In a run for a rosy future, local radio station KWVH is set to host its second annual Kentucky Derby Party this weekend.
The party will be held May 6 at Vintage Oaks Farm in Driftwood. Presenting sponsor Ozona Bank and event organizers planned a grand gala to bring the Kentucky Derby experience to Wimberley. The Derby Party will feature mint juleps, typical Derby fare catered by Gourmet Gals Catering from Austin, bigscreen race viewing, raffles, contests and both a live and silent auction. Derby attire is expected. A prize for the best hat, $250, will be awarded.
The gates will open at 2 p.m., followed by a welcome at 2:30. Races will be viewed on a giant screen and heralded by live trumpeter, Jimmy Shortell.
Guests will choose the horses they think will win by dropping tickets into designated boxes. At the race’s end, one ticket will be pulled from the box with the winning horse’s name. The winner of the last race, the Run for the Roses, will take home a cash prize of $2,000.
A unique feature of the day will include a “Blinky Bracelets” game. Players who have purchased the bracelets at the event are eligible to play. As either “heads” or “tails” is called out, players must put their hand on the corresponding body part. The winner is chosen by the process of elimination from the random blinking of the bracelets. A $1000 prize will go to the last person standing.
A live auction, conducted by professional auctioneer Andrew Bost, will feature a five-night resort stay in Cancun; a threenight resort stay on Lake Tahoe; a threenight private home stay at Canyon Lake; a Tour of Spain dinner and wine pairing for 10 by private Chef Rachel Emry; two round-trip tickets for domestic airfare and an annual Admiral’s Club Membership with American Airlines; a three-night stay at The Perch in Hot Springs, AR; a one year membership for two at the RR12 Supper Club; a two-night stay at a private seaside home in Rockport; a Jack Daniel’s Bar stocked with a variety of liquors; and a handmade guitar made from a piece of a Cypress tree toppled by the Wimberley Flood of 2015 by luthier Jeff Meisenhelder at Senhelder Guitar Works.
Highlights from the large silent auction include a four-hour recording session at The Zone Recording studio in Dripping Springs where Jerry Jeff Walker, Ray Wiley Hubbard, Robert Earl Keen and Los Lonely Boys, among others, have recorded. Author Joe Nick Patoski donated a signed copy of his book, “Willie Nelson, An Epic Life.” Pool passes to the Wimberley Inn pool are another silent auction item, along with a brisket dinner for eight to ten from Dr. Brisket.
Derby Party Chair Becky McCullough and Co-Chair Yvonne Thompson, along with 40 volunteers, are in charge of the event, which represents KWVH’s major fundraiser for the year. Individual tickets start at $150. To date, 280 tickets have been sold. To learn more, visit kwvh.org.
