Events
• Annual Gala
Our major event of the year is a fund raising Gala each October. Each year the Gala changes theme. This event is open to the public. Per person tickets include the cocktail reception with hors d’oeuvres, silent auction, dinner and dancing. Held from 7 PM to 1 AM each year at a selected location. We hope you can join us.
Here is a message entitled “Burgerlicious: the Second Course” from Wayne Eldred, general manager of Tarpon Bend Raw Bar & Grill who was one of the creators/organizers of the festival (pictured above at left with Erica Dominguez, Senior Events Manager of the Chamber, and Drew Kern of EWM Realtors®, the 2011-12 Chamber Board Chairman: “We will be serving up more great times you can taste next November 1st, 2012. The burger is the common denominator of foods here in America, bringing all walks of life to the same dining table. We look forward to putting on an event that will become legendary for many years to come, and hope you will share in the enjoyment.”
The burgers were paired with delicious Samuel Adams beers, and the festival kicked off Miami Live Music Month with energetic entertainment presented by The Stage Miami featuring DJ Mayner, Fusik, and ArtOfficial. The Coral Gables Chamber of Commerce, Samuel Adams®, and the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau partnered to bring this new annual event to the public. Burgerliscious was sponsored by the City of Coral Gables, Brown-Forman Beverages, Jack Daniel’s, the Village of Merrick Park, and the Coral Gables Chamber of Commerce.
• Burgerlicious
The second annual Burgerlicious, was held on Thursday, November 8th, 2012.
Announcing . . . Burgerlicious! November 3rd, 2011
The Foundation was proud to participate in the newly created Burgerlicious annual event. Hundreds of foodies came out to enjoy the fare at Fred B. Hartnett Ponce Circle Park, 2810 Ponce de Leon Boulevard, on Thursday, November 3rd, 2011, sinking their teeth into gourmet burgers (and more, including a dessert burger and chicken wings) made by more than 20 premier restaurants. Participants included “Best In Bun” winner the 1862 Room at the Westin Colonnade | Coral Gables (a flavorful slider smothered in tomato & onion jam, and served with cole slaw), plus:
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Anacapri on Ponce Angelique Euro Café |
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• Financial Planners Reception Series
This lecture series is a happy-hour-style meeting of financial industry professionals. The Foundation presents attendees with useful, pertinent information on a variety of topics including trusts and estates, tax law, and the advantages to working with a community foundation, in the form of a lecture by a prominent local expert. This event is hosted by Bacardi® U.S.A., Inc., and has other corporate sponsorship opportunities. The first in the series was held on January 18th and featured Lou Nostro from Shutts & Bowen. The second will be held on May 16th and is presented by Goldstein Schechter Koch, and KR Financial Services, Inc. The guest speakers will be Peter Bermont, Managing Director, and Michael Gold, Vice President, from The Bermont Advisory Group. For more information, call 305-446-9670.
• The Haunted Jaunt
An exciting new fund raising event taking over downtown Coral Gables on Halloween . . .
• Mad Hatter
Our 3rd annual MAD HATTER Happy Hour was held on Thursday, June 7th, at CRAVE in the Village of Merrick Park. Also . . . throughout the month of June as part of their “CRAVE CARES” program, when you dined at CRAVE and ordered off the Crave Cares menu a portion of the proceeds went donated to the Foundation.
• Receptions
Often sponsored by a local restaurant, the Foundation holds 2-3 receptions each year for our Sponsors and Friends. We gather to reach out and encourage others to join the Foundation, and to help spread the word of our good works through good times. Please bring along anyone interested in joining, volunteering, or participating in any way. We welcome your ideas and encourage your participation. We have started a Young Professionals group called the “PONCE SOCIETY of Young Professionals”.
We welcome your suggestions for events or themes ([email protected]). Currently we are considering the following ideas: karaoke, a scavenger hunt, family day, and outdoor concerts. Stay tuned to hear about our collaboration with the University of Miami School of Music . . .
• Tour of Kitchens
Tour Tickets are now SOLD OUT.
Tickets will not be for sale the day of the Tour.
2013 Tour of Kitchens
For more information, visit coralgablestourofkitchens.com.
About the Tour of Kitchens
The 4th annual ten-stop TOUR of KITCHENS takes place on Saturday, January 26th, 2013, and will showcase eight of Coral Gables’ finest private home kitchens (plus an opening and closing location) and will offer food tastings, table setting displays, and the sale of home-related merchandise. The Tour is a fund raising event for the Coral Gables Community Foundation and the Culinary Arts Program at Coral Gables Senior High.
Featured restaurants/food purveyors include: Cibo Wine Bar, Christy’s, Zak the Baker, Giardino’s Gourmet Salads, Sweet Art by Lucila, Rock Star Pastries, Spice Galore, Lasso the Moon (catering), the Culinary Arts Program of Coral Gables Senior High School, Roc Kat Ice Cream Co., JoAnna’s Marketplace, Seasons 52, Xixon, and Ready, Set, Cupcake!
Featured vendors are: Pottery Barn, Deco Candles, Williams-Sonoma, Aragon 101, and Coco Bella.
You may begin your Tour any time from 10:00 AM on with breakfast bites, coffee and mimosas at Snaidero kitchens + design showroom (4110 Ponce de Leon Boulevard). At check in, Tour participants will be given a program booklet containing the Tour map. Homes on this self-guided Tour will be open until 2:00 P.M., and participants may visit the homes in the order they choose. Last entry to the Tour homes will be 1:45 PM.
The Tour finishes with a Closing Event in the Books & Books outdoor courtyard (265 Aragon Avenue) from 12:30 P.M. to 2:00 P.M. featuring champagne, a wide array of desserts, a display on Kitchen Trends by kitchen design consultant Julia Johnston, and cookbook authors who will be on hand to mingle and to sign books. This is all included in your Tour ticket price ($50). Honorary Chair and Coral Gables’ First Lady Carmen Cason will also be on hand at the closing event to meet and greet participants. Featured cookbook authors are: Bernie Matz, Linda Gassenheimer, and Raquel Roque.
TOUR TICKETS are $50 per person and all-inclusive of food and beverages, and may be easily purchased through the website coralgablestourofkitchens.com, at the starting point (Snaidero, 4110 Ponce de Leon Boulevard) on the day of the Tour, or at the Giant Gables Gourmet Garage Sale (1217 Granada Boulevard). Participants may also call to buy tickets: 305-446-9670. Tickets will be mailed to you (or can be available at will call if we are too close to the event date).
Apollo Bank is the Presenting Sponsor. Others include: Harborfront Landing, Snaidero kitchens + design, Mercedes-Benz of Coral Gables, and the Alma Jennings Foundation.
Giant Gourmet Garage Sale
One of the eight homes features the GIANT GOURMET GARAGE SALE: a partnership with Les Dames d’Escoffier Miami. his everything-but-the-kitchen-sink Garage Sale offers new and gently used aprons, art, bakeware, baskets, bric-a-brac, candles, ceramics, china, collectibles, cookbooks, crystal, dish towels, flatware, gadgets, linens, napkins, pots & pans, small appliances, stemware, tins, Tupperware, vases, and much more. The Giant Gourmet Garage Sale will be held at 1217 Granada Boulevard from 8:00 AM to 2:00 PM. This is the home of local celebrity dessert chef Lucila Venet-Jimenez, whose business “Sweet Art by Lucila” is very popular for specialty cakes for weddings and other special occasions.
Admission to the Giant Gourmet Garage Sale is free, however, to gain admission to Lucila’s kitchen (featured on the Tour) you must have a Tour of Kitchens ticket (wristband) to enter her home (the garage sale takes place in the side yard. Tickets to the Tour of Kitchens will be sold from this location. (The Tour is from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM.) Upon purchase of a Tour of Kitchens ticket, you will receive a program booklet with the location of the other Tour stops (and a map). [Please Note: Tour stops are not disclosed until the day of the Tour for the protection of the homeowners.] Garage Sale patrons who purchase a Tour of Kitchens ticket must still wait until 10:00 AM to enter Lucilas’ home. The GGGS also features the bountiful Dames Marketplace offering locally grown fruit and vegetables, potted herbs, vegetable “starts,” prepared foods and baked goods-all homemade or homegrown by our chapter’s chef, caterer, and farmer members.
About Les Dames d’Escoffier Miami
Les Dames d’Escoffier Miami is comprised of female food, farming, hospitality, and wine professionals dedicated to: funding annual culinary and/or agriculture scholarships for exceptional young South Florida women; supporting and fostering regional agriculture; and funding organic school vegetable gardens, nutrition, and cooking education for area youth and for our region’s farm labor force. Garage Sale proceeds will help underwrite these projects.
About the Coral Gables Community Foundation
The Coral Gables Community Foundation is a §501(c)(3) nonprofit whose mission is to improve the quality of life for all of those who live, work, study and/or play in the City Beautiful. Since its inception, the Foundation has distributed nearly $4 million to worthy causes.
To view a virtual copy of last year’s Tour of Kitchens program booklet, click here. Addresses of the homes are not disclosed until the day of the Tour to protect the homeowners.
Like TOUR of KITCHENS on Facebook for more fun, creative inspiration on kitchen design, and other fun foodie-related news. Follow @TOURofKITCHENS on twitter.
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2012 Tour of Kitchens
2012 was the third year for our TOUR OF KITCHENS. Held on Saturday, January 28th, this self-guided tour showcased some of Coral Gables’ most spectacular designer kitchens and favorite restaurant chefs. To tempt your taste buds, each tour stop offered a cooking demonstration and/or tasting, stunning table settings, demonstrations, and the sale of special foodie merchandise and home goods. Tour attendees visited the homes between 9:00 AM and 1:45 PM in any order. The Tour began at the Snaidero Showroom and included a Champagne & Dessert Reception at the Coral Gables Museum (1-4 PM) with regional celebrity chefs, food consultants, demonstrations, and cookbook authors signing books and offering tips for success in the kitchen.
TOUR TICKETS cost $50 per person, and make great gifts for foodie and designer friends!
