An evening full of fine wine, delicious treats and a live auction sounds like a perfect night out and goes a long way toward planting more parkway trees in downtown Geneva.
The fifth annual Wine, Cheese & Trees fundraiser will take place from 7 to 10 p.m. Saturday, March 5 at the Persinger Recreation Center, 3507 Kaneville Road. The event is being hosted by the City of Geneva’s Natural Resources Committee (NRC).
Six wines will be paired with cheese, appetizers and desserts from local merchants. The evening also will feature a silent auction, live music, a “wine wall” and live auction, which will include an instant wine cellar, a year of dry cleaning, a stay at the Seth Peterson Cottage in Wisconsin and other great prizes.
Tickets can be purchased for $30 per person or four tickets for $100 at the Geneva Wine Cellars and Tasting Room, 227 S. Third St.; Geneva Chamber of Commerce, 8 S. Third St.; or online at the link below. No City funds have been used to purchase alcohol for this event.
The NRC has pledged to use event proceeds toward a City parkway reforestation program called the Greening Geneva initiative. Like many communities in the Chicago area, Geneva lost a number of ash trees due to the Emerald Ash Borer infestation. The City has removed more than 2,700 of the 2,800 infected parkway ash trees during the past several years.
To date, the NRC has donated $20,000 to the City to purchase and plant 60 new trees in downtown Geneva. The committee is hoping to raise another $20,000 at the March 5 fundraiser.
The NRC also is looking at additional opportunities to educate the community about the importance of trees in an urban environment. To this end, committee members will be visiting Geneva schools and planting oak trees with students for future generations to enjoy.
For more information on the Wine, Cheese & Trees fundraiser, contact NRC Chairman Jay Womack at 630-299-9945 or email him at jwomack@wrdenvironmental.com. To learn more about the committee, visit the City’s website or the “Geneva NRC” on Facebook.