Get Your Tastebuds Ready, Taste Of Dana Is Wednesday

More than 20 local restaurants will be on hand to help raise funds for a 'safe and sober' graduation celebration for Dana Hills High School seniors at the 16th Annual Taste of Dana, Wednesday, March 21, from 5:30-8:30 p.m. at

Grad Nite is a parent-chaperoned, alcohol and drug-free event that ensures graduation night does not turn into a lifetime of sorrow.

Ticket holders will sample "tastes" from 22 local restaurants including area favorites such as Brio, Wind & Sea, Coffee Importers, Cannon's, , Z Pizza, Harbor Deli, Rubio's, and a new Laguna Niguel favorite, , to name a few participants.

Tickets are $20 per person through March 20 and $25 at the door, tickets can also be ordered online at dhgradnite.com. In addition, tickets will be sold at Dana Hills High School on March 20, from 3-5 p.m., in front of the school or Porthole Theater.

Capping off the evening of food, music and fun, will be the annual silent auction and raffle. There are more than 100 items including a four-day stay at a Mammoth condo, weekend get-away at the St. Regis, beach cruiser, wine baskets, event tickets, rounds of golf, gift cards for services, restaurants and events; jewelry, food and beverage items, crafting supplies, and home products.

Martha McNicholas, a 24-year Laguna Niguel resident, and chairman of the 2012 Grad Nite committee at Dana Hills High School, said the event began in 1996.

"Taste of Dana is the primary fundraising event supporting a safe and sober graduation celebration for our seniors. The Grad Nite committee gets no funding from the high school or the school district. Taste of Dana is organized entirely by parent volunteers, and gets enthusiastic community support. Our biggest monetary sponsors are the city of Dana Point, the city of Laguna Niguel, and the Dana Hills PTSA," she said.

Her son, Mike, will graduate from Dana this year, and daughter, Liz, is a Dana Hills graduate from the class of 2008.

"Taste of Dana has become a popular event for both our Dana Hills' families and the general community because it not only gives you an opportunity to try a new restaurant or enjoy an old favorite, and also support a worthy cause - keeping our seniors safe on their graduation night. Our silent auction is always a big attraction as well."

The event typically draws big crowds, and in the last 7 years there have been as many as 1000, she added.

"My personal favorite is the frozen mocha that Coffee Importers usually brings. Brio's tortellini and Cannon's coconut shrimp are popular with the adults, while the students seem to head for Chronic Tacos, Z Pizza and Donna B's cookies. I'm looking forward to trying the steak from Hunter's," McNicholas said.