Bluegrass at Governor's Mansion benefits Meals on Wheels

The governor's back yard will be filled with the sounds of fiddles, bases and harmonicas for the second annual "Bluegrass in the Garden" benefit for Meals on Wheels Sept. 15 from 5-8 p.m.

In addition to the music, entertainment will be provided by the Capitol City Cloggers. Tom Baker is the emcee.

Admission guarantees a gourmet box supper. Beer, wine and soft drinks will be available for sale and women of the Senior Gift Shop will be selling an array of homemade desserts, fresh fruit, pecan pies, chocolate cake and more.

All of the proceeds from the evening will go to Carson City's Meals on Wheels program for seniors 60 and over who need meal delivery due to illness, incapacitation or disability. For many of these seniors, the daily visit from the Meals on Wheels driver is the only contact with the outside.

The evening will conclude with a raffle of donated prizes, including two round-trip tickets from Southwest Airlines, Wally's Hot Springs passes, one night in an Executive Suite at the Resort at Squaw Creek and more.

Tables are limited. Guests are encouraged to bring lawn chairs or a blanket. Admission is $10 for adults and $7.50 for seniors and children. Raffle tickets are $1 or six for $5. All tickets can be purchased at the Senior Center, 911 Beverly Drive or at the door. Call Barbara Tonge or Mary Elizabeth Leake at 884-0703.

It costs more than $5 to serve a meal to the homebound but the average amount collected per meal is only 90 cents. In 1998, the annual costs to provide these meals was more than $215,000.

Seniors who can pay for their meals do so but no one is turned away. The Senior Center receives a small percentage of the funds for this program from the Division for Aging and the USDA, but 30 percent of the money needed is obtained through local fund raising.