Chula Vista Public Library Foundation hosted their 4th annual Bon Appetit event on Saturday

There was plenty of food and wine at the 4^th Annual Bon Appétit event hosted by the Chula Vista Public Library Foundation. The event was well attended by the community in hopes of raising much needed money for Chula Vista libraries. Local restaurants and merchants were on hand to serve up some of their delicious food and spirits. It was truly a celebration of food and wine all for a good cause.

This year’s event was special one. It was hosted by the Otay Ranch Town Center which just became the first shopping center in the nation to open a public library on their property. Two weeks ago the city of Chula Vista opened the doors with much success on the brand new Otay Ranch library location. Thousands turned out to see the beautiful facility that will offer so much to the community.

“This is truly a reason to celebrate and rejoice for Chula Vista libraries,” said Betty Waznis, director of the Chula Vista Library and president of the foundation. “To see the community support like this is just amazing.” The library has gotten nothing but praise from everyone. It was amazing to see the public turn out for the grand opening of a library. It was equally as special to see so many take part in the wine & food celebration on Saturday.

The food was amazing and there was plenty to choose from. My pick of the night was Los Arcos restaurant and their Fish Alcolichi and Ceviche. I also loved the Peppadew Peppers filled with goat cheese by Macaroni Grill. Other restaurants on hand included: Villa Capri, Otay Ranch Chili’s, P.F. Chang’s, Miguel’s Cocina, King’s Fish House, Romesco, Golden Spoon and the soon to be opened El Vitral. All of these restaurants donated their time and food. The Chula Vista Public Library Foundation also did not charge them for being at the event.

What goes better with fine food then a glass of wine? There was plenty of wine to be sampled throughout the night. Members of the Chula Vista Public Library Foundation served up a variety of wine selections to each guest. Trader Joe’s was also pouring some of their best selections. Along with wine guest also got to sample some fabulous local beer by the Eastlake Brew House. Magners Irish Cider was also serving up two delicious selection of their hard cider. One table that was getting plenty of attention was Tequila Adan y Eva, who was giving free sample shots and a margarita mixed with their specialty tequilas.

The real winner of the night was the Chula Vista Public Library Foundation for putting together such a fabulous event. Everyone was having a good time throughout the night. Along with food and wine, they also had a silent auction and a few live auction items. Cricket Wireless Amphitheater donated tickets for two upcoming shows on their schedule. The silent auction had some great locally donated items which were bundled together as gift baskets. Tickets for the event were very reasonably priced at only $35. All of the money raised from this event is going right back to the libraries.

“All of the members of the Chula Vista Public Library Foundation are volunteers and every penny goes to the libraries to help them with items and services they need,” said board member Michael Monaco, who was also the MC for the night. “We don’t raise money for any staff positions or pay raises, only for the library so they can keep providing their services to the community.”

The Chula Vista Public Library Foundation was created in 2005 to help raise money for public libraries in Chula Vista. Many of the board members are library employees who know what is needed and how the money can be well spent. They recently made a $50,000 donation to the Otay Ranch Library branch to purchase books, DVDs and other vital items. Southbay Volkswagen has also donated two brand new vehicles to the library on a two year free lease. You can find out more about the foundation by logging on to their website here.

Photos from the Event: Photo Credit Kurt Bunch

Kurt Bunch

Kurt Bunch is the owner of Chula Vista Living. You will often find him at all of the city events taking video or photos to add to the website. Kurt loves to promote the city and let residents know about what is going on in their community. Chula Vista Living was started with just that goal. To follow Kurt Bunch for more coverage of Chula Vista events click here to follow him on Twitter.

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