Six Cal Poly students will host the fourth annual Flavor of SLO, a food, wine and beer tasting event in downtown San Luis Obispo on Sunday.
The event will raise funds for United Way of San Luis Obispo County, an organization which provides education, income and health support to community members.
Communication studies seniors Lisa Hillebrecht, Allison Sasscer, Quinn Thompson, Sarah Cooper, Alyssa Santos and Courtney Wen will host Flavor of SLO as their senior project, having divided the event coordination throughout the year between event planning, vendors and marketing.
“It’s cool to see all of our hard work and all our knowledge from communication studies pay off, and our ability to donate to a really great cause,” said Santos, one of the event marketing coordinators. “It’s really important for us to draw community members, especially because we’re donating to the San Luis Obispo community.”
Flavor of SLO will consist of more than 20 local vendors, a raffle and silent auction. Attendees will sample an array of Italian, Asian, Mexican, American and Mediterranean food in addition to beer and wine from Paso Robles, Avila and Edna Valley.
“Normally if you went wine tasting, you would have to pay for every winery you go to, and same with breweries,” Santos said. “At our event you have a flat fee … you just pay once, and then you would be able to taste over 20 vendors.”
Attendees can also enjoy live performances by jazz musician Dave Burns and local alternative and folk band History of Painters while tasting and mingling.
“We’re expecting a really good response to those (performers) because they’re both local,” Santos said.
In addition to entertainment, students will have unique networking opportunities at the event they normally would not have otherwise, said Allison Sasscer, an co-event coordinator.
“It’s a really good networking opportunity for a lot of different majors — wine and viticulture majors, business majors, any kind of sales, marketing,” Sasscer said. “There’s just opportunities to talk to managers and people who are in charge that normally you wouldn’t be able to get a hold of. It’s like a free job fair.”
There will be some limitations in the student population that can attend, as Flavor of SLO is a 21-and-over event. However, those who are old enough have the advantage of exploring many different San Luis Obispo venues in one spot, said Lisa Hillebrecht, a co-event coordinator.
Many local organizations and businesses have contributed efforts in planning and supporting the event, Hillebrecht said.
“From the United Way board members we’ve seen an incredible amount of generosity and support and just a lot of guidance,” Hillebrecht said. “With the local vendors, they’re willing to give us their whole day and serve and donate their food, wine and drinks, and even donations to our silent auction. It’s been really great to see the whole community come together.”
Besides the local community’s support and donations, the media has played a big role in the event’s publicity and funding, Santos said. Krush 92.5, a wine radio station, is sponsoring the event.
Last year, 223 event tickets were sold, raising thousands of dollars for United Way, said AmeriCorps VIP fellow of United Way Jessica Blum. This year’s ticket sales look promising as well.
“We’ve sold more by this date than last year on this date, so it’s on a good track,” Blum said. “Hopefully, the word has gotten out more because it is such a fun and interesting event.”
Flavor of SLO was created in 2009 by a Cal Poly student as a senior project to stimulate interest in local restaurants, wineries and breweries. A team of communication studies seniors continues to produce the event every year since, offering a new set of vendors and raising funds for United Way each time.
The event will take place Sunday at the Jack House & Gardens, located at 536 Marsh Street, from 1 to 4 p.m. Tickets are $45 for general admission and $30 for students. They are available online or the day of the event for $55 for general admission and $40 for students.