A Taste of Millbrook

MILLBROOK — Not even an overcast day with scattered showers could take away the beauty at the Millbrook Vineyard & Winery. On Saturday evening, June 11, as fog rolled across the vineyard, people from all around the Dutchess County area traveled to get a taste of Millbrook. That night the Millbrook Education Foundation (MEF) hosted its eighth annual A Taste of Millbrook event. The night included performances by the Millbrook High School Jazz ensemble, Madrigal Singers, a silent auction, wine from the vineyard and food from area restaurants. Members of the high school’s National Honor Society chapter volunteered to serve food.John Dux, chair of the MEF, has been on the board for nine years.“What we do is we raise money. Hopefully we will raise $30,000 to $35,000 tonight, and in return we give that as grants for the school,” he said. “It can go for small things, like a trip for the eighth-grade class to go to a museum, to something big like a new computer lab with 26 new computers. So it goes from small grants to very large grants.” Dux said he expected more than 300 people Saturday. “What is really great is all the restaurants give so much food; they have been so nice to us,” said Dux. The variety of food donated to A Taste of Millbrook consisted of restaurants such as China Tokyo, When Pigs Fly South, Slammin Salmon and Rusty Tomato, to name a few. Two restaurants were showcased at the event. One, Bread Alone, a bakery with locations in Boiceville, Woodstock and Rhinebeck, featured homemade baked goods such as crumb cakes and brownies. The other showcased restaurant was Aurelia, a Mediterranean restaurant in Millbrook. Some of the highlighted cuisine consisted of gazpacho soup, watermelon with goat cheese and fresh thyme and homemade hummus with pita. Susan Nestel, owner of Aurelia, explained why she enjoys being a part of A Taste of Millbrook. “It’s a good community event that raises money for a great cause.” she said. “This year we are actually here and we want to meet some people who haven’t been to our restaurant. We have been in the village for four years; this year was the first we were invited to come and have our own table.” Planning to have an event of this size is no easy task, Diane Schnoor, a member of the MEF board of trustees, said. “We start back in January contacting businesses, friends, neighbors, and brainstorming what would be great to have at the event,” she said, adding that between 30 to 40 people work to bring the evening together. “The month of May is crazy getting everything together to publicize the benefit; it’s a team effort.”Eleanor Pelc chairs the A Taste of Millbrook committee.“I just want the community to know how much MEF does to help the schools,” she said. “I often think they don’t realize what we have done to contribute to the schools, so it’s nice they get to come out and talk to us. And we try and hang some signs up to show some of the grants we have approved throughout the years so they realize where their money is going.”At A Taste of Millbrook there were suggestion cards giving donors ideas of what their money might fund. For instance, $2,000 could fund an eighth-grade trip to Washington, D.C., or for $15,000 the school district could finish putting in Smart Boards in the schools. The cards also explain where grant money has gone in the past, like establishing the Model U.N. Club in the high school or creating scholastic magazines for all elementary students. Kyle Goodwill, 17, is a senior at Millbrook High School. He was working as a server at the event and said he is especially thankful for the money donated. “One particular thing that was funded by MEF was Project Lead The Way; I took those courses all the way through high school,” he said. “That influenced what I plan to major in when I go to college.” Goodwill will be attending CUNY Binghamton in the fall, hoping to study digital electronics and architecture. Lloyd Jaeger, superintendent for the Millbrook School District, said he feels blessed to have MEF. “The Millbrook Education Foundation is founded for the sole purpose of funding the Millbrook schools. All of their money comes in one form of donations or another to individual teachers or a schoolwide project,” he said. “This event is their single largest fundraising event annually. Last year they grossed about $35,000 and it is a uniquely Millbrook event at the Millbrook Winery. There are many donations from community people, it turns the community out here and it has become a real joy for everybody. So we are very fortunate to have the strength of a organization like this for our district and that’s why it’s important.”