A former newspaper reporter who has lived in Franklin for nearly 40 years, Marjorie is active in several Franklin and Hales Corners organizations.
The Friends of the Franklin Public Library are going all out on Saturday, October 25, to entertain guests at a wine tasting party. The doors of the library will open at 6 p.m., and for the next three hours guests will have a chance to sample wines, appetizers and desserts; place their bids on a number of silent auction items; and watch Staci Joers (“Cooking with Class”) demonstrate some of her culinary specialties – including flaming desserts. Background music will be provided by pianist Laurie Mentzer.
Tickets for the event are $30 in advance or $35 at the door. All proceeds from the event, including the silent auction and a quilt raffle, will go toward the purchase of new computers in the children’s area. Advance tickets are available at the library or from Consumer Beverage, Hales Corners.
Wine will be served at eight stations, explained Diane Oleson, Friends member and chairperson of this event. One station will feature wines from New Zealand and Australia, another from South America, another from Europe. Domestic wines from the Northwest, Napa Valley and Sonoma will be featured at other stations. A tempting array of appetizers and desserts will also be available at these stations.
Judy Roberts, President of the Friends, said that every dollar raised from this event will be used to buy new computers for the children’s area of the library. The computers currently being used are outdated – they can’t accommodate new DVD software.
The City of Franklin budget is tight this year, and the City Council wasn’t able to provide for updating the computers. Here’s a chance, though, for people of the Franklin community to help out.
Roberts outlined several ways people of the community can support this fundraising endeavor:
1) Buy tickets for the Oct. 25th party. If you don’t want to use them yourself, give them to a friend, relative or neighbor who would appreciate them.
2) Buy quilt raffle tickets. Ten beautiful quilts made by one of the library quilting groups are being donated for this fundraising event. Patrons may choose their favorite quilt and drop the raffle ticket into the jar with the corresponding number. Tickets are $1 each or 6 for $5 and can be purchased at the library desk.
3) Make an outright donation to the Friends, with the notation that it be earmarked for the Children’s Computer Fund.
To purchase 12 new computers would cost roughly $15,000, Library Director Barbara Roark said. These computers are well used by the children in this community, she pointed out, checking her records. In July there were 1,187 children using the library computers.
“These computers are filtered,” Roberts added. Parents need to know that there are safeguards in place.
“ The Franklin Library is an excellent venue for this kind of party,” said Oleson. This is her second year chairing the wine-tasting event. It was a big success last year and this year promises to be even better.
For more information, call Diane Oleson at 414-427-7284.
