Good News 15th Birthday Celebration & Community Benefit Good News Cafe gala 15th birthday celebration raises funds for local nonprofit organizations Carole Peck's Good News Cafe hosted a gala 15th birthday celebration and charity benefit on Friday, Nov. 7, to raise funds in support of four nonprofit organizations. The beneficiaries included Woodbury Community Services Council, Girls Inc. of Waterbury, the Flanders Nature Center and Land Trust of Woodbury, and WPKN 89.5 FM Bridgeport. The event featured a wine and beer bar, hors d'oeuvres and full buffet dinner, birthday cake and favors. Seating was provided throughout the restaurant as well as a large attached heated tent set up specially for the evening's festivities. Music for entertainment and dancing continued throughout the evening, provided by WPKN's dedicated volunteer programmers. A memento of the evening's delicious fare is provided on this link to the 15th birthday celebration menu. As part of the 15th birthday celebration, Good News Cafe sponsored an "Inspired Giving" silent auction of goods and services donated by local businesses and friends of the restaurant. The evening also kicked off a special raffle offering a chance to bid for a reservation for two persons to participate in a future Provence Culinary Tour conducted by Carole Peck and her husband Bernard Jarrier at their home in the south of France. The raffle prize also includes round-trip air fare from New York City and ground transportation in France. The raffle tickets will be sold at $200 each, with a limit of 325 tickets to be offered. The raffle will continue through the end of the year; tickets may be purchased at the restaurant, or purchase can be arranged by calling the restaurant manager at (203) 266-4663. "This celebration offered an opportunity for all of us at Good News Cafe to give back to our community, which has wholeheartedly supported the restaurant during these past 15 years," Peck says. Here are brief profiles of the beneficiaries of the event: * The Community Services Council of Woodbury provides food and fuel assistance to town residents in need, and short-term financial assistance in times of personal crisis. * Girls Inc. of Greater Waterbury serves the educational and recreational needs of low-income households in the area, sponsoring after-school, evening and weekend programs as well as summer day camps. * Flanders Nature Center and Land Trust conducts educational programs to raise public awareness of natural resource conservation, and maintains stewardship for preservation of open space. * WPKN 89.5 FM is a non-commercial community radio station staffed exclusively by volunteer programmers and supported entirely by fundraising and listener donations. The donation for the evening of $116 per guest represented the sum of 11/12/93, recalling the Nov. 12, 1993, date when Good News Cafe opened in Woodbury.