By The EVL Elf
The 19th Annual Bob McCarthy Irish Christmas will take place this Friday, December 6 at 6pm at the Ellicottville Brewery in Ellicottville, NY. All proceeds from special beer and wine sales will go to the Bob McCarthy Foundation programs through the generous support of EBC and Ellicottville Winery.
Let it snow! Adding to the fun for you at this year’s Bob McCarthy’s Irish Christmas, Brew Master Dan Minner has created a special draft along with the traditional McCarthy Irish Red to commemorate the legend at his event. Come hungry as the “Taste of Ireland” features special dishes served up by local restaurants: Katy’s (Guinness Irish Stew), Madigan’s (Guinness Mack & Cheese), The Silver Fox (Bangers & Mash), Villaggio’s (Pasta & Meatballs – said with an Irish accent) & Dina’s (Tom’s Irish Cream Bread Pudding). Believe it or not, each of the food & bar items listed above can be had for a small donation of $5 each, with all proceeds helping the Bob McCarthy Foundation.
If that was not enough, the event held in EBC’s great beer hall kicks off at 6pm featuring an energetic live show from South Buffalo, Crikwater. Their up-tempo music conjures scenes of gritty smokey Irish pubs, whiskey, pints of stout, and good craic. You will enjoy the multi-part vocal harmonies, engaging fiddle tunes, and intricate musicianship while chatting to old friends or browsing the extensive Irish Basket Raffle Silent or live auction items.
The Winery is sponsoring a champagne toast to Bob which will be kicked off by Asa on the Bagpipes with great Irish dancers. This will lead into the live auction which starts at 7:30pm, hosted by Brooks Lefeber. Brooks a local legend, will surely entertain the crowd with a limited number of auction treasures which include a special Bob McCarthy original along with a unique coat rack from Ed Frederickson and a beautiful hand-crafted bench from Sam Sheehy of the Winery. Sally and Mike Nickolson have donated their fabulous 2-bedroom Florida condo and Hughey Dunn’s Rustic table is always sought after by furniture dealers. All auction items are accompanied by a home-made pie or baked item in keeping with the long tradition. A small Silent auction has been added this year with some great gifts for that special someone. The Irish basket raffle which will be held in the upper room of the hall is the creation of Erin Cornelius, Brooke Szpaicher & Mila Clauss, so all people attending can participate with many lucky winners taking home great gifts for a minimal donation (20 Tickets for $20). Many local business’ have provided great seasonal gifts and you can get a sneak peek as many live Auction items and the Irish basket raffle choices are shown on the Foundation website at www.bobmccarthyfoundation.com/events. Admission is free so just come to browse if you like, but I know you will be caught up in the excitement.
This fun event is always the holidays most talked about, reflecting the generosity and compassion of our tight knit community as so many turn out to support the cause. Hosted by The Bob McCarthy Foundation, this event serves to raise funds for our main initiatives, which are Santa’s Workshop and the Sheriffs’ Santa Program. Proceeds also provide funding for our year-round family support services as we strive to level the playing field for those less fortunate in our community.
It was McCarthy who said “I love doing Irish Christmas which is a night of Irish magic. I don’t know how the magic gets there, but it just does. That’s the beauty of it.”. Well last year’s event was indeed magical with overwhelming support from our community kicking off the Bob McCarthy’s Foundation’s funding year with the largest proceeds in our 18-year history.
If you can’t attend you can donate to the cause at www.bobmccarthyfoundation.com/donate or via the mail at McCarthy Foundation, PO Box 301, Ellicottville, NY 14731. A little goes a long way!
The evening will be a ton of fun for all! Bob always found a way to make the holidays magical…and this year it will be exceptional. Make sure you mark your calendar as Friday December 6th at 6pm at EBC will be one you won’t want to miss.
Annual Holiday Tradition of Giving