Friday, March 29, 2024

Merlot and merriment expected at Saturday’s May Surprise

The annual May Surprise will return to Will S. Green Park on Saturday with wine tasting, a plein air painting contest, a plant sale, and maybe a few other surprises.

“This is our 19th event,” said Jim White, who co-organizes the wine tasting with his wife, Cynthia, on behalf of the Colusa County Friends of the Library. “It is our largest fundraiser.”

This year, May Surprise, the tastiest day of the year, falls on “International No Diet Day,” which means people can happily indulge in a variety of wines, cheeses, and desserts for only $20, while supporting a good cause.

Tickets can be purchased in advance but will also be available at the event, said Cynthia White.

The Friends of the Library is a community-based volunteer organization dedicated to advocating for the Colusa County Library.

The organization started May Surprise at the Scout Cabin nearly two decades ago to raise money for books and enhanced services in the Colusa County Free Library system, which has always been subject to budget cuts during lean years.

Although trimming the 2023-24 budget is on the horizon, Supervisors Kent Boes, Gary Evans, Merced Corona, Daurice Kalfsbeek, and Janice Bell each pitched in $100 of their own money to support Saturday’s event, as the board traditionally does.

“We just never know what this next year is going to bring,” Cynthia White said. “One of the easiest things for them to say is ‘close the libraries’.”

To make this year’s fundraising a bigger success, the Friends of the Library have brought in some of the finest wines in the region, including Brooke Bachmann’s, Arbuckle’s newest winemaker, Sweetheart Vineyards. Also up for tasting are wines from Eylse Winery, from Napa Valley, and Matchbook Winery, in the Dunnigan Hills.

Holly’s Hill Winery, from El Dorado County, and Capay Valley Vineyards will both be at the event for the 19th year in a row, and Mike and Amy Doherty will be pouring wines from their Grindstone Winery in Arbuckle.

“And, of course, we have the newly engraved signature wine glasses, thanks to Lloyd and the Stitches shop,” White said.

The Friends of the Library wine tasting event will be held from noon until 3 PM, and is part of a full day of activities, beginning with the Garden Club of Colusa County’s plant sale inside the Davison Pavilion, from 9 AM to noon.

The Colusa County Arts Council will host a Plein Air painting contest. Open registration begins at 9 AM at Will S. Green Park. The contest closes at 2 PM for judging. The winner will receive a $250 prize.

All are welcome to enter, but there are limited supplies, or painters can bring their own.
Painters can paint on any medium, but the work must be completed entirely on the park grounds during the event.

The public is encouraged to come out and support all the May Surprise events. The weather is expected to be cool and only partly cloudy. ■

More information

May Surprise – Saturday, May 6
Will S. Green Park, Parkhill & 10th St., Colusa
■ Garden Club Plant Sale, 9 AM to Noon (Davison Park Pavilion). Cut flowers, indoor and outdoor plants, silent auction.
■ Colusa County Arts Council Plein Air Contest, 9 AM (Registration) to 2 PM (Judging). No cost to enter; $250 prize to the winner.
■ Friends of the Library Wine, Cheese, Dessert Tasting, Noon-3 PM (Scout Cabin), $20 per person (over age 21).

Susan Meeker
Susan Meeker
Editor and Reporter of the Pioneer Review, Susan has had decades of experience reporting news in Colusa County. To contact Susan, email susan@colusacountynews.net or call (530) 458-4141

FOUND AN ERROR
The Pioneer Review strives for an accurate and complete news report. We strive to be responsive in correcting errors in material published online and in print. To request a correction, or a clarification, please email: publisher@mpg8.com

More News