Geneva’s Wine, Cheese & Trees fundraiser will be raising a glass virtually in 2022 to help fund the planting of new trees in the community.

The city’s Natural Resources Committee and the Geneva Park District Foundation are teaming together to sponsor the 11^TH annual event, which will be held at 7 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 26.

Tickets can be purchased online for $100, which includes three bottles of wine that will be available for pickup the week before the event at Geneva Wine Cellars and Tasting Room, 227 S. Third St.

The evening will feature a virtual wine tasting, raffle and live auction. Some of the live auction items up for bid are an instant wine cellar; one week in Bonita Springs, Fla.; a weekend at the Seth Peterson Cottage in Wisconsin; and numerous Geneva restaurant gift certificate baskets. Raffle prizes include family memberships to Geneva Park District facilities, a Morton Arboretum family membership, a craft beer set, a lottery ticket tree, and more.

Organizers have a fundraising goal of $20,000. Wine, Cheese & Trees helps both the city and the Geneva Park District continue to recover from the devastation caused by the emerald ash borer.

The Natural Resources Committee has pledged to grow the city’s urban tree canopy under its Greening Geneva Initiative by planting parkway trees throughout the community. To date, the committee has funded the planting of hundreds of trees in downtown Geneva, City Hall, at each of the schools in Geneva Community Unit School District 304, and on Geneva Park District properties.

The Park District Foundation allocates the majority of event proceeds to plant additional trees throughout parks and natural areas. The remaining funds go toward projects that enhance Geneva’s parks and natural areas.

For more information about Wine, Cheese & Trees, contact Natural Resources Committee Chairman Jay Womack at 630-299-9945 or email him at jay.womack@gza.com. To learn more about the committee, visit the City’s website at www.geneva.il.us.

For more information about the Geneva Park District Foundation, visit the Park District’s website at www.genevaparks.org.