FOOD FEST RAISES FUNDS FOR SHERIFF'S VOLUNTEERS.

Byline: Greg Botonis Staff Writer

LANCASTER - The third annual Gourmet Wine and Food Festival held at the Antelope Valley Fairgrounds on Friday evening turned out more than four dozen hungry attendees sampling food and wines from some of the area's best restaurants.

The festival, an event hosted by the Antelope Valley Sheriff's Boosters to raise money for the annual volunteer banquet in September, kicked off offering food and wine samples to the more than 50 people attending, officials said.

``There are less restaurants here this year than last, but there seem to be a few more people,'' said Deputy Bobby Rush. ``Overall, it's a pretty good turnout.''

The festival featured food donated by local restaurants, including the Desert Inn, the Antelope Valley Inn, Nico's Mexican Restaurant, Santan Restaurant and Bar, The Thai Restaurant, Schooners, Steer & Stein, and The Bagel Bakery. Providing drinks were the Antelope Valley Winery and The Essex House.

A door prize and several raffle prizes were given out during the event, including gift certificates and tickets for rounds of golf, movies, dinners at local restaurants, gift baskets and free trips to the Palmdale landfill.

``We've done this every year just to support the local Sheriff's Department,'' said Antelope Valley Inn's sales manager Katie Nelson. ``It's definitely a worthwhile cause.''

The funds raised will go to host a dinner banquet for the more than 200 volunteers working with the Lancaster sheriff's station in various capacities. The banquet is an annual event held every September for about the past 20 years, officials said.

``The banquet is our way of saying thank you to all those volunteers who give so much of themselves,'' said Deputy Bobby Rush. ``They save the department and the city thousands of dollars each year by offering their own time to help the city of Lancaster and the community as a whole. The banquet is the least we can do for them.''