A sold-out crowd of more than 200 guests enjoyed a delicioso culinary journey at last Saturday evening’s Wine and Dine benefit at the Grand Harbor Golf Club, which this year featured a Taste of Spain and Portugal. Co-chaired by Mackie Duch and Carole Casey, the annual fundraiser to benefit the Hibiscus Children’s Center raised funds to help provide a better future for the neglected, abused and abandoned teens residing at the Hibiscus Village in Vero Beach.

A classical guitar played by the talented Ed Cortez greeted arriving guests, who were handed glasses of a Spanish Cava by a charming young matador, Angel Andrade. Cortez was joined later in the dining room by fellow members of the Third Dimension, Meg Hickey and Chuck Hollis, to entertain over dinner and dancing.

The two hallways leading to the dining rooms were each lined with numerous silent-auction items donated by Hibiscus Guild and board members, including quite a few wine-centric baskets. Guests could also purchase raffle tickets for some enviable items, and a wine toss game gave everyone a chance to stock up their own reserves.

Grand Harbor’s culinary staff and servers were kept busy replenishing a tempting array of Spanish- and Portuguese-styled dishes, as well as the wines they were paired with, at six food stations throughout the club. Dishes included huevos endiablos, wine-poached white asparagus, Manchego and focaccia, a Spanish charcuterie selection, seafood paella, veal osso bucco, and for dessert, churros with dulce de leche ice cream.

Hibiscus CEO/President Matt Markley, who started last June following the retirement of Paul Sexton, thanked sponsors, Guild members and guests for their support and, stressing that he wanted to counter any possible thought that their dollars aren’t making a difference, shared the story of one young woman’s remarkable transition.

Once a self-harmer with suicidal tendencies due to years of abuse by her father, she entered the Hibiscus Village in a state of depression and uninterested in school. Through the supportive guidance of the staff and counselors at the Village, she has turned her life around. After obtaining her GED with assistance from their educational liaison, who works directly with the school district, she entered their Career Pathways to Independence program and now works part-time in a Vero Beach restaurant and is attending classes at Indian River State College.

“She has come full circle,” said Markley, noting that what he has seen over the eight months has been “just amazing.” “These kids aren’t bad; but the situations they come from are.”

Proceeds from Wine & Dine support the Village’s long-term home environments for teens, providing them with “nurturing, love and encouragement along with educational services and career preparation training.”

For more information, visit hibiscuschildrenscenter.org.