This year’s Festival of Fall, an annual fundraiser by Pasadena-based nonprofit AbilityFirst, which provides programs and services for children and adults with disabilities, is going virtual to bring the spirit of the live food and drink festival – including a community-centric atmosphere – into your home.
The interactive event, sponsored by Chubb Insurance, is going live at 6 p.m. Sunday, Sept 13, on the AbilityFirst YouTube channel and on Facebook.
Festival of Fall’s home for the last several years has been the Laurabelle A. Robinson estate in Pasadena, at 195 S. Grand Ave., which is rarely open to the public. For this year’s interactive virtual event, VIP ticket holders, table hosts, and sponsors will receive an exclusive, behind-the-scenes tour of the estate, designed by architects Greene and Greene and built between 1905 and 1906. They will also receive a DIY pizza kit from Blaze Pizza and a six-pack of Golden Road Brewery beer, according to an AbilityFirst announcement.
Participants in the live virtual event can enjoy gourmet cuisine prepared by top chefs, featuring celebrity Chef Michael Hung of downtown L.A.’s Faith and Flower, paired with a signature cocktail from barman Nathan Baker from Pasadena’s The Raymond 1886, all while helping raise funds for AbilityFirst programs.
To feel the spirit, VIP participants are encouraged to gather their friends in a socially distanced and safe space in the privacy of their homes, preferably outside. The menu includes delivered meals for two to eight people from either Lawry’s The Prime Rib, Gale’s Restaurant, or Faith and Flower.
For General Admission, enjoy the program from the comfort of home and join the fun by bidding in the online auction, and by sharing your photos with the hashtag #AbilityFirstFOF.
Participants may also support AbilityFirst programs with a sponsorship and receive heightened visibility before, during, and after the virtual event. Additional benefit incentives include delivered meals from participating restaurants. Sponsorships also include the behind-the-scenes tour of the Laurabelle A. Robinson estate.
For more information, including a list of participating restaurants, sponsors, private dinner and VIP ticket sales, visit www.abilityfirst.org/events/festival-of-fall, call (626) 243-4845, or email events@abilityfirst.org.
