ROYAL CITY - The Sip of the Slope may be a wine tasting festival at its root, but it's really much more than that.

Sip of the Slope, set for Sept. 20, promotes area wines and their makers. It promotes specialty foods and their makers or providers.

Sip of the Slope also promotes community. It's a fall social for which friends and neighbors clean and dress up. They sip a few wines, eat some cheeses, tacos and pies and start getting into the mood for the winter holidays.

Sip of the Slope is also a commitment to betterment of the community. The sponsoring organization, SHOC (Strengthening the Heart of the Community) puts it on as a social and fund-raising event.

Proceeds are dedicated to community projects. That means that every person who buys a ticket contributes to those projects.

SHOC earns every one of the $30 it charges for a ticket. Members volunteer work, which the public doesn't witness, starts months before the show.

During March and April, Sip co-chair Georgene Ricker invited several of the wineries in Grant County to participate. A number of them accepted.

"At the same time, we contacted a number of our local eateries and specialty food preparers to provide our tasty hors d' oeuvres," co-chair Linda Murphy said. "At this point our wine and food selections are essentially settled."

The next order of business is to secure the Royal Community Center for the day and begin the task of obtaining the necessary licenses, permits and insurance to satisfy all of the state and local entities.

"Sharon Chesterman and Brett Schrom always participate in that process," Murphy said.

Next is the advertising. It has to be done with care. The goal of the wine fest is to make money.

A poster design is created with a coordinating rack card to distribute across the county and a short distance into adjoining counties. With the help of The Royal Register, newspaper advertisement is generated.

"This year Sherrie Rodriguez designed our ticket as the final touches to the advertising were completed," Murphy said.

SHOC holds numerous meetings to decide the decorating issues for the indoor and outdoor areas of the Community Center. The music and entertainment needs are addressed.

SHOC undertakes work days to weed, trim and clean the Community Center grounds. This year Cathy and Gary Potter, Georgene Ricker, Sharon Chesterman, Kassandra Salas, Jim Hill, and John Murphy were among the grounds workers.

As the time draws closer to the event, SHOC volunteers gather all the other items necessary to make the day enjoyable for their guests.

"Finally the day of the Sip of the Slope arrives and the hours of work are well worth it as guests join in the tasting of fine wines and foods," Murphy said.

SHOC invites everyone to their Sip of the Slope wine tasting festival on Sept. 20 at the Royal Community Center from 4-7 p.m. When you consider all the work SHOC volunteers do at the festival and around the community, your $30 per ticket will be well spent.

Tickets are available at Royal Harvest Foods. You may also purchase a ticket at the Community Center on the day of the event.

They entitle the bearer to eight wine tastes, a souvenir glass, and hors d'oeuvres.