By Suzanne Weiss | For On Mission
MANITOWOC — Enjoy cuisine from around the world and do some Christmas shopping for the kids.
That’s the idea behind adding the Kids Zone silent auction to this year’s International Food Fair, a major fundraiser for Roncalli Catholic Schools.
The fair — which starts at 5 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 2, at Roncalli High School, 2000 Mirro Drive, Manitowoc — will now offer opportunities to bid on toys, children’s gifts, crafts, stocking stuffers, outdoor games and more.
Of course, as its name implies, the major focus of the event is food from across the globe, as well as international-themed desserts and specialty beers and wines.
The International Food Fair is for adults only, 21 and older.
There is no cost to attend. Punch cards in denominations of $5, $10 and $20 will be available for sale to make food sampling easy. Cash, check, credit cards and Venmo will be accepted. Oral and silent auctions, as well as raffles, will run throughout the evening.
Making his debut as emcee of the International Food Fair is area personality Jason Prigge, host of “The Coolest Coast,” a media effort that promotes Wisconsin’s coastal area.
Kids Zone
Kids Zone is “exciting and new to the food fair,” said Hannah Pitz, parent volunteer and chairperson of this silent auction. “It gives a fresh appeal … new variety … a chance to get some Christmas shopping done while also enjoying a night out.”
The offerings, donated by families and businesses, will feature selections for children of all ages as well as items geared to boys and to girls.
“There are hot new toys,” Pitz said. “We tried to get a variety of things to appeal to everyone.”
Kids Zone, located in the high school gym, will feature a water table for toddler splash play, an outdoor playhouse, a children’s-size picnic table, a John Deere bike, LEGO sets, Barbie items, Advent calendars for kids, Nerf toys and Melissa & Doug Montessori educational playthings, to name a few.
“I believe in changing things up. We do different things to encourage people to come to the event,” said Candice Giesen, Roncalli Catholic Schools director of advancement.
Plus, she said, right before Christmas is the perfect time of the year to offer the Kids Zone.
Good food, good cause
Foods by local restaurants, food trucks and Roncalli Catholic Schools families will include Americana, Asian, Greek, German, Italian, Mexican, Polish and Southern dishes.
“We offer appetizer portions to allow you to try more items,” Giesen said. “We want people to enjoy many of the food booths.”
She emphasized there will be “lots” of desserts to choose from and to-go containers available to bring goodies home.
Wine and specialty beers also will be available for purchase. The latter includes Jet Lag, a double dry hopped hazy IPA, which is a collaboration between two local businesses, PetSkull Brewing Co. and Allie Family Companies. All proceeds from the beer sold at the International Food Fair will be donated to Roncalli Catholic Schools.
“The funds raised (by the International Food Fair) support Roncalli Catholic Schools’ operational budget as well as tuition assistance to those families who desire a Catholic education for their children but may not have all the means to do so,” Giesen said.
“We at Roncalli Schools are very fortunate to have all this local support. I think it speaks highly of our community to see how generous they are,” she said.
Schedule of activities*
5 p.m. — Doors open.
7 p.m. — Greg Schramm will head up an oral auction featuring packages such as experiences and sports memorabilia.
8 p.m. — Drawing begins for this year’s new Indoor Smoker Outdoor Flavor Raffle featuring a GE Profile Smart Indoor Smoker from Bitter Neumann and a $100 gift certificate from Brillion Butcher Shop, provided by Brady and Victoria Zutz. Only 200 tickets will be sold for $50 each.
8 p.m. — Drawing begins for the returning Ticket to Cash raffle. The grand prize is $7,500. Only 500 tickets will be sold at $100 each.
Tickets to both above raffles may be purchased at the International Food Fair or in advance by obtaining forms from the online event page: https://rems.roncallicatholicschools.org/international-food-fair. Winners will be drawn during the International Food Fair but need not be present to win.
8:30 p.m. — Ticket sales end for the Gift Collections raffle, which will offer an array of themed collections.
8:45 p.m. — Gift Collections closes.
9 p.m. — Gift Collections winners announced.
9:10 p.m. — Tabletops, trees, Wreaths and More! closes. This silent auction area is filled with home decorations for the holidays and beyond.
9:20 p.m. — Kids Zone closes
9:30 p.m. — The Roncalli HeART Originals silent auction section closes. This will feature bidding on original artwork created by Roncalli students ages preschool through 8th-grade.
*All times are approximate depending on the conclusion of the oral auction.