The Friends of Sierra Madre Library 39th Annual Wine and Gourmet Tasting Fundraiser

Imagine your invitation to a party at a posh European villa complete with dozens of vintners pouring their finest wines, and the chefs of 20 restaurants tantalizing your palette with samples of their finest cuisine! Add to that 3 Magic Castle magicians amazing you with sleight of hand card tricks, delightful live entertainment, artwork by local artists and a silent auction. You might know we’re describing the 39th Annual Wine and Cuisine Tasting affair sponsored by the Friends of the Sierra Madre Library and taking place at Alverno’s historic Villa in Sierra Madre. The event, held Friday, February 20th from 7:00-9:30pm, raises funds enabling the library to add new acquisitions and additions to collections (like Playaways, their new miniature mp3 portable digital books), support library services and programs, and make improvements to the building and grounds.

Advance tickets are now available for purchase at several Sierra Madre locations including Savor the Flavor, Sierra Madre Books, Iris Intrigue, Arnold’s Frontier Hardware, The Bottle Shop and, of course, the Sierra Madre Library. Tickets, $60.00 each, are also available by mail at: The Friends of the Sierra Madre Library, P. O. Box 334, Sierra Madre, CA 91025. So whether you’re tempted by the gourmet delights of 20 restaurants, or tantalized by a fruity chardonnay, pinot noir or cabernet from dozens of vintners, join your friends at this annual celebration. The Alverno Villa is a duplicate of the Villa Collazzi located on the outskirts of Florence, Italy.

Nestled at the foot of the beautiful San Gabriel Mountains in the
picturesque City of Sierra Madre, the Villa was built in “pure” Italian Renaissance style in 1922 by the famous Pasadena architect Wallace Neff and was completed in 1928. Originally built on thirteen acres of trees and flowers overlooking the entire San Gabriel Valley, the main building is comprised of two stories and a tower. It is said that the walls are made of two rows of hollow tile to keep the building cool in the summer and warm in the winter. The lower story houses the reception rooms, dining room, drawing room, and library. The upper floor includes the living quarters and a spacious ballroom. The original owner supervised the planting of the trees which included: orchids, tulips, Japanese Magnolia, strawberry trees, flaming eucalyptus, coral, and carob. To frame the southern facade, a sunken garden was added, lined on either side by Italian cypress.

The villa is now part of Alverno High School a private Catholic girls’ school, which has educating young women since 1960.