By JULIE CARLE
BG Independent News
St. Thomas More Ale will be a guest of honor at the Bourbon, Bags n’ Brews event hosted by St. Thomas More Catholic Church on Feb. 21 at the Veteran’s Building in BG City Park.
The ale, brewed by Patron Saints Brewery in Toledo, will debut at the raffle fundraiser that supports St. Thomas More Catholic church’s outreach ministry to Bowling Green State University students.
While the newly brewed ale will be introduced, the real prizes for the event include 15 bottles of bourbons and 15 designer purses that will be raffled, along with two special gift baskets at the end of the evening, said Toni Marsteller of the church mission support team for events.
Lorena Perez, business manager at the church and a member of the event committee, said she had helped plan purse raffles before and decided to add bourbons to the event when her husband suggested it would expand the audience demographic.
“We wanted to take advantage of the popular hobby of bourbon tasting and the Bourbon Trail,” Marsteller said. “And who doesn’t like purses?”
The bourbon basket includes three specialty Ohio bourbons from Watershed Distillery in Columbus and a pass for up to 15 people to tour the brewery, Marsteller said. All raffle tickets are $1 each.
The bag basket is a complete Vera Bradley travel set that includes all-matching pieces including an extra-large duffle. “We can’t send you to Hawaii, but we can send you in style,” Marsteller said with a smile about the Vera Bradley basket.
The event will also include a wine pull, additional craft beers named for canonized saints, four rounds of “Heads and Tails,” and a Flight of Ohio opportunity. There will also be Patron Saints’ popular brewed root beer and other non-alcoholic beverages.
The Flight of Ohio, which starts at 5:30 p.m., costs $20 to participate. The flight will include three Ohio-brewed bourbons, nuts and chocolates to snack in between tastings and a scorecard to rate the bourbons.
Guests who want to play in the Heads and Tails game, at $1 per round, will have a chance to win a bottle of bourbon or a crossbody phone case in the four rounds.
Tickets for the 21-and-over event are $50 per person, which includes entrance to the fundraiser, hors d’oeuvres, desserts, and two drink tickets for the cash bar. They can be purchased online at givebutter.com/BBBtickets or at the church, 425 Thurstin St., weekdays from 1 to 5 p.m. A total of 240 tickets will be sold.
Doors open at 5 p.m. and the Flight of Ohio starts at 5:30 p.m. A cocktail hour begins at 6 p.m., followed by the raffle at 7 p.m.
All proceeds from the event support the mission of St. Thomas More University Parish. That includes regular Bible studies, five FOCUS missionaries, counseling for the students, “Thou Shall Chow” Sunday night dinners after mass that draw 60-100 students, faith retreats, and the 22-apartment Newman Center, which has been ranked the second-best Newman Center in America, Perez said.
“It takes funds to keep a mission like this going. Promoting our mission within our own community is important. It’s for all BGSU students, not just a select few,” Perez said. “We wanted to make sure the community knew we were here to support the students. They are important to us, and their future is important to us.”
St. Thomas More’s mission is about more than evangelizing. “A big part of this ministry is helping students live better lives,” said Martin Vasquez, development director. “This ministry doesn’t just preach the faith but draws people to grow. That is good for this generation.”
“The people of Bowling Green care about the city, and the university is an important part of the community,” Perez said. “There is a great spirit of ecumenical servicehood within the faith communities in BG. To support one is to support them all.”
“It should be a fun night for those attending; there will be something for everybody,” Marsteller said.
For more information, visit the parish website or Facebook page.
