Poway OnStage to Host 5th Annual TASTE OF OUR TOWNE This June

Poway OnStage invites you to mark your calendar for a special evening of music, dining and celebration! Taste of Our Towne brings together local food, wine and beer, live music, dancing, silent and live auctions and much more, all under the summer night sky on the beautiful Plaza of the Poway Center for the Performing Arts!

The event will take place on June 18th, 2016 at 5pm at the Poway Center for the Performing Arts Plaza: 15498 Espola Rd. Poway, CA. Tickets are $100 and are available at powayonstage.org or by calling the box office at: 858-748-0505.

Included in the ticket price, attendees enjoy great local eats and drinks with tastes and sips from some of our favorite restaurants and wineries including: Brigantine, Urge, Barrel Room, Café Merlot, Carvers Steaks & Chops, Bernardo Winery, Edwards Vineyards, Hungry Hawk Vineyards, Vesper Vineyards, Green Flash Brewery, Lightning Brewery, Stone Brewery, and many more! (Check powayonstage.org for a comprehensive list of participants).

Live entertainment will be provided by Kicks Band, considered one of the top groups in Southern California having performed over 1000 private events. Guests can expect an energized evening of celebrated musical hits all through the night.

On top of the great food and live entertainment, guests will participate in games, live and silent auctions and the chance to win great prizes - all while benefiting Poway OnStage's Arts in Education initiative and our season of professional performances. Meaning a great night out supports in-school Arts programs for more than 4000 local students and quality performances on stage.

"Taste of Our Towne is about so much more than food and wine," says Michael Rennie, CEO of Poway OnStage. "Sure, our five year celebration of local dining, wine and brews is a great way to sample the best of North Inland County. But at its core, Taste of Our Towne is a way for our neighbors to gather in a unique setting and celebrate this community - its upscale restaurants, its emerging wine industry and its nationally celebrated breweries. In that sense, Taste of Our Towne is the best example of what Poway OnStage does - gather people in a special space for a one-of-a-kind experience."

The evening's Master of Ceremonies is beloved Poway City Councilmember Jim Cunningham.

Need a FREE safe ride home? GEICO is offering free rides to attendees of Taste of our Towne! Visit the GEICO Safe Ride Home Station at the event to take advantage of this great offer.

ABOUT THE PERFORMERS:

Jim Cunningham (Master of Ceremonies & Live Auctioneer) Poway City Councilmember Jim Cunningham was elected to the Poway City Council in November 2008 and was re-elected for his second term in 2012.As a Councilmember, Jim is currently an Executive Board Member and Chair of the Public Safety Committee for the Metropolitan Transit System (MTS). He is also the North County Representative for the SANDAG Borders Committee

Jim is a longtime resident of Poway, and has been very active in the community. Jim was a driving force in the building of Poway's Veterans Park and the revamping of many of the City's Parks and trails.

Jim currently serves as a Captain in the California State Military Reserve as a JAG Officer. He has also served as Vice President of the San Diego / Hawaii Chapter of the Leukemia Lymphoma Society, as a Board member of Poway Kiwanis, a board member of the San Diego Boys and Girls Club and many other community organizations. He also has become quite a proficient auctioneer, putting those skills to use at many non-profit fundraising events over the past 20 years.

Jim, the son, and grandson, of New York City firefighters and graduate from the University of South Florida, went to law school in San Diego, and has been an attorney for the past 28 years. Besides his law practice, he has owned and operated a number of successful small businesses.

Jim and his wife Chris have four children all who have been raised in Poway.

Kicks Band (Live Entertainment): Kicks variety dance band was founded in the early 1980s by vocalist/keyboardist/bassist Gary Hartson. For more than 30 years Gary Hartson and his San Diego based band Kicks have provided music and entertainment tailored to meet the individual needs of his many clients. The band's musical versatility and talented musicians have made Kicks the most popular and sought after band in Southern California. Gary's years of band-leading and playing experience have made him an expert at understanding and working with each client to ensure the event is a success. Kicks has performed more than 1000 events for some of the largest companies and organizations in San Diego and around the world. For years, top Event planners have used Kicks with full confidence knowing that their entertainment needs will be handled by the best professionals in the business.

The Pizarro Brothers (Pre-event lobby entertainment) Homeschooled and raised with an appreciation and love for music, brothers Dominic and Angelo Pizarro began studying Classical music at the age of three and a half in San Diego, California. With encouragement and support from both their Mother and Grandfather the boys continued their zest for music and later developed an avid interest in Jazz and Pop. The brothers were inspired by "Music Greats" Oscar Peterson, Sinatra, Bud Powell, Dave Brubeck, Harry Connick Jr, Elton John, Gershwin, Rodgers & Hammerstein, Billy Taylor, Daniel Jackson, Duke Ellington, Earl Hines, Billy Strayhorn, Bill Evans, Horace Silver, Ray Charles, Marvin Hamlisch, Harold Arlen, Bud Powell and many more.

The Pizarro Brothers started performing duets on one piano in 2003 when Dominic was seven years old and Angelo four years old.They later began busking down in the Gaslamp Quarter of San Diego at the age of eleven and eight. They also performed around San Diego at Community Festivals,The Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica, Nursing Homes, local Cafes and attended jam sessions with Jazz Legend Daniel Jackson, Bill Caballero and other local musicians.

The Pizarro Brothers have been featured on CBS Channel 8 with Larry Himmel, Fox News, KUSI & The CW. They have performed at Anthology, Make A Wish Foundation, The Ronald McDonal House Charities, Retirement Communities, The Rock Church, Petco Black Tie Gala, San Diego Sockers, Daniel Jackson Week at Croce's, Fashion Valley Mall, Mission Valley Mall, Horton Plaza, Borders Books & Music, Seaport Village, Temple Beth Israel, Reno, Jazz at the Creek, Christmas on the Prado, Little Italy Festa, Sicilian Festival, Weddings,Schools, Fundraisers and other Special and Private Events. Their most memorable experience, was being asked to be " The Opening Act " for Composer Marvin Hamlisch on July 2, 2010.

Today Dominic (19) attends Cal. State Long Beach and Angelo (16) attends The Orange County School of the Arts. They both continue to share their gifts and love for music with the families at the Ronald McDonald House, and captivate audiences everywhere, on two pianos with their stylish renditions, improvisational and synchronicity of great musical compositions.

Formed in 1990, the Poway Center for the Performing Arts Foundation has gone by many names: Arts Alive! The PCPA Foundation, The POW! Foundation. Now, with the arrival of our Silver Anniversary, we are proud to be recognized as Poway OnStage.

Poway OnStage is the non-profit organization responsible for booking professional artists into the city-owned Poway Center for the Performing Arts. Each year, Poway OnStage assembles a line-up of marquee talent from the worlds of drama, dance, music, comedy and more.

Poway OnStage Mission Statement: Entertaining, Educating and Enriching through Powerful Live Performances.

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