April 12, 2005 > Chocolate and Art for SAVE

by Ceri Hitchcock-Hodgson

On the night of April 7, Heritage Bank of Fremont was transformed from a place of business into a gourmet banquet for Indulgence: An evening of chocolate, art and wine. This "treat for all senses" brought people together to help support SAVE (Shelter Against Violent Environments).

Those in attendance enjoyed an enormous array of hors d'oeuvres, gourmet cheeses, pizza, fresh fruit, finger sandwiches and other epicurean delights provided by local restaurants. Dessert followed with mouth-watering cakes, cookies, candies and chocolates provided by local restaurants, bakeries and chocolatiers. Red and white wine, champagne and coffee rounded out the feast.

Highlighting this popular event was "The Chocolate Mess," a four-tiered chocolate fountain surrounded by strawberries, cookies and more for guest's dipping pleasure.

DJ Jim Ferguson provided music as guests browsed through fine art by local artists Simone Archer, Brookes Dewey and Denise Oyama that would soon be available at that evening's auction. Also available for purchase were handcrafted truffles and confections made by confectioner Cacao Anasa.

Silent auction bids were active as some singular items were among those available to the highest bidder - a KGO helicopter ride and Oakland A's premium field box tickets. A raffle gave guests the chance to win two roundtrip tickets to any Southwest Airlines destination or one of three $100 cash prizes.

SAVE would like to thank all event sponsors who made this year's "Indulgence" a success.

For any further information on SAVE activities, donations or volunteer activities, call (510) 574-2262.