Wine & Nature Lovers: Friends of Ballard Park's Annual Fundraiser is June 1

On Saturday, June 1 you can get a peek at an amazing Newport estate while sipping vintage wines in support of a great cause! Carol and Les Ballard are hosting a fundraiser for Friends of Ballard Park under a tent at Edgehill, their estate on Beacon Hill Road in Newport from 6 to 8 p.m.

Wine lovers will especially enjoy the event as Mr. Ballard hand selects the vintages served. In addition to wines by Louis Latour and Veuve Clicquot Champagne, guests savored glasses of Chateau Gruaud Larose, Chateau Pape Clement Grand Bordeaux and Chateau Malescot St. Exupery Margaux (all 2005) at last year's fundraiser. They also nibbled on hors d'oeuvres made by McGrath Clambakes, Inc., New England's premier seafood company.

The setting for the event should prove to be as stunning as the wines with Edgehill on one side of the tent and a spectacular view of Surprise Valley Farm on the other. The Ballards have spent the past several years lovingly restoring the two-an-one-half-story home which is dramatically sited at the crest of the hill and one of the best examples of a McKim, Mead and White 1880s shingled house. The property overlooks the 45-acre Surprise Valley Farm and its exquisitely renovated animal facilities, procedure laboratory, workshops and offices. Throw in views of Newport Harbor and (fingers crossed) one of our famous sunsets and guests will have a memorable evening to kick off their summer.

Tickets are $125 per person and reservations are recommended. To receive an invitation, email events@ballardpark.org or call 401.619.3377. Proceeds from the evening will benefit field trips to Ballard Park for local school children and free public events like concerts and outdoor movie screenings.

For a complete list of events happening at Ballard Park, please visit http://ballardpark.org/12_EVENTS.html, and don't forget to look for updates on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and Twitter (user name is BallardPark). Friends of Ballard Park is a nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting, maintaining and promoting Newport's Only Nature Preserve. Cultural events and educational programming help to promote stewardship of the park and decrease negative park activities. Visit www.ballardpark.org for more information or call 401.619.3377.