Wine, chocolate to make beautiful music at Grape Expectations

Grape Expectations flavors Friday, Nov. 13, as the annual fall fundraiser for the Elgin Youth Symphony Orchestra. It unfolds from 7 to 10 p.m. at Fox Valley University and Business Center on the campus of Elgin Community College, 1700 Spartan Drive, Elgin.
 
About 30 red and white wines will be offered for tasting from WineStyles in Lake in the Hills, along with homemade and hand-dipped chocolates from Graham’s Chocolates of Geneva. The chocolate tasting was a new addition last year. The event also features appetizers; silent auction; cash raffle; and musical performances by EYSO ensembles. Silent auction items include sports memorabilia, gift baskets and special events.

“Over the years, Grape Expectations has become our board of directors’ signature public fundraising event,” says Yosh Kodama, who chairs the benefit, which helps support student scholarships. “We see many of the same people every year, along with those who are attending for the first time. The food and wine are fantastic, and we have a lot of fun putting the event together.”

Tickets cost $45 per person in advance, or $55 at the door. Tickets for the cash raffle, whose top prize is $500, cost $10, or three for $25. Winners need not be present and raffle tickets may be purchased prior to the event.
 
For more information, visit http://grapes.eyso.org or call (847) 841-7700.

The Elgin Youth Symphony Orchestra, an In-Residence Ensemble in the Arts Center at Elgin Community College, is home to five orchestras with nearly 300 students from 66 communities. The program is partially supported by grants from the Palmer Foundation, the Elgin Cultural Arts Commission, the Illinois Arts Council, and the JP Morgan Chase Foundation.