Among all the food themed events in the Los Angeles area, the Calabasas Malibu Wine & Food Festival is for sure one of the best we have visited. It must be because of the perfect combination of quality, variety, and location. Plus, what you pay to enjoy a wonderful afternoon goes to a good cause: medical research.
 
Last November 2011, we had already met Alan Semsar, CEO of Barcelona Enterprises and organizer of the event, for the Joe Pesci Pizza Festival, and we had the chance to see him again last Saturday, on the roof top of Mercedes-Benz in Calabasas.Same great success in both the occasions.  
 
How do you make it, Alan?
People enjoy these kinds of events because they love food! It’s such a treat when you come here and you get the chance to try 40 restaurants, 70 wineries, 40 breweries… So many different things, and you don’t even feel guilty, because you are giving money for a good cause. What we raise will be given to the Children’s Tumor Foundation. This is a research organization, which is very different from just giving money to a charity organization. It’s more like an investment. I used to be in the medical field, so I know that research is the engine of this big system that is healthy.
 
Any particular reason for devolving money to children?
There isn’t any particular experience. The reason why these funds will go to children is that I love them. I have a daughter and I know what it means to see children happy. What’s better than a celebration that involves food and drinks, knowing that it’s going to help children?
 
We agree. We had a wonderful afternoon walking from booth to booth, trying out different specialties, getting to know wineries and breweries we had never heard of before. A perfect weather and a wonderful location just made the day even more perfect.
 

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