Published: November 19, 2009 07:17 pm      

Christmas Tasting fundraiser returns this Saturday in Vidor

VIDOR — An impromptu fundraiser to assist families in the aftermath of Hurricane Ike for the holidays in 2008 looks to become an annual tradition in 2009.

A Christmas Tasting is back for another successful run and will be held from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday, at Resurrection Life Church at FM 105 and FM 1132. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased in advance at the church. Tickets will also be available at the door.

Instead of assisting families devastated by Hurricane Ike, as the event did in 2008, organizers will instead use proceeds to assist a variety of youth-oriented organizations.

“This year’s goal is to serve as a fundraiser for different youth organizations across the Golden Triangle,” said Anita Campbell, Christmas Tasting chairperson. “We distributed approximately $30,000 from last year’s event, and we hope to surpass that this year.”

According to Campbell, more than 50 vendors have already signed up to participate, including a variety of restaurants, churches, groups and organizations, most of which will offer a variety of food and beverages to guests.

In 2008, the event was held at Grace Community Church, which is the sponsor of the event. Although the church is still sponsoring the Christmas Tasting, Campbell said a new location was needed following the success of its inaugural event.

“This year’s location is twice the size as last year, which is good because we have twice as many vendors,” Campbell added. “There were a lot of long lines last year because so many people wanted to help.”

The family oriented event will feature plenty of activities for children, including a play area known as Candy Cane Lane. There will be multiple moonwalks, a superslide, a velcro-wall, face painting and Christmas music for all to enjoy. Also, there are reports that Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus could make an early visit to Orange County and may attend the event.

Grace Community Church will also host a concert at 6 p.m., Sunday, with Grammy award winning artist, Leland.

For more information about the Christmas Tasting or the concert, call Grace Community Church at 409-769-6609.



Tommy Mann Jr. is a reporter for The Orange Leader. He can be reached at 409-883-3571, Ext. 2619 or tmann@orangeleader.com