Guess what’s in my near future! I’m going on a guided tour of Old Gray Cemetery with “spirited” beverages with nine of my favorite people. I’m also going on a walking tour based on historic postcards and a progressive cocktail supper in downtown Knoxville with 11 other folks.
How did I get these fantastic opportunities? I went to “Cocktails at the Station,” an annual autumn fundraiser for Knox Heritage held at the historic L&N Station. The idea for this party is simple: they auction off unique “experiences” — mostly focused on historic preservation. This year the party was Oct. 2. It started at 6 and was over by 9:15, which is unusual on a Saturday for these types of things. Although the party was very enjoyable, it was a welcome relief to get home at a reasonable hour for a change.
Knox Heritage also showed remarkable restraint by only having seven items in the live auction. So often when we go to these events, we are trapped in our seats as the list of live auction items goes on and on. The folks at Knox Heritage wanted to avoid that. In fact, they are considering having only five items in the live auction next year.
Becky Hancock, assistant director of Knox Heritage, is in charge of fundraising. She said this year’s “Cocktails at the Station” raised about $30,000. “We try to be unique,” she said. “We tailor our event to our mission. There are so many auctions around, so we try really hard to come up with something that will be different and interesting.” She said limiting the number of items makes for better and more spiritied competitive bidding — and more fun.
Here were some of the other offerings:
- “Secret History” pub crawl with Jack Neely;
- “Four Flights Up,” a four-course wine dinner for six at Gay and Bill Lyons’ condo at Kendrick Place;
- “Pork on the Porch,” dinner for 12 at the Sequoyah Hills home of Ellen Robinson (of Moxley Carmichael!) and Peter Acly with a menu featuring Benton’s Country Ham prepared by Holly Hambright with guest of honor being Allan Benton;
- A downtown Christmas Parade party for 10 kids and their parents who will watch the parade from a downtown loft on Gay Street;
- “Moonshine Flight Dinner,” dinner for four with moonshine pairings. Ha!
Music was by Robinella, a local favorite, who said she also enjoyed the atmosphere and the good cause. Watch for this terrific event next year. But don’t try to outbid me on that cemetery tour!
Post Script: More of the magic that is Knoxville. As we were walking from the L&N Station to our downtown condo on Church Avenue after the event was over, we passed the Knoxville Convention Center and saw a bride and groom leaving their wedding reception and saying goodbye to their friends. So sweet.
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I am so jealous — I’ve always wanted to do the cemetery tour. It’ll be so much fun!
Hope you enjoy the cemetery tour. We will see you on the postcard tour as our place is the first stop on that one.
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