FAWC: Eat, drink and be merry

Glitz and glamour is the order of tomorrow's 23rd annual Lowe Corporation Rescue Helicopter Trust Cocktail Party.

Now in its 23rd year, it has merged with Hawke's Bay's Food and Wine Classic and will be held at Lindisfarne College from 5.30pm. "F.A.W.C! is exciting and it's growing, our event is associated with food and wine as well and it lands in the middle of their winter series; we decided to join them for 2015," fundraising and marketing manager Louise Harvey says.

Run by Hastings Karamu Rotary Club, this year's party takes on a "reds and rotors" theme with a lady in red competition for the most dazzling outfit. Prizes for the best-dressed include a voucher from Hollands shoes and Elizabeth Horne, jewellery from Papillon and a package from Mia Dolce in Havelock North. "It's all a bit of fun to get people dressed up and all those local stores really came on board with the idea."

Simon Tremain led the auction at last year's Lowe Corporation Rescue Helicopter Trust Cocktail Party at Lindisfarne College, which raised $80,000.

Hawke's Bay's freshest produce will be matched with Vidal Estate wines and bubbles from Advintage. The charity and silent auctions are a vital part of the evening and last year raised a total of $80,000. Organisers are hoping for another successful evening, with people bidding on the 14 major lots or picking up options in the silent auction. "We have got some amazing items - a trip to Vanuatu with House of Travel, an instant wine cellar where a dozen wineries have donated 13 wine bottles each."

It is a chance for people support a great cause - with limited tickets still available. This weekend's F.A.W.C! events have proved so popular most have already sold out, but people who have left it to the last minute can walk up to the Havelock North's Food Alley on Napier Rd, for some street eats today from 5pm to 8pm.

There are also a handful of places left for Nourish & Flourish at Farmhouse Kitchen Cooking School on Saturday from 10am.

Tom McDonald Cellar at Church Road Winery has been revamped and hosts Saturday's Vive La Revolution. Church Road Winemaker Chris Scott's bottled best goes head-to-head with Geoff Wilson of Convivium, who has some impressive French drops. Craft-beer connoisseurs do not want to miss Tuatara II at Westshore Beach Inn - Crossing Bier Garden - and the chance to sample six brews with snacks on offer.

-Tickets to the Lowe Corporation Rescue Helicopter Trust Cocktail Party are $95 each, including food and beverages; groups of 10, $900. Available from Thomson's Suits, Hastings, or Advintage, Havelock North.