For someone who has never been to , the route leading to it can be deceiving. Who’d expect to find such a beautiful facility, and such great wine, in an area surrounded by industrial parks and, in the distance, the outline of Commerce City refinery?
It was the very pleasant setting for “Live at the Vineyards,” an evening of food and jazz that is the signature fundraiser for / .
The 900 guests started out sampling , including chicken mole, crawfish cakes from and pan-blistered shishito peppers dressed with miso vinaigrette from . Desserts ranged from to cupcakes from the
And, of course, there was plenty of Balistreri wine.
Then came the , featuring the king of nouveau swing, Donald Harrison; funk guitarist Leo Nocentelli; pianist Henry Butler and guitarist Detroit Brooks.
Doug Price, the president/CEO of Rocky Mountain PBS, joined KUVO’s general manager, Carlos Lando, and public affairs manager Steve Chavis in welcoming such supporters as former state legislator Rosemary Marshall and her husband, Cleophus; Jim Foster, head of the Rocky Mountain PBS board; Joanie and Bill Greer; Chris Chavez, director of government affairs and communications for United Launch Alliance, and his wife, Jennifer, co-founder of Cross Court Creative; president Jeff Martinez and his wife, Lisa Raigoza-Martinez; and Charley Samson, producer/host of
Marta Welch, senior director of strategic communications and marketing for Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains, was there with her friends Susan L. Hyatt-Grebow Billotte, an administrator with the Denver Public Defender’s office, and Shannon Needham, human resources information system analyst for Intrawest.
Others supporting the cause were the Rev. Stephan Papa; Patricia Prevost, vice president and chief development officer for Colorado Public Radio; Jim White, director of community affairs for Volunteers of America, and his wife, Janice; Ryan Welch, director of major giving for Rocky Mountain PBS; and Amanda Balestrieri, who, though her last name is spelled differently, enjoyed tracing the family tree with Julie Balistreri, the daughter of winery owners John and Birdie Balistreri.
Joanne Davidson: 303-809-1314, jdavidson@denverpost.com or twitter.com/joannedavidson
