17th Annual Preds Foundation Wine Festival Raises Nearly $100,000 for Charitable Causes in Middle Tennessee

Spirits were high inside Bridgestone Arena on Thursday evening as the Nashville Predators Foundation hosted its 17th annual Wine Festival & Tasting presented by Signature Transportation.

The event saw hundreds of community members and Predators fans in attendance, with more than 80 companies and vendors participating. Along with a vast variety of wines, spirits and foods, guests were able to take advantage of a silent auction to win signed items from their favorite Predators players and a photo booth for those in attendance to commemorate the night with a snapshot.

Since its inception in 2006, Wine Fest has grown into a fan-favorite event for the Smashville faithful and others across the Middle Tennessee area.

“Our fans look forward to it and have seen it grow from an event that was a few tables within the boards to an event that includes beer, liquor and wine,” Predators Vice President of Community Relations Rebecca King said. “We partner with many restaurants who provide food bites, the photo booth is free, the auction includes over 200 items and the take-home souvenir glasses can be used at home. It’s a casual affair and we want fans to know that they are walking over the ice at Bridgestone Arena, where the team played a few nights prior. It is a special place.”

For Predators Senior Community Relations Coordinator Abby Helper, the variety of Wine Fest is one of several things that make the event such a unique experience.

“The really cool thing about it is that even though it's called a Wine Fest, we don't stick to just wines,” Helper said. “We have all kinds of different spirits, from tequila, vodka, gin and beer partners too. It’s a wine fest, but you kind of get a little bit of everything.”

Being able to put on an event that leaves a positive impact on the community and entertains those in attendance is something that the Preds Foundation takes much pride in. It also takes months of meticulous planning to make happen.

“We start planning it probably in October or November of the fall before, so it's almost six months of planning for one night,” Helper said. “It's crazy, but it's all for a good cause.”

To be certain, Wine Fest not only provided a fun evening for those in attendance, but gave the Preds Foundation another opportunity to raise money for multiple charitable causes in the community as well.

Raising nearly $100,000 from this year’s event, the Foundation will in turn be able to support multiple nonprofits in the Nashville community.

“I think the biggest thing is you're supporting such a great cause,” Helper said. “All the money that we raised tonight just goes right back out to the Middle Tennessee community through our grants program. So, you get to have a lot of fun while helping a really good cause.”

Though the 17th Wine Fest is now behind them, the Foundation’s work is far from done.

“Our goal with every event is to put on the best and most fun event possible for our fans and attendees while raising significant money for the Foundation and our grants program,” King said. “In May, we anticipate distributing over $825,000 in one day to more than 150 nonprofit organizations doing amazing work in our community.”