Giving bounces back at BAC fund-raiser

The Brewery Arts Center Beer Tasting raised about $1,800 the week after the World Trade Center was destroyed. This year, the annual fund-raiser may have cleared as much as $13,000, a possible indicator that local giving has returned to pre-Sept. 11 levels.

Brewery director Phil Caterino said nearly 400 people attended the Sept. 12 event.

"We still have people coming in and picking up silent auction items," he said. "We sold out of everything."

Caterino said he believes the Brewery easily cleared $10,000.

"The total is going to be closer to $13,000 when everything is said and done," he said.

One of the big draws was an RV donated by Michael Hohl. Louise Evans of Dayton won it in a drawing on the night of the beer tasting.

"They just picked it up a few days ago," Caterino said.

Not only was the beer tasting profitable for the Brewery, so was the publicity.

"The attention it brought was great," he said. "We've been selling tickets like crazy for 'Cemetery Club' and the Mile High Jazz Band. A lot of kids are coming in to buy tickets for Tempest, a Celtic rock band."

October also appears like it could be a good month for the Brewery with events for Nevada Day.

"We've got three days of things going on from theater to music to receptions," Caterino said.

He said there is a renewal in the amount of money being raised by private nonprofits around the nation.

"I can tell you that the nation data shows money coming in is rebounding," he said. "With cutbacks on state levels, people are looking for private non profits to pick up the slack on the arts."

The Brewery donated half of its profits from the 2001 beer tasting, held a week after the Sept. 11 attack, to its victims. After earning less than $4,000 from that event, a $1,775 donation was made by the Brewery.