Come join us for 'A Night in the Vineyard'

Excitement is growing for the second annual "A Night in the Vineyard" dinner/ auction fundraiser on Saturday evening, August 27, 2016. Last year's debut proved to be incredibly successful for Tehachapi's Norbertine community, as well as provided exhilarating fun for the sold-out crowd of attendees. Sponsored by the Friends of the Norbertine Canonesses, the event provides fine music, hors d'ouevres and wine tasting, dinner and dessert, shopping (the Sisters' "portable" monastery gift shop) and auction.

In honor of the Norbertine Order's origin in Premontre, France, and the cultural heritage of Mother Mary Augustine, Prioress and Superior of the monastery, this year's menu will be French-inspired.

Triassic Vineyard will provide the venue for the event along with their awardwinning wines. Wine tastings are included in the price of the event ticket so that attendees can experience more of Triassic's unique tastes.

Those who had the good fortune of attending last year's event will remember the dynamic fun of the live auction. We were honored to find a live auctioneer, Eddie Lugo, Jr., in our midst who offered his services that evening. We are happy to announce that Mr. Lugo will return this year, so attendees should get ready with their speedy responses!

Jim Scott, KGET News Anchor, will also be returning as this year's emcee. Mr. Scott has proven to be a great friend to the Norbertine "Sisters of the Mountain," and we feel privileged that he shares his voice and talent to our event.

This year, the main guest speaker will be Catholic Hollywood Producer Leo Severino, co-founder of Metanoia Films of Hollywood ("Bella," "Little Boy"). Leo graduated from the University of Southern California Law School in 1999, and started his career as a young lawyer in one of the world's largest law firms (Gibson Dunn & Crutcher) in their prestigious Los Angeles and London offices. He quickly found his niche in the firm's Latin American Corporate Transactions department, but his heart had been set on Hollywood since his 1997 summer internship with 20th Century Fox. In 2001, he transitioned into entertainment law, moving to the Fox Networks Group where, as Director of Business Affairs, he was the youngest executive in the department and handled the national programming division. A providential meeting with Eduardo Verástegui in 2004 resulted in Leo's departure from 20th Century Fox to co-found Metanoia Films. Leo is a writer and producer of the films Bella, Crescendo and Little Boy. He has been a very special friend and ardent supporter of the Norbertine Canonesses. He and his wife and two children live in Southern California.

The music will be provided by several local artists and the fun will begin at 5 p.m. The sit-down dinner will be served at 6:30 p.m., followed by the guest presentations and live auction.

As already mentioned, last year's event sold out. This year, the venue is being expanded to increase the number of attendees possible. We encourage you to get your tickets early to take advantage of our early purchase discount. Tickets are $100/person if you purchase by July 30, 2016; after that the price is $125/person. For more information, please go to our website at http://www.FriendsoftheNorbertineCanonesses of Tehachapi.com or call Liz Wolfe at (661) 319-0691. We also have a Facebook page (Friends of the Norbertine Sisters).