Event to Feature 18 Vintners Including Ferrari-Carano, Justin & Battaglini
Los Angeles, CA, Jan 12, 2015 — Child welfare nonprofit organization CASA of Los Angeles, which provides advocacy services for abused and neglected children in Los Angeles’ foster care system, will be hosting its inaugural benefit wine tasting on Friday, January 23. The night, titled CASA Wine & Art, will include tastings from 18 prominent vintners, including Ferrari-Carano, Justin, Battaglini, and Beckmen Vineyards. In addition to wine, the event will also feature specialty cuisine from nationally renowned Italian eatery RAO’S, cheese courtesy of Murray’s Cheese, and chocolates from Essential Chocolate Desserts.

The event will take place at contemporary art gallery Blum & Poe, which currently has the work of sculptor Alma Allen on view. Working primarily in stone, wood, and bronze, Allen’s mid- and large-scale sculptures had never been publicly shown before their inclusion and wider discovery in the 2014 Whitney Biennial. A teenage runaway without a high school degree, the self-taught artist began an initial period of intense hand carving using salvaged materials while often homeless. Demonstrating an attunement with imbalance and precariousness, Allen’s sculptural forms are a marked departure from iconic stone carvers Constantin Brancusi and Isamu Noguchi, to whom his untrained sensitivity for shape and material have been compared. Recurring forms in Allen’s work take a cue from quantum particles and body organs and make indirect associations to psychological pain and wonder.

All proceeds from the event will provide advocacy services for foster children in the Los Angeles dependency system. CASA of Los Angeles recruits, trains, and provides community volunteers to serve as advocates for abused and neglected children. Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASAs) will assist nearly 7,000 children this year, including more than 1,000 children with intensive one-on-one advocacy. A CASA is a voice in court, in the community, and for the child.

WHAT: CASA Wine & Art
WHEN: Friday, January 23rd, 2015 from 6:00 to 8:30pm
WHERE: Blum & Poe, located in the Culver City Arts District (2727 S. La Cienega Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90034).
TICKET PRICE: $60 in advance; $75 at the door (if available)
TICKETS: https://www.casala.org/wine/

For media RSVP’s please email Brian McWilliams (bm*********@sp******.com)

ABOUT CASA/LA
Founded in 1978, CASA of Los Angeles is a community-supported 501(c)(3) non-profit organization whose mission is to mobilize community volunteers to advocate on behalf of abused and neglected children in the overburdened foster care system of Los Angeles County. CASA’s vision is of a Los Angeles where every foster child has an advocate and the opportunity to thrive. Through committed, highly trained everyday citizen volunteers, CASA brings the voice of a concerned community into the child welfare system. Studies have shown that children with CASAs receive more assistance and support than children without, and are more likely to be adopted or returned to their families and less likely to reenter the child welfare system. For more information, please visit the CASA of Los Angeles website: https://www.casala.org.