Ice cream at Mission Hill Creamery, an official Santa Cruz Warriors partner and a participant in this weekend’s Taste of the Warriors
The inaugural Taste of the Warriors—Saturday, Oct. 10, at downtown Santa Cruz’s Kaiser Permanente Arena—is a family-friendly event with food, wine, beer, and entertainment. The Santa Cruz Mountain Winegrowers Association and the Santa Cruz Warriors (the 2015 champions of the NBA’s Development League) are partnering to host this benefit for Santa Cruz City Schools (SCCS). In addition to serving wine from 19 local wineries including several South County vintners, the event will feature selections from several restaurants including local chefs who are SCCS alums. There will be photo ops with championship trophies from the Golden State and Santa Cruz Warriors. For more information or tickets, visit santacruzbasketball.com. The party will be from 6:30-9:30 p.m. and the arena is at 140 Front St.
For the kids, there will be a special area with a jump house, face painting, basketball hoops, and kid-friendly food. Adults can enjoy beer from Uncommon Brewers and New Bohemia and wine from the aforementioned wineries; their tickets include a souvenir Warriors wine glass. There are lots of restaurants and food vendors including Hoffman’s Bistro (Adam Hoffman is a SCCS alumnus), Assembly, Kianti’s, Pacific Thai, Back Nine Grill & Bar (chef Michele Costa is a SCCS alumna), Pleasure Pizza, Ristorante Italiano, Whitings’ Food, Goose’s Goodies (owner Marci Prolo is an alum), Penny Ice Creamery, and Mission Hill Creamery. Back Nine is serving rib tips; Hoffman’s is dishing up bruschetta and pineapple pulled pork sliders; Ristorante Italiano is providing homemade meatballs with marinara and meat dipping sauces plus mini Caprese salads; and Goose’s will provide toffee. Participating wineries include Alfaro, Armitage, Bargetto, Bartolo, Bottle Jack, Burrell School, Byington, Clos LaChance, Dancing Creek, Equinox, Odonata, and Stockwell Cellars.
Tickets have been on sale for a while at $50 in advance or $70 at the door. Those under 21 pay $10. On Oct. 7 organizers announced a 2-for-1 ticket deal. For that promotion, you need to call the Warriors ticket number (831-713-4400) or buy tickets at the door. Event proceeds will benefit SCCS, which serves 7,000 students. Since relocating to Santa Cruz in 2012, the D-League Warriors have collaborated with the district through the Read to Achieve and Math Warriors programs.
“We’re proud to host this event as part of our ongoing commitment to support our public schools,” said Santa Cruz Warriors President Jim Weyermann. “We are all champions when we stand together.” He described the upcoming event as “a family night that celebrates our community’s culinary talents, exemplary winemaking and dedication to education.”
Other highlights for Oct. 10 include an appearance by Warriors dual champion James Michael McAdoo who will take photos with fans; a raffle with autographed Warriors prizes such as jerseys signed by MVPs Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson. Flowers will be provided by alumna Wendy Melrose of Lina Floral.
Follow me on Twitter @santacruzfoodie.