College kicks off 10-day culinary fundraiser

Sip and savor some local flavor as Flathead Valley Community College celebrates its 10th annual foundation fundraiser.

The Fall Festival of Flavors invites residents to join in 10 days of local food, wines and brews. The event generates an average of over $250,000 each year that goes toward providing students with varying levels of financial aid through scholarships.

According to FVCC Foundation’s Executive Director Colleen Unterreiner, around 70 percent of the college’s students depend on some type of financial aid.

“The festival has grown over the years because the mission is so good,” Unterreiner said. “It’s really a gathering of the community.”

Though several of the events have already sold out, tickets remain available for four.

One of those, scheduled for Oct. 3, will take place at Backslope Brewing in Columbia Falls and will feature a four-course meal including a main course of beef shank and a desert of apple cake.

Each course will be artfully paired with one of the Backslope’s beers.

The festival’s finale, scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 7, will take place at the Grand Wine Tasting in Kalispell where a collaborative effort by wineries from Washington and California will provide a selection of around 200 different wines.

Several local restaurants and caterers as well as some of the students and staff of the college’s own culinary institute will set up booths where participants can sample food.

Ticket prices range from $50-$125 and can be purchased online.

Last year’s proceeds allowed the college to provide almost 200 additional scholarships to students in need.

“These are students who appreciate and are humbled by someone that they don’t know providing them with dollars so they can pay for college,” Unterreiner said.

She described the event as a “wonderfully unique” and “joyous type of event.”

To purchase tickets visit https://www.fvcc.edu/alumni-donors/foundation/annual-fundraisers/festival-of-flavors/. For more information, contact the Foundation Office at (406) 756-3632.

Reporter Mary Cloud Taylor can be reached at 758-4459 or mtaylor@dailyinterlake.com.