Rick Trevino to headline United Way benefit

Taste 2018, a fundraising event for United Way of Hays and Caldwell Counties, is happening Thursday, Oct. 18, at The Railhouse in Kyle.

The fall campaign is essential to the organization’s success and integral to that campaign is the Taste event, now in its 9th year. Taste brings together local restaurants, live music, auctions and more in benefit of United Way of Hays and Caldwell Counties, a local non-profit that raises critical dollars for 22 different programs assisting over 50,000 Hays and Caldwell County residents each year.

Guests will enjoy a variety of bite-sized samples from 15 different restaurants, everything from savory to sweet. Participating restaurants include Blue Dahlia Bistro, Bravo Company Barbeque, Brooklyn’s Down South, Centerpoint Station, Cody’s Bistro and Lounge, Figaro’s Pizza and Pub, Huisache Grill and Wine Bar, Keme’s Barbeque, Linda’s Fine Foods Restaurant and Catering, Magdelena’s Tamales, Mama Fu’s Asian House, Rocky River Grille, The Back Porch, The Pita Shop, The Railhouse, Yogurt In Love and more. Restaurants will offer a variety of tastings, ranging from savory appetizers, fresh-cooked pasta, hearty barbecue, sweet desserts and more.

Holly Tucker

This year’s event will feature Grammy award-winning country music artist Rick Trevino. Trevino launched his career in 1993 with the release of his debut single, “Just Enough Rope,” which was the first mainstream country music single to feature separate English and Spanish-language versions. In 1996, his hit single “Running Out of Reasons to Run” reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart.

Holly Tucker, often called the Angel of Texas Country Music, will warm up the crowd prior to Trevino’s performance. Five years after winning the hearts of millions of television viewers on Season 4 of NBC TV’s hit music reality show, The Voice, the 25-year-old is leaving her boot print all over Texas Country Music and with fans worldwide. In addition to getting their fill to eat and dancing to the songs of Trevino and Tucker under the Texas stars, guests can bid on unique items in the silent auction, an array of everything from tickets to local attractions, designer handbags and professional cookware to local goods and services.

Taste is made possible in part because of generous community sponsors which include: H-E-B; Texas State University; Texas Media Group; Central Texas Medical Center; Little Guys Movers; Ozona Bank; San Marcos Premium Outlets; First Lockhart Bank; Kate and Bill Johnson; C&C Management; Carothers Family Dental; The Railhouse; Quality Hardwood Floors; Will Conley for Hays County Judge; Lon Shell for Hays County Commissioner Precinct Three; Whataburger; Randolph Brooks Federal Credit Union; Frost Bank; EVO; Premiere Events; Corridor Primary Care; Green Group Holdings, LLC; Kim and Winton Porterfield; Chloe and John Navarrette; and Robin and Wayne Becak.

Tickets for Taste are available online. Individual tickets are $75, couples are $140. Sponsorship opportunities are still available and offer businesses a unique opportunity to spotlight their services.

For more information about Taste, email unitedway@uwhays.org or call 512-353-1420.