Simply Splendid Gift Baskets Blog

On Jan. 30 from 8-10 p.m., Café Romeo (534 Orange St.; 203-865-2233, cafe-romeo.com) hosts a fundraiser for local bike activist David Streever, to help with medical bills stemming from his recent bike-car collision. Tickets ($25 at the door, or $20 in advance, available at Café Romeo and Romeo & Cesare's, 771 Orange St.; 203-776-1614, romeoceasersgourmetshop.com or online by clicking here, include a spread of Café Romeo's modern Italian-inspired eats. There will also be a silent auction and raffle prizes donated by caring neighbors: Amadeus Center for Health, Amato's Apizza Restaurant, The Bottle Shop, College Street Cycles, C.O. Jones, L'Orcio, Modern Apizza, Orange Street Liquor Shop, P&M Market, Rumberos Dance Studio, Red Bud Body Care,  Temple Grill,  a wine gift basket from the SoHu Block Watch group, Longerberger berry baskets donated by Leslie and Charlie Hurst,  a gift certificate to Chestnut Fine Foods , tickets to see A Servant of Two Masters at the Yale Rep donated by the New Haven Advocate and pilates sessions donated by Sheilagh Mallory. 

Winemakers, celebrity chefs, craft brewers and more unite for a weekend of tasty indulgence at Mohegan Sun's annual Sun Winefest (1 Mohegan Sun Blvd., Montville; 888-226-7711, sunwinefest.com), Jan. 30-31. The main event is the "Grand Tasting" from 1-5 p.m. ($70), with more than 1,000 varieties of wine, beer and boutique spirits to try, plus cooking demos and side shows like the "Chef Showdown" competition and the festival's first "Grape Stomp," in which teams are given three minutes to stomp the most juice they can out of a bunch of grapes. In addition to all that booze, 24 restaurants (such as Ivoryton's The Copper Beech Inn, Hartford's On20 and Boston's Pure Chocolate) will offer tasting portions of their dishes for an extra charge. For those who want to dive a little deeper, intimate seminars led by wine, spirit and ale experts are held in private dining rooms of the restaurants throughout Mohegan Sun ($55-$85), and there is also an "Elite Cru" tasting of premium wines Jan. 30 at 3 p.m. ($200, including a Grand Tasting ticket and a Bottega del Vino glass), and the swanky "Celebrity Chef Dine Around" gala dinner Jan. 30 at 7 p.m. ($175), where you can meet and greet celebrity chefs Bobby Flay, Govind Armstrong, Christina Pirello, Robert Irvine, Mary Ann Esposito, Todd English and more. Feast without guilt: Sun Winefest benefits many charitable organizations (such as the American Diabetes Association, Connecticut Sports Foundation Against Cancer and Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation).

Vote for your favorite chocolate treat at the Montessori School on Edgewood's Chocolate Festival, Jan. 30 in the Thomas Golden Student Center at St. Thomas More Chapel (268 Park St.; 203-772-3210) from 1-5 p.m. The competition should be tough, with these sweet contenders: 116 Crown, Chestnut Fine Foods, Claire's Corner Copia, Edge of The Woods, La Cuisine, Madison Chocolates, Marjolaine,  Pont Neuf Chocolates and Union League Café. A $10 ticket includes champagne, ChocoVine (a Dutch liquor made with chocolate and red wine) plus your choice of 10 chocolate samples. Proceeds from ticket sales, plus a silent auction (with prizes like an overnight Valentine package at The Study at Yale, a plane ride to Block Island with lunch at Ballard’s Inn and many more), benefit the school.

The East Haven Fire Department Local 1205 and the New Haven County Firefighters Emerald Society invite you to share a buffet lunch at Lakeview Tavern (249 W. Main St., Branford; 203-488-5553, lakeviewtavern.com), Jan. 31 at 3 p.m. Proceeds from ticket sales ($20 adults, $10 for kids) go to help one of their own: EHFD firefighter Joe Ciscone, who was recently injured in the line of duty. For info, call 203-627-8110.

On Jan. 30 from 8-10 p.m., Café Romeo (534 Orange St.; 203-865-2233, cafe-romeo.com) hosts a fundraiser for local bike activist David Streever, to help with medical bills stemming from his recent bike-car collision. Tickets ($25 at the door, or $20 in advance, available at Café Romeo and Romeo & Cesare's, 771 Orange St.; 203-776-1614, romeoceasersgourmetshop.com or online by clicking here, include a spread of Café Romeo's modern Italian-inspired eats. There will also be a silent auction and raffle prizes donated by caring neighbors: Amadeus Center for Health, Amato's Apizza Restaurant, The Bottle Shop, College Street Cycles, C.O. Jones, L'Orcio, Modern Apizza, Orange Street Liquor Shop, P&M Market, Rumberos Dance Studio, Red Bud Body Care,  Temple Grill,  a wine gift basket from the SoHu Block Watch group, Longerberger berry baskets donated by Leslie and Charlie Hurst,  a gift certificate to Chestnut Fine Foods , tickets to see A Servant of Two Masters at the Yale Rep donated by the New Haven Advocate and pilates sessions donated by Sheilagh Mallory. 

Winemakers, celebrity chefs, craft brewers and more unite for a weekend of tasty indulgence at Mohegan Sun's annual Sun Winefest (1 Mohegan Sun Blvd., Montville; 888-226-7711, sunwinefest.com), Jan. 30-31. The main event is the "Grand Tasting" from 1-5 p.m. ($70), with more than 1,000 varieties of wine, beer and boutique spirits to try, plus cooking demos and side shows like the "Chef Showdown" competition and the festival's first "Grape Stomp," in which teams are given three minutes to stomp the most juice they can out of a bunch of grapes. In addition to all that booze, 24 restaurants (such as Ivoryton's The Copper Beech Inn, Hartford's On20 and Boston's Pure Chocolate) will offer tasting portions of their dishes for an extra charge. For those who want to dive a little deeper, intimate seminars led by wine, spirit and ale experts are held in private dining rooms of the restaurants throughout Mohegan Sun ($55-$85), and there is also an "Elite Cru" tasting of premium wines Jan. 30 at 3 p.m. ($200, including a Grand Tasting ticket and a Bottega del Vino glass), and the swanky "Celebrity Chef Dine Around" gala dinner Jan. 30 at 7 p.m. ($175), where you can meet and greet celebrity chefs Bobby Flay, Govind Armstrong, Christina Pirello, Robert Irvine, Mary Ann Esposito, Todd English and more. Feast without guilt: Sun Winefest benefits many charitable organizations (such as the American Diabetes Association, Connecticut Sports Foundation Against Cancer and Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation).

Vote for your favorite chocolate treat at the Montessori School on Edgewood's Chocolate Festival, Jan. 30 in the Thomas Golden Student Center at St. Thomas More Chapel (268 Park St.; 203-772-3210) from 1-5 p.m. The competition should be tough, with these sweet contenders: 116 Crown, Chestnut Fine Foods, Claire's Corner Copia, Edge of The Woods, La Cuisine, Madison Chocolates, Marjolaine,  Pont Neuf Chocolates and Union League Café. A $10 ticket includes champagne, ChocoVine (a Dutch liquor made with chocolate and red wine) plus your choice of 10 chocolate samples. Proceeds from ticket sales, plus a silent auction (with prizes like an overnight Valentine package at The Study at Yale, a plane ride to Block Island with lunch at Ballard’s Inn and many more), benefit the school.

The East Haven Fire Department Local 1205 and the New Haven County Firefighters Emerald Society invite you to share a buffet lunch at Lakeview Tavern (249 W. Main St., Branford; 203-488-5553, lakeviewtavern.com), Jan. 31 at 3 p.m. Proceeds from ticket sales ($20 adults, $10 for kids) go to help one of their own: EHFD firefighter Joe Ciscone, who was recently injured in the line of duty. For info, call 203-627-8110.