SOUTH ABINGTON TWP. — Samples from the menus of local restaurants and eateries.

Complimentary beer and wine tasting.

Cigar smoking.

Live music.

Silent auctions.

The Rotary Club of the Abingtons’ 12th annual Taste of the Abingtons fundraiser will feature all this and more, with proceeds benefiting local club programs and causes, as well as efforts to eradicate polio worldwide.

The event, which is open to the public and not just club members, serves as the group’s major fundraiser for the year. It will be held from 2 to 5 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 2 at the Ramada in South Abington Township. Tickets are $35 and can be obtained from any club member, by calling 570-319-1728 or on the event website at tasteoftheabingtons.com.

The cause

Laurie Stephens, event chair, said some examples of local Rotary club projects in the Abingtons community include pocket libraries, dictionaries for area third graders, the Fourth of July fireworks display, various scholarships and more. She explained the national organization’s campaign is also important to the members of the local club, which is why they decided to donate a portion of this year’s event proceeds to that.

“We’re really close to ending polio at this point,” she said. “It was in two countries, but now they just got a couple new cases in Nigeria.”

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Poliomyelitis, or polio, is a highly infectious viral disease, which affects mostly young children.

“Initial symptoms of polio include fever, fatigue, headache, vomiting, stiffness in the neck, and pain in the limbs,” reads a web page devoted to the topic on WHO.int. “In a small proportion of cases, the disease causes paralysis, which is often permanent. There is no cure for polio, it can only be prevented by immunization.”

The sights

Stephens said one highlight of this year’s fundraiser will be the decorations. These will be provided by Weis, with arrangements reflecting the four colors of the Taste of the Abingtons logo: green, purple and blue flowers, with orange pumpkins from Roba Family Farms.

The biggest change in the 2016 event from previous years is the location. Formerly hosted by the Nichols Village Hotel and Spa, it will now be located at the Ramada. The layout will include both ballrooms, Sidney’s dining room and the hotel lobby.

Another new aspect for this year’s fundraiser is a silent auction via smartphone/tablet bidding. Members of the Abington Heights Interact Club will be on hand with iPads to assist attendees who need help using the technology. Stephens said she expects the auction to feature about 50 items. Just a few examples include an overnight stay for two at Fern Hall Inn, valued at $249; Reaper’s Revenge tickets, valued at $70; gift cards to State Street Grill, valued at $50 and $100, and a last will and testament for two from Mattes & Mattes Attorney at Law, valued at $200.

A full list of auction items is available on the event website.

The sounds

Local jazz artists will provide a musical backdrop for the event, with The Nolan Mark Trio performing in the ballroom, Ken McGraw on piano in the lobby and guitarist John Tumavitch in Sidney’s dining room.

“People like the jazz music,” Stephens said. “It’s relaxing.”

The tastes

Stephens said each person in attendance will receive a commemorative wine and snack tray to keep, which they can fill with “tastes” from the more than two dozen restaurants and eateries participating.

Vendors include but are not limited to the following:

· 3 Guys & a Beer’d

· Capra Colina

· Weis Markets

· Abbiocco

· A Little Pizza Heaven

· Cooper’s Edible Arrangements

· Fern Hall

· Harvest Catering

· La Tonalteca Authentic Mexican Restaurant, of Clarks Summit

· Longhorn Steak House

· Manning’s Ice Cream and Milk

· Miller’s Orchard

· Nina’s

· Sidel’s Restaurant

· Perkins Restaurant and Bakery

· Sunrise Cafe

· Windsor Inn

· Bazil

· Thirteen Olives

· Duffy’s Coffee House

· Krispy Kreme

· Gertrude Hawk Chocolate

Weis is in charge of the decorations for this year’s Rotary Club of the Abingtons Taste of the Abingtons fundraiser, which will incorporate flowers and pumpkins to represent each of the four colors in the event logo.
http://www.theabingtonjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/web1_ABJ-Rotary-1.jpg.optimal.jpgWeis is in charge of the decorations for this year’s Rotary Club of the Abingtons Taste of the Abingtons fundraiser, which will incorporate flowers and pumpkins to represent each of the four colors in the event logo. Submitted artwork

Matthew Vinetti, of Camelot Restaurant and Inn, Waverly, served seafood paella at the 2011 Taste of the Abingtons. Although the business is not preparing food for this year’s event, it is participating via an auction donation of an overnight stay at the inn, valued at $95.
http://www.theabingtonjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/web1_ABJ-TOTA-1-1.jpg.optimal.jpgMatthew Vinetti, of Camelot Restaurant and Inn, Waverly, served seafood paella at the 2011 Taste of the Abingtons. Although the business is not preparing food for this year’s event, it is participating via an auction donation of an overnight stay at the inn, valued at $95. Ben Freda file photo | Abington Journal

By Elizabeth Baumeister

ebaumeister@timesleader.com

Want to go?

The Rotary Club of the Abingtons’ 12th annual Taste of the Abingtons will be held from 2 to 5 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 2 at the Ramada in South Abington Township. Tickets are $35 and can be purchased online at tasteoftheabingtons.com. For more info, visit the event website or contact Laurie Stephens, chair, at 570-319-1728 or laurie@about-design.com.

Reach Elizabeth Baumeister at 570-704-3943 or on Twitter @AbingtonJournal.