock Bar & Grill, Hungry Howie’s, as well as Mystic Creek — are lined up to participate.

Each patron can allocate $10 of their event ticket fee to the school sport or club of his or her choice.

The boosters will also conduct a silent auction of a number of high-value donated items.

“The silent auction committee has been collecting a very impressive assortment of donated items from our generous community — but those are secrets to be revealed during the event,” Tollis said.”One-hundred percent of the profits will create a Hardship Fund to support the needs of students and all teams and/or groups at Milford High School. While last year’s proceeds were marked for a future expansion of MHS stadium seating, this year, with the economy being in such shape as it is, the athletic boosters wanted to help make an immediate effect on the financial needs of MHS students.”

Attendees can also purchase $5 raffle tickets, with the prizes for the raffle having been donated by local merchants.

Beginning at 9 p.m., attendees can dance the night away to music by a DJ. A cash bar will also be available.

Proceeds will be earmarked for hardships as determined by the organization’s board. For example, the football program is short $750 this year, and the club is looking to defray some of the costs for a strength trainer’s salary.

“There are other items that we expect will come to our attention and will be assessed on a case-by-case basis,” said Boosters Vice President Debra Zimmerman. “Last year, we raised $7,000 for the bleacher fund, but we have a lot more immediate needs.”

Hardship requests can be presented at the monthly meetings, which are held in Room 802 at Milford High School at 7 p.m. on the first Wednesday of each month.

The beer and wine tasting event is one of the organization’s biggest fund-raisers.