By Charly SHELTON

Last Saturday, McGroarty Arts Center hosted its third annual summer cookout fundraiser – Burgers, Beer and Band Night. The dinner featured grilled hamburgers, cheeseburgers and veggie burgers with all the fixins, as well as craft beer from 818 Brewing and live music by Seize the Night.

“It went very well. Our development chair Carin Moore is responsible for the event. She takes care of all the activity, planning, ordering and getting the band situated, even going out to Costco and spending multiple days preparing for this,” said Frank Valadez, board president of the McGroarty Arts Center. “All in all, I think with the people dancing in the parking lot and having a lot of fun that we had [a great time].”

The event served between 350 and 375 burgers with chips, potato salad and watermelon to hungry guests, surpassing the total from last year’s event. And 100% of the proceeds of the event will go to helping fund the programs and operation of the Arts Center for the coming year.

Another fundraiser for McGroarty is coming up in December. The 16th Annual Chili Bowl Sale will be held on Dec 1-2 as a two-day event full of craft shopping, dining and holiday merrymaking.

“[Moore, the event organizer of both fundraisers] contacts local artisans and people with handmade items [for the craft fair]. We try to avoid commercial vendors and she populates the house and the upper parking lot with the vendors,” Valadez said. “The ceramicists [of the Arts Center classes] all volunteer to make chili bowls and we’re making over one thousand bowls this year. All the volunteers cook chili and you come and you get your lunch – cornbread and the condiments for your chili – and you take your chili bowl home. And then you can do Christmas shopping also with all the vendors that are here. We have probably 35 [local artisans]. And that is a two-day event [which is] very popular.”

For more information on all of these events and more, visit McGroartyArtsCenter.org.
Photos by Charly SHELTON

  Charly Shelton