Santee serves up suds and samples at Brews and Bites

Courtesy photo

Tickets for Santee Brews & Bites Festival Fundraiser are now on sale. The event will take place on Saturday, Oct. 21 from 5:30-8:30 p.m. at Town Center Community Park East. Attendees will be able to try samples from food and drink vendors, along with live music from Fast Times, the ultimate 80s experience band. Guests are encouraged to take on the music with 80s rad attire. Tickets come with unlimited food and beverage samples and a commemorative sampling cup.

This annual 21 and up fundraising event supports Santee’s people, parks, and programs.

City of Santee Community Services Department Recreation Coordinator Alicia Curtis said with this yearly October fundraiser, all funds raised goes back to the city’s Parks & Recreation Department.

“They go back to our Parks improvement projects, our Santee Teen Center, and also our VIP Incentive Program, our voucher incentive program that offsets costs for low-income individuals to participate in our recreation programs here in Santee,” she said. “This year is really exciting. We are having a band come down, very popular in Los Angeles, Fast Times, an 80s kind of rock band, and they will be headlining this year.”

Curtis said at this time, it has about 30 vendors lined up, and still getting more.

“We also have an awesome opportunity drawing and silent auction,” she said. “Many local businesses around town donate gift cards and experiences. Our vendors are some businesses. We have many breweries coming. Right now, we have a majority of beer vendors, but we do have a few wine vendors. We always have a good variety, and usually wind up with a couple of distilleries. For the silent auction and opportunity drawings, we put packages together. We should have some Padres’ tickets for next season, two nights stay at Viejas Casino & Resort, a 10-yoga class pack, private in-home wine sampling experiences, and local businesses make creative gift baskets.”

Curtis said for the opportunity drawings, it has unique experiences that the city holds every year, such as the Santee Summer Concert Series and the chance for parking all summer, a chance to participate in the ceremony where we light the tree at the Holiday Wedding Celebration in November. Opportunity drawings are $20 for 26 tickets and there will be drawings throughout the event.

“You do not have to be there to win. We will call winners the next day,” she said, adding that this event attracts around 1,200 people with guests and vendors.

To learn more about the event, purchase tickets, see what vendors are participating, and apply to be a vendor or sponsor, visit www.SanteeSpecialEvents.com.