From left, stomping grapes for charity, Donna Postle of Dover, Terri Rosetta of Dover and Lacey Vaughn of Newark were the Stomping Pink Elephants at the first annual Stomp Out Cancer fundraiser in 2014 for Nemours/A.I. duPont Children’s Hospital. Each team of stompers were made up of three people and the teams were judged on messiness, spirit, audience applause and costume.
MARYDEL — Teams will be up to their knees in grapes Saturday at Harvest Ridge Winery in an effort to raise money to end childhood cancer.
“Chuck and Chris, the owners of the winery, have three kids and eight grandkids so children have always been a big part of their life,” Nan Nunan, the event’s coordinator and daughter-in-law of the winery’s owners said.
“We found out last summer that September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month and wanted to do something to contribute.”
Stomp Out Childhood Cancer is from noon to 8 p.m. Saturday.
Proceeds from the event will go to Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children in Wilmington. Last year, the event attracted 1,500 people and raised $10,000 for the hospital.
Ms. Nunan said the winery has raised its fundraising goal for this year to $20,000.
“Only 4 percent of all cancer funding goes to childhood cancer research and it’s really sad because no one wants to be put in a situation where they have a sick kid,” Ms. Nunan said. “And we decided to donate to A.I. duPont because they are Delaware-based and many local kids go there.”
The main attraction of the event, as the name describes, is grape stomping. It’s done by teams of three who compete to create the most juice from the barrel of grapes they’re given.
So far, 40 teams have signed up to stomp.
Stompers were enthusiastic last year, not only developing the most efficient stomping techniques, but also dressing in elaborate costumes ranging from fairies to Lucille Ball in the classic 1956 episode of “I Love Lucy” where the funny lady finds herself in an Italian vineyard.
Team entrance fees are $125 and teams may register at the event. Half the fee goes directly to Alfred I, duPont.
In addition to the grape stomping, vendors selling everything from clothing to balloon animals will be on site as will more than 10 food trucks selling a variety of meals and snacks.
There is a $10 entrance fee. The ticket includes a commemorative wine glass and a glass of wine or a sampling with 50 percent of each ticket sold being donated to A.I. duPont.
Plenty of activities will be available for the kids at the family-friendly event, including an obstacle course and face painting.
“Everyone had a blast and we were able to raise a lot of money last year and we hope to do the same but even bigger this year,” Ms. Nunan said.
Harvest Ridge is at 447 Westville Road near Marydel. Regular hours are noon to 5 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and noon to 8 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.