TEXARKANA, Texas - With the annual dragon boat festival canceled this year, HandsOn Texarkana will switch gears and hold a Craft Beer Dinner as a big fundraiser for the volunteer organization.
Tickets are already sold out for the event, said HandsOn Texarkana Executive Director Kathey Graves, but people can show their support via the silent auction and also call to see if tickets become available.
Held Thursday, May 20, at the Collins Home for Weddings and Events, starting at 6 p.m., the Craft Beer Dinner will include a five-course meal prepared by local chef Jeff Loving and hand-crafted beer brewed locally from Priority Beer Co. Live music will be performed by Jason and Allan.
Local brewers will bring the beer, along with Loving providing the culinary accompaniment. "He will be pairing each course with one of his gourmet meals," Graves said, noting the musicians will be entertaining at during the meal.
"It will be outside on the beautiful grounds of the Collins Building in the back, spaced out so everybody has plenty of room," Graves said.
The Bidding Owl link, which should be active Sunday for the silent auction, is www.biddingowl.com/HandsOnTexarkana.
Funds raised will support several HandsOn Texarkana programs. HandsOn Texarkana aims to bring the dragon boat festival back again next year, and this is the first year for them to hold a craft beer dinner.
The event will help with the organization's budget and, in turn, help the people who are served by these HandsOn programs.
"All of the programs that HandsOn Texarkana provides to the community are free to people that benefit from the program," Graves said. "We have a youth training program where we train kids to volunteer, help them know how to volunteer and get connected for a lot of reasons: college scholarships, college credits, lots of reasons that kids can volunteer - experience for jobs, things like that."
HandsOn also teaches parenting skills to the men at the Federal Correctional Institution in Texarkana. They bring that teaching into transitional housing Haven Homes in Texarkana, too.
"We also have a senior transportation program where we take older citizens to the doctor, grocery store and other things like that," Graves said. They've also done shopping for seniors during the pandemic and acquired food boxes to deliver to seniors.
"That's why we have these fundraisers, so we can keep providing the programs to the community," Graves said.
(Tickets: $100. Call 903-798-3211 for ticket availability or visit handsontexarkana.org. HandsOn Texarkana is located in the Collins Home at 1915 Olive St. in Texarkana, Texas.)