Wine, brew and cheese raise funds for firefighters

Wine, Cheese and Brew to rock former golf course
Hip Service, Sacramento’s favorite dance party, returns to the former El Dorado Hills Executive Golf Course on Saturday, Sept. 8, at 6 p.m. for the Firefighters’ Association’s 40th annual Wine, Cheese and Brew Festival.

The Hipsters have delivered their butt-shaking mix of old-school soul, knee-buckling funk, throwback disco and hip hop cool at the last several Wine, Cheese and Brew events, pumping hormones into the old golf course every year.

Anyone who’s experienced these dozen-or-so talented hotties can appreciate the presence of paramedics when they take the stage.

The Wine, Cheese and Brew Festival’s name has lengthened over the years as the event itself has evolved and expanded with the community it serves.

Nowadays, in addition to a couple dozen of the best wines in the region, the fest includes great local brews. River City and Lockdown will pour, and local brewer Mike Mraz is bringing his latest creations. The free taxi service returns this year to ensure you don’t get locked up on the way home.

The culinary options have expanded from the Saltines and toothpick-stabbed cheese cubes of the 1970s to local food purveyors that run the gamut from San Francisco Sourdough to Sienna, with goodies from the Shiver Sisters, Cold Stone and Chateau Arme that will force you onto the dance turf to burn off calories.

Other local food purveyors include Ruffhaus Dogs, Original Pete’s, El Dorado Saloon, Caffé Santoro, Chilis, Round Table, Dos Coyotes, We Olive, Kama Sushi, Debbie Wong, Beach Hut and Steve’s Pizza, plus all three local supermarkets and Trader Joes.

The classic car show and silent auction will also be back.

The fest is a fundraiser for the El Dorado Hills Firefighters Association, which, like the event, has evolved over the years.

The association was originally formed to purchase much-needed equipment for the district. Proceeds from the first wine tasting in 1972 bought El Dorado Hills’ first “jaws of life,” according to former association President Dennis Ferguson.

It now funds an array of public safety and community programs, plus community-defining family events, while retaining its original mission to serve the district at the budgetary fringes.

The association also funds the recruit academy, honor guard and the recently formed Pipes and Drums. Members will be on hand showing off their kilts.

El Dorado Hills’ first Fire Safe Council, formed in the woodsy Lakehills neighborhood, got a $2,000 jump-start from the association. It also funds, and in some cases puts on, school programs, including Every 15 Minutes, Skid-Lids for Kids and the Safe Place program.

The annual Santa Run and Christmas tree lighting are huge winter events put on by the association that have enthralled generations of children, while helping fund the food bank, Toys for Tots and many other charities.

Tickets are $40. Buy 10 and get two free.

For more information or to buy tickets online visit edhfire.com.