EDUCATION – Live Manhattan Beach Wine Auction returns
by Mark McDermott
The Manhattan Wine Auction will bring the community together to celebrate and support local education live, and in person for the first time since 2019.
The Wine Auction, organized by the Manhattan Beach Education Foundation and hosted by the Manhattan Country Club, had become perhaps the community’s signature event prior to the pandemic, and in so doing raised millions of dollars for Manhattan Beach Unified Schools. MBEF made do with online events the past two years, but neither community involvement nor excitement could match the gala-like exuberance of the in-person event.
MBEF executive director Hilary Mahan said she suspects its three-year absence will make this year’s event electric.
“We’re anticipating a lot of excitement and energy around our community joining together,” Mahan said. “We saw it firsthand when tickets sold out within three minutes for our reserved room, and within 12 hours for general admission. We have a waitlist of well over 300 guests who all would love to attend and participate in our event, and that indicates that our community is ready to not only move beyond the challenges of the last few years, but really are prepared to come together and celebrate our schools. We’ve heard a lot of negativity, and a lot of polarizing messages in the community. The need to come together in celebration is evident.”
The Wine Auction is about a lot more than wine, although it features over 80 wineries, 50 restaurants, and several breweries, and does indeed include live and silent auctions for wine as well as meals and vacations, and various goods and services donated by local businesses in support of education. The event is also a who’s who of local dignitaries and a networking extravaganza. Ultimately, though, the Wine Auction is the biggest single day in support of local schools in Manhattan Beach.
This year, the focus is on building the MBEF Endowment, which aims to sustainably contribute $1 million annually to schools. Additionally, a “Paddleraise” has set a goal to raise $300,000 specifically for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) programs.
“MBEF has always been looking to support sustainable funding in our district. And our grants each year, in particular, have been directed towards enrichment. That’s been our mission, as well as bringing quality programs to our schools and opportunities for our students that wouldn’t otherwise be available with funding. What’s happened over the years as state funding has really not grown with time is that our funding has had to fill in gaps so that we simply have classroom teachers in the classrooms. People who aren’t privy to the ins and outs of a school district budget don’t see the cuts that are being made year after year. MBEF truly recognizes that we have to be able to create some sort of system of sustainable funding. A parcel tax is one way. The endowment is another way.”
Those unable to attend in-person can still take part in the silent auction, which opens on May 28 at ManhattanWineAuction.com.
“Anyone can bid on items, including amazing wine that has been contributed by our community, over $160,000 worth of value in wine alone, which is over 800 bottles,” Mahan said. “It’s tremendous.”
Two pre-auction events are also scheduled that still have capacity, a casual wine tasting on the Shade Hotel rooftop, and a private dinner at a home. See ManhattanWineAuction.com for more information. ER