Border Action Network formed in 1999 and works with immigrant and border communities in Arizona to ensure that our rights are respected, our human dignity upheld and that our communities are healthy places to live. We are a membership-based organization that combines grassroots community organizing, leadership development, litigation and policy advocacy

Annual Spring Fundraiser at Hotel Congress (311 E. Congress)

Saturday, May 14th at Hotel Congress in Tucson (to coincide with 2nd Saturdays Downtown‘s one year anniversary).

6 PM to 10 PM

Suggested donation $10.

“Enjoy live music inside and on the patio, performances from local artists and special guests, and a silent auction with something for everyone!” Entertainment by Puppet Muzik, Rich Hopkins & the Casa Maria Band, Mariachi Herradura de Tucson, The AmoSphere and Poi-Zen Fire Troupe (popular from last year).

Click here to view the fantastic silent auction items, including hotel stays, jewelry, artwork, dinners, tickets, a hot air balloon ride, lots more.

Website: www.borderaction.org, email is ban@borderaction.org,
Telephone: (520) 623-4944
Fax: (520) 792-2097

Border Action Network: “Building the Voice for Human Rights Across Arizona” (photo from their website)

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The 3rd Annual Rincon Rotary District 5500′s decadent “Taste of Chocolate” was held this afternoon at the Doubletree Hotel (445 S. Alvernon Way). And Creative Catering won all 4 categories of tasting: Chocolate Artisan, Mousse Crossing, Cocoa Loco, and Hometown Hits, as decided by Celebrity Judges:

Alex Miranda, KGUN 9
Kayna Whitworth, KOLD 13
Anne Kellogg, Tucson Lifestyle magazine
“Chris P” and “Joe Joe”, 93.7 KRQ (the “good looking guys”)
Mrs. Grant, 94.9 MIXfm

All photos below courtesy of friend Andy Reilly (except for last two photos taken by Barry Cohen).

Creative Catering's winning Cocoa Loco entry (judge's choice)

I suspect it was also Creative Catering’s wide selection of three choices of fondue dips that was so impressive– using bananas, creams puffs, angel food cake, pretzels, marshmallows, & brownie bites. Yum. They won 3 of the 4 celebrity judge’s categories last year (all except for Mousse Crossing).

Creative Catering's fondue choices - Hometown Hits winner (judge's and people's choice)

In the People’s choices (voted on by the hundreds of attendees), the winners for the same categories were:

Chocolate Artisan: Melting Pot (choco strawberries)
Mousse Crossing: Eclectic Cafe (white chocolate flan)
Cocoa Loco: Zink’s Treats (hot pepper fudge)
Hometown Hits: Creative Catering (chocolate river)

Congratulations to all the winners, and to Chair Wendy Hobbs are another successful Taste of Chocolate.

Zink Treat's winning hot pepper fudge (Cocoa Loco category, People's Choice)

Creative Catering is located at 727 E. Holaway, phone 520-690-0146, email is info@tucsoncreativecatering.com, www.tucsoncreativecatering.com. Owners are Bill and M.J. Essenmacher.

Most of the taste options were chocolate cakes, brownies, truffles with a few unusual choices — a chocolate crepe (Planet of the Crepes) and a chicken slider sandwich with chocolate bbq sauce – pictured below (by Culinary Design Catering). And of course the Doubletree Hotel had their famous chocolate chip cookies on their tasting table.

Culinary Design's chicken slider entry (last year winner of Cocoa Loco category of People's Choice)

Numerous raffle prizes (gift certificates from restaurants and other businesses in town) were given out, and a silent auction of beautiful jewelry and other gifts (including an exquisite Mata Ortiz pot) was also held.

Read my previous blog about this event (click here), and mark your calendar for next year’s event scheduled for April 15, 2012.

Here’s a photo taken by Barry Cohen of the winning chocolate flan entry by Eclectic Cafe:

Eclectic Cafe's winning flan entry (Mousse Crossing, people's choice)

And last but not least, a photo of the winning team at Creative Catering receiving their People’s Choice award (Hometown Hits):

Creative Catering team, overall winners

Cafe 54 is located at 54 E. Pennington (hence their name), just west of Scott Avenue in downtown Tucson. The upcoming Silent Auction (their first annual fundraiser) on December 11 will feature paintings, sculpture, jewelry, and will be from 5:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., coinciding with 2nd Saturdays Downtown. Cafe 54′s phone # is 520-622-1907.

Cafe 54 is an innovative bistro serving “New American Fusion” cuisine in the heart of downtown Tucson. The cafe serves lunch Monday through Friday at 11am to 2 pm in an artsy, urban ambiance with a changing daily menu. Cafe 54 is a non-profit organization with an award-winning training and employment support program serving individuals recovering from mental illness.

Cafe 54 is Supported by the Community Partnership of Southern Arizona, Rehabilitation Services Administration and private donations.

Our Mission:

* To assist individuals with mental illnesses become independent, tax-paying citizens.
* To provide trainees with the tools they need to recognize and utilize inherent talents and skills.
* To provide the restaurant community with a pool of reliable employees who have had training and first-hand experience working in a quality restaurant setting.
* To reduce and ultimately eliminate the stigma surrounding mental illness by shifting focus from disabilities to abilities.

If you haven’t tried their delicious, innovative menu for lunch, you should stop by the next time you’re downtown. Their food is always fresh, interesting, imaginative, made from scratch daily in their kitchen.

As a frequent diner, I love the jerk chicken salad, their rosemary rolls, their teriyaki salmon (and most other dishes as well). Here’s their description on the jerk chicken salad: “Jerk seasoned chicken breast, mango, pineapple, strawberries and spiced pecans served on mixed greens and dressed with raspberry vinaigrette.” It is all fabulous.