Live auctions highlight Thursday’s Grape Escapes

The F.O.R. Maricopa food bank will hold both live and silent auctions as part of its 2nd Annual Grape Escapes wine tasting this Thursday.

Live auction winners will trade places for a day and have lunch with one of the following city officials: Mayor Anthony Smith, Vice Mayor Brent Murphree, Public Safety Director Patrick Melvin or City Manager Kevin Evans. These gentlemen will perform the winners’ jobs for a few hours, while winners get to experience being a city official.

F.O.R. Maricopa will also auction off dinner with the firefighters of the Maricopa Fire Department.

Silent auction items include private selection wines, photography packages, works of art, $500 worth of dental work, a pair of sunglasses valued at $450 and an array of gift cards to many of the restaurants in Maricopa.

The wine tasting event will begin at 7 p.m. in the Silver Spur restaurant at the Duke at Rancho El Dorado; it includes food pairings, live music and take-home bottles of wine and wine glasses for each guest.

F.O.R. Maricopa Executive Director Wendy Webb hopes to raise $10,000 from this year’s event, compared to the $6,500 raised last year.

A few tickets are still available at $60 per person or $100 for a couple. They are available for purchase at the food bank’s Web site.

Submitted photo