For those that have not been involved, this event has been set up by our club as a major fundraiser to support our charitable works, and the event continues to grow! We have worked with Ravissant to host the event again this year, and have made some minor changes to increase the success for this year. We hope you will join us and look forward to helping numerous organizations promote their clubs and events.

First let me provide you a brief outline of the way the event works. We (SCCE), sell tickets for admission. These tickets are pre-sold, and available at the door. The tickets sell for $15 dollars each in advance or $20 at the door, which includes entry to the event and an entry to a raffle for (prize to be determined but will be equal to or greater than last year's bed and breakfast stays). I will talk more on tickets later. Once admitted, a guest receives a wine glass (while supplies last) and they are free to sample wine all night, or to buy a bottle and enjoy the evenings’ events. Ravissant provides the wine tasting and keeps all proceeds from the wine sales. SCCE also runs a food booth. Again this year we will be selling Bratwurst, Pork-ka-bobs, chips and soda/water. We also provide the entertainment for the evening. Throughout the night we also conduct a 50/50 drawing and a raffle of the pumpkins used as the table center pieces. Finally, other clubs, such as yours, setup to sell additional food items, conduct raffles, silent auctions, or provide informational displays. This year we will be announcing the charities involved on our flyer. When you sign up for a booth, we will gladly add your cause to the list.

Back to the tickets. In the past, clubs have been able to obrain and pre-sell tickets. We will continue this again this year with a minor change. Clubs interested in pre-selling will buy the tickets from us up front. The prise will be $12/ticket. You then re-sell them for he $15 printed pre-event price keeping the $3/ticket for your club.

Now on to the challenge! We have had numerous persons express interest in the booth space, and this year we approaching this a little differently. First we have increased the number of booths to the maximum amount the Ravissant can handle at this point. Second we have provided a reservation form so that you can define exactly what you will be selling. This will help us as we start the ticket sales to let people know what to expect. We have set the fee for renting the booth at $75 if reserved prior to the 15th of August. After the 15th, the price will be $100. This fee will be NON-REFUNDABLE. (Due to scheduling constraints, this event will go on rain or shine!) This fee goes to SCCE and is very fair when you consider the revenue from your sales will far exceed this.

Finally, we are sending out this letter to many organizations, not just Rotary Clubs. The reason for this is simple. Whether you are Rotary, Kiwanis, Optimist, Mason, Lions, or something else; we all share the same goal – Doing charitable work to make our communities better. We think the fall festival is a great way to showcase this and therefore want to expand the option for others to join us. With this, we have expanded the number of booths available to 10 (This is what the Ravissant can accommodate at this point), and hope to fill them with clubs wanting to get their word out and make some money for their cause. Our plan is for other clubs such as yours to join in and provide some type of food sales or other fundraiser. We also look to the clubs participating to help pre-sell tickets.

So how do you join in? Enclosed you will find a booth reservation sheet. The first ten I receive back with the fee, will get the booths. Also, any individual or organization that participates in the event described in this letter agrees to provide the Rotary Club of St. Clair County East (SCCE) with a copy of a Certificate of Insurance or other written assurance, as determined by SCCE, that such individual or organization has adequate liability insurance. If there is a demanding response, I will work with Ravissant to see if more booth space can be obtained. If this happens, I will go in the order received to assign the additional space. Also on the form, is a place for you to provide a point of contact and information about your organization. Please make sure to include this so I can coordinate details with them.

Finally, SCCE is proud to have launched this festival and we look forward to continuing to host it again with hopes of even bigger success. We look forward to you joining us and hope that you plan for a fun, entertaining, and profitable evening. Please feel free to contact me at downey91@charter.net or 618-567-5752 if you have any questions.

Patrick C. Downey
Committee Chair

For More Information
1-618-974-1673