Museum of Natural History Hosts Kick-off for Wine + Food Festival

On March 12 at the Wine Shepherd, the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History kicked off its Santa Barbara Wine + Food Festival at the Wine Shepherd. Staff, sponsors, media, and friends gathered to kick off this delightful annual fundraiser held in the beautiful backyard of the museum. Guests at the June 29th event get to sample fine Central Coast wines along with gourmet food pairings under the oaks along Mission Creek.

President and CEO Luke Swetland welcomed and thanked the guests. He lauded the museum’s festival as the premier wine festival both because of the extraordinary quality of wine and food that is served and the lovely venue where it is held. He shared how since completing the Centennial Project, the size of the backyard has doubled, but the same number of tickets will be sold to ensure guests can easily engage with chefs and vintners. The Centennial Project also created the Sprague Butterfly Pavilion, whose butterflies will be visible to festival goers from the backyard.

Nearly 70 wineries and 40 chefs are participating this year. One of the best parts is getting to chat with winemakers and chefs in the idyllic, relaxed environment. All proceeds benefit museum exhibits and education programs.

The 200 VIP tickets have already sold out, general admission tickets are still available but always sell out. To purchase tickets or learn more about the museum, go to sbnature.org.

Send invites to gail@independent.com.