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CULINARY CASINO CLASSIC Weekend Jetaway
Lee Brice headlines event to help two local causes By Alison Bailin Batz
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ickets are now available for the 7th Annual Weekend Jetaway, which takes place on Friday, Nov. 9 from 6 to 9 p.m. on the roof of the W Hotel. The event will feature culinary creations from leading Valley restaurants including PNPK Craft Sliders + Wine Bar, Bourbon and Bones, SOL Cocina, Chula Seafood, Sushi Roku, Z’ Tejas, High & Rye, Nitro Ice Cream and more; as well as spirit experiences, cocktails, beer and wine courtesy of Hensley & Co.; a country-themed photo booth, country line dancing; and game of chance with one very big prize. “During the event, guests will take part in a casino-style dice game, with the lucky winner taking home the grand prize – a luxurious, all-inclusive, first-class vacation on a private jet for four,” says Dil-
Participants in Weekend Jetaway will compete in a casino-style dice game for a chance to win a luxury vacation. 52
OCTOBER | NOVEMBER 2018 NORTHVALLEYMAGAZINE.COM
lan Micus, event co-founder. Oh, there is also the live entertainment. “Country star Lee Brice, who has a connection to one of our partner charities in a very special way, is taking time away from his busy touring schedule – not to mention his promotional tour to tout his latest album – to headline our event, singing all of his hits,” Micus says. Brice, a former college football player, got his start in songwriting back in 2007, notably helping to pen hits for Tim McGraw, Jason Aldean and Garth Brooks. By 2010, he was ready to release his first album, Love Like Crazy. Over the past eight years, Brice has found massive country and mainstream success with such songs as “Drinking Class,” “Hard 2 Love,” “I Drive Your Truck” and “I Don’t Dance.” He is a two-time Grammy “Song of the Year” nominee and has earned similar nods from the Academy of Country Music and Country Music Association, respectively. “For most of his career, Lee has been a staunch supporter and fundraiser for Folds of Honor, which provides educational scholarships to the children and spouses of our fallen and disabled service members while serving our nation,” Micus says. “When he learned that the local chapter of the organization was one of our two event beneficiaries, he jumped at the chance to be a part of our event.” Folds of Honor was founded by Major Dan Rooney, an F-16 fighter pilot in the Oklahoma Air National Guard. As he returned home from his second tour of duty in Iraq in the mid-2000s, he shared a plane with the remains of Corporal Brock Bucklin, whose body was being brought home to his family. Seeing the other side of war through the eyes of Bucklin’s twin brother and young son, Jacob, as the casket de-boarded the plane forever changed his life and gave him a new mission. “Committed to spending his life changing the future of America’s grieving spouses and children, he formed Folds of Honor in 2007, and over the past decade-plus, it has grown to