GLEN RIDGE, NJ — It’s back! The Kiwanis Club of Glen Ridge will once again hold its gala fundraiser, OctoberFeast, on Monday, Oct. 24, from 6 to 8:30 p.m. Back after a two-year hiatus, the event will be held at the Glen Ridge Women’s Club, 219 Ridgewood Ave.
Local restaurants will provide a range of delectable international cuisines — including Italian, Asian, Greek and American — along with luscious desserts and coffee. Glen Ridge Home Brewers will offer a sampling of different beers, and Claremont Distillery will provide spirits. Attendees will also have a chance to taste wines from Italy and California, thanks to ShopRite Wines & Spirits of Caldwell.
According to past club President Jeff Monacelli, this year’s event will feature nearly 20 restaurateurs, all offering something different.
“We tried to mix it up, so there are a number of local, upscale restaurateurs and a mix of international. So there’s a mix of foods,” Monacelli told The Glen Ridge Paper. “There are going to be nearly 20 round-top tables around the food, so people can take their food to these tables and mingle while enjoying their wine or beer or spirits with their food.”
Beyond food and beverage, tickets for an array of tricky tray baskets are available. Basket items include wine; movie tickets; gift certificates to restaurants, hair salons and massages; baby items; and holiday-themed prizes.
“We have a tricky tray; it’s incredible, between 40 and 50 items, each more than $75 in value,” Monacelli said, adding that the event will be split into two sections, one with the food and drink and the other with the tricky tray. Regardless of which room attendees spend the most time in, Monacelli pointed out that they will still be able to enjoy the Women’s Club’s “beautiful, old-fashioned Georgian architecture.”
While the event itself is enough of a draw, Monacelli reminds residents that the cause is even greater. Kiwanis is an international nonprofit service organization located in 80 countries with more than 550,000 members around the world. Every penny raised goes to benefit children, both locally and around the globe. The Kiwanis Club of Glen Ridge sponsors youth service groups, called Key Clubs, in Glen Ridge and Clifton. In addition, the Glen Ridge club runs the town’s annual Memorial Day Parade and picnic, organizes biannual collection drives at which thousands of dollars of goods are donated to Goodwill, awards scholarships to high school graduates in appreciation and recognition for their community service, and supports other long-term projects. Over the past five years, the club has donated $12,500 toward the purchase of the town’s new ambulance. The club has performed more than 100 community projects in its 75-year history. This year’s club services also focus on support for Ukrainian refugees.
“Every penny we collect goes to our charities and services,” Monacelli said of funds raised at OctoberFeast. “Our charities and services are primarily focused on children, because we want children to develop a spirit of giving early in life. We have many of these children working with us on projects doing things for other people.
“By the time they graduate high school, they’ve worked on many, many projects,” he continued. “They’ve spent a lot of time being altruistic in their early and young years of their lives, so by the time they are adults, it is in their bones.”
Tickets can be purchased at octoberfeastglenridge.com or by calling club treasurer Carl Bergmanson at 973-748-4020.
“We’ve made it really easy for people to have fun and enjoy the event,” Monacelli said.
Photos from a previous OctoberFeast event courtesy of Jeff Monacelli
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