Thank you for participating in the 2013 Sips & Suppers event.  The event will be held at 7pm at the Newseum at 555 Pennsylvania Ave on Saturday, January 26th.  There is no need to bring your paper tickets as we will have the name of the ticket purchaser (from the online registration) at the registration tables at the front entrance of the Newseum.  If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to email me.  Please read the info below for details about the event, including the fabulous auction brought to us straight from Le Baccanti Tours in Italy and transportation options from UBER (safety first!).  The dress is cocktail, business casual.

The Event:

Held at the Newseum, Sips is a lively benefit featuring some of the finest food artisans, chefs, mixologists, and wineries. The event hosts, Jose Andres, Joan Nathan and Alice Waters will welcome guests and over 40 participants showcasing the region’s bounty with a bevy of food, wine and cocktail tastings.  With live jazz music from the J Kelly Ensemble, guests can expect an exciting array of food and wine tastings with cocktails from Gina Chersevani (Buffalo & Bergen and Hank’s Oyster Bar), Dan Searing (Room 11) and Taha Ismail (previewing drinks from Mike Isabella’s upcoming Kapnos & G) to an exclusive tasting of Italian wines from Tuscan wine educator, Filippo Bartolotta to live cooking demos and samples from local chefs, farmers, cheesemongers, pastry chefs and food trucks. visit: http://www.sipsandsuppers.org/sips/artisans-mixologists/

The Auction:

For 5 years, now, Sips & Suppers has partnered with Le Baccanti Tours, a wine and tour organization based in Italy, who has donated the majority of the wine that we serve every year for Sips & Suppers.  Filippo Bartolotta, from Le Baccanti, comes to DC every year and enthusiastically pours his wines for the weekend.  This year, along with the wine, Le Baccanti Tours is also offering up two fantastic Italian villas in Italy for a silent auction!  This extraordinary experience in Italy with fine wines and opportunities to explore the region is being offered to our Sips & Suppers guests.  You must see the photos and the descriptions – they are irresistibly beautiful! 

Lot #1 (Tuscan hotel): CastellodelNero-Auction - https://www.facebook.com/events/186985298110739/

Lot #2 (Tuscan villa): TuscanVilla-Auction  - https://www.facebook.com/events/328254740613933/

All bidding is online via email and bidding will close at midnight on Monday, January 28.  To place your bids, please email them to sipsandsuppers@lebaccanti.com and put Sips & Suppers Silent Auction in the subject line.  Please indicate clearly which package you are bidding on: Lot #1: the Luxury Hotel, Castello del Nero or Lot #2: the Tuscan Villa.  To view the current highest bid for each auction item, please check the facebook page link above.  This should give you an indication of the bidding level that you would need to exceed to have your bid considered.  You should also receive an email confirmation after you place your bid.  The winning bid will be announced on January 29th!  Please contact Amy Bartscherer at bartschera@aol.com if you have any questions.

UBER:

We're excited to be partnering with UBER to get you to and from Sips & Suppers in style!  We've been so impressed with the service, we've teamed up to provide attendees who are new to Uber with $15 off their first ride!  Just sign up and apply the promo code SIPSSUPPERS before your first trip to receive the discount. To sweeten the deal they will also be donating $10 to DC Central Kitchen and Martha's Table for each redemption of the promotion.

WHAT IS UBER?
For those of you not yet in the know, Uber is a mobile app that allows you to request a sleek, professionally driven black car or SUV on demand, and they'll arrive curbside in just minutes. You can track the arrival of your ride on your iPhone or Android, payment is cashless, and you'll even receive a text message when your driver arrives.

HOW DO I GET IT?
Simply download Uber on your iPhone or Android (or sign up at Uber.com to use SMS), and enter promo code SIPSSUPPERS for $20 off your first ride. If you have any questions at all, just email supportdc@uber.com.

Kimberly Lyons-Briley

Assistant Director of Development

Martha’s Table

202-328-6608 x 232

klyons@marthastable.org

2114 14^th St. NW

Washington, DC  20009

Thank you to our generous sponsors, without their support, this would not be possible.