DOWAGIAC — Wine and beer lovers in southwest Michigan will have a chance to sample many different varieties of their favorite libations while also giving to a local cause during an annual event the first weekend in August.

The Lee Memorial Foundation will host its seventh annual Wine and Beer Tasting event from 6 to 9 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 4, at Don and Vicary Blackmond’s Sesquicentennial Farm, 55317 Lake Road, Dowagiac. The event will showcase a number of local and Michigan wineries and breweries, which will be providing tastings. Wineries featured will include Round Barn, Tabor Hill, Lazy Balleria, Cody Kresta, 12 Corners, Gravity and Contessa. Breweries featured will include Sister Lakes Brewing Company, Round Barn Brewery, Barn Brewers, Saugatuck Brewing Company, Perrin Brewing Company and Virtue Cider.

Tickets to the event are $50, which will include the tasting, hors d’oeuvres, a souvenir wine glass and live entertainment by Mike Struwin and company. Items will be raffled off at the event as well. Raffle tickets are $5 each or 5 for $20.

All money raised from the event will be used to be enhance and update the oncology department at Borgess Lee Memorial Hospital.

“In order to keep our treatment local, we really need to fix things up,” said Beth Cripe, an organizer of the event. “We are excited to make the oncology department more patient friendly and more patient comfortable.”

As far as fundraisers go, Cripe said the wine and beer tasting is very successful, adding that she believes the event to be both fun and reasonably priced.

“It’s a first-class event,” Cripe said. “It’s just wonderful. You can make a full meal out of it and you have beautiful tables overlooking Indian Lake.”

Those interested in attending the wine and beer tasting event, should hurry and buy tickets, Cripe said, as attendance is limited to 350 guests and most tickets have already sold.

“We have really grown over the years, and I think word of mouth has a lot to do with that,” she said. “People have come and loved it, and they have come every year since. We sell out every year. We never have an issue.”

Though Cripe said the wine and beer are the biggest draws to the fundraiser, her personal favorite part of the event is the raffle. This year, the event will be raffling off many items including wine and beer baskets and sports tickets to major teams such as the Detroit Lions, Chicago Bears and the Chicago Blackhawks.

“We have a fabulous raffle, and it is very fun,” Cripe said.

Cripe said she hopes the public will turn out for the event and enjoy themselves.

“You get a good meal, get to taste a bunch of local wines and beers and you get live music,” she said. “Plus, it all goes to a good cause.”