Jacksonville Food Makers & Artists Unite to Raise Funds for Orlando

SKYY® Vodka has partnered with local event planning company VICARIOUS to host Love Feast, a fundraising event benefiting the Better Together Fund. The event will take place the evening of Thursday, August 11th from 6 to 9pm at a secret pop-up location in Jacksonville.

Love Feast is in response to the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando earlier this summer. Cari Sánchez-Potter, principal of VICARIOUS, says she was “looking for a way to unite the local restaurant community, show solidarity to our neighbors and generate a conversation around the issues that contributed to the tragedy.” VICARIOUS is donating their event planning services and will transform the raw space into a pop-up food fair with live entertainment, an interactive art installation and portrait project and more. 

100% of ticket sales and 100% of bar sales will go directly to the Better Together Fund. Lori Shad, who is working with Sánchez-Potter to produce the event and engage local equality organizations, states: “We chose to benefit this fund due to the forward-thinking nature of the fund's mission, the solid reputation of the Central Florida Foundation, which is administering the fund, and their focus on tackling some of the root causes of this tragedy.” 

The issue is close to heart for SKYY Vodka, the presenting partner for Love Feast. Richard Black, VP, Vodkas & Cordials at Campari America, says "SKYY has always been a dedicated supporter of the LGBT community and we passionately advocate equality for all. Love Feast is a powerful example of the good which can be achieved by coming together and helping those in need, following such an appalling tragedy."

The following prominent locally-owned and operated restaurants will be donating their time and product by serving food at the event: Black Sheep Restaurant, BREW Five Points, Burrito Gallery, Candy Apple Café + Cocktails, French Pantry, Hobnob, Hoptinger, Intuition Ale Works, Mellow Mushroom, Moxie Kitchen + Cocktails, NOLA MOCA, Restaurant Orsay, Salt @ The Ritz-Carlton Amelia Island, Sweet Theory Baking Co., TacoLu, Taverna, The Chef’s Garden Catering and Events, Uptown Kitchen and Bar. Wingard Creative is donating their creative and design services.  Local artist Rob Middleton is coordinating an interactive art installation that will be displayed publicly after the event.

Tickets are now on sale and can be purchased at www.vicariousevents.com/lovefeast. The $100 ticket gains entrance to the event, food from a number of local restaurants and artisans, and live entertainment. The goal is to raise at least $50,000 for the fund.

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ABOUT THE CENTRAL FLORIDA FOUNDATION
Central Florida Foundation is the place for people who want to invest in their community. The Foundation serves as the region’s community foundation and is home to more than 400 charitable funds. The Foundation manages and invests funds, offers personalized service and expert giving advice, connects caring people, businesses, governments and organizations to local initiatives that build and inspire community, and empowers them to make informed decisions that make a difference now and in the future. Central Florida Foundation works with individuals, families, businesses, professional advisors and nonprofits. More information can be found at www.cffound.org.

ABOUT SKYY VODKA
SKYY Vodka was invented in San Francisco in 1992 and is steeped with the innovative and progressive spirit of California. Conceived by an inventor looking to create the world’s smoothest vodka, SKYY revolutionized vodka quality with its proprietary quadruple-distillation and triple-filtration process to deliver a fresh, clean spirit. Like many things that originate in San Francisco, SKYY grew from a tiny startup into what it is today – one of the leading domestic premium vodkas in the US. To learn more, visit SKYY.com

ABOUT VICARIOUS
VICARIOUS was founded earlier this year by Cari Sánchez-Potter, owner of The Legend Series, trained gastronomist and award-winning cookbook author. The company specializes in pop-up, experiential productions with an emphasis on culinary and cultural events. They are passionate about implementing grassroots marketing tactics, crafting creative marketing initiatives and creating authentic experiences worth sharing. To learn more about their current and past projects, visit www.Vicariousevents.com.

For more information, please visit www.vicariousevents.com/lovefeast or contact Cari Sánchez-Potter at (904) 540-6390 or cari@vicariousevents.com.