Children's mental health front and center at Sunday's 2019 SWFL Wine & Food Fest

The 2019 Southwest Florida Wine & Food Fest has a new venue and a new focus. 

In its 11th year, Sunday's event has moved to the Hyatt Regency Coconut Point Resort in Bonita Springs, while raising funds for a new theme: children's mental and behavioral health. 

"With the brick and mortar of the Golisano Children's Hospital built, we wanted to create a program to address other needs of the area," festival co-chair Christin Collins said. 

"We wanted to choose a topic that sparked interest from people, and mental health has proven to be that catalyst."

The often-taboo topic brought guests at the 2017 Wine & Food Fest to tears and then sent them digging deep into their pockets. A special auction lot devoted to funding children's mental-health initiatives raised more than $1.5 million in a matter of minutes that year, pushing the event's fundraising total to a near-record-breaking $3.16 million. 

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Since its inception, Wine & Food Fest has raised more than $25 million for SWFL Children's Charities. The organization was the second largest contributor in the building of Golisano Children's Hospital. It also pays for healthcare programs at Florida Gulf Coast University and Florida SouthWestern State College.

This year, organizers are hoping to turn the spark they saw with the 2017 mental health lot into a full-blown movement. 

"We want to create a regional approach to mental health," said Collins, who is also a trustee for SWFL Children's Charities. 

"We want to align providers and get the needed help from Tallahassee. We want to figure out the approaches that work best for this community and see those approaches properly funded."

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To get the process started, SWFL Children's Charities has teamed up with grant-writing professionals at the Southwest Florida Community Foundation. Just last week the foundation hosted a "compassionate Shark Tank" bringing in 14 local pediatric mental healthcare programs to vet their approaches and determine which deserve additional funding. 

"Each group showed their measurable outcomes, the science behind what they did, how much money they needed to make more of an impact," Collins said. "It was very intriguing to see the most meaningful programs immediately bubble to the top."

Those programs could get a big boost after this weekend.

While Wine & Food Fest benefits a serious cause, the event itself is all about stunning food, wines and a fundraising good time. 

In addition to the new theme and the new Hyatt location — the event took place at Quail West in Naples last year and at Miromar Lakes Beach & Golf Club in Estero for several years prior — the festival has moved its grand tasting and auction from Saturday to Sunday. 

Wine & Food Fest kicks off at noon Sunday with a bounty of wines from exclusive vintners to be paired with food from 12 acclaimed area chefs. 

"This event is such a no-brainer for me," Fort Myers chef and restaurateur Harold Balink said. "I know the money will be well spent. I know it's saving lives and helping children."

Balink has taken part in the SWFL Wine & Food Fest since before it was called Wine & Food Fest. He cooked at the event in its earliest days, 15-some years ago when it was known as the Fort Myers Wine Festival. Balink said the event garnered about $80,000 that first year. In 2018 it raised $2.9 million. 

"To be even a small part of something that's grown exponentially each year and that's drawn national attention with so much money going to just the right places, that's humbling for me," Balink said. 

After getting buttered up with food and wine, attendees will enter the auction tent for a chance to bid on once-in-a-lifetime lots: a private swim lesson with Michael Phelps, a Costa Rican fishing trip with Wild Bill of Discovery Channel's "Deadliest Catch," an eight-day luxury trip to the Maldives and Dubai.

There are wine trips, from Oregon and California to Portugal and Croatia. And VIP experiences at The Masters and CMA Awards, even an evening with Al Pacino. 

"The feedback on the auction lots this year is unanimous," Collins said. "It's by far the most stellar year we've experienced."

Collins said she and her fellow trustees don't have a fundraising goal in mind for Sunday. The event's biggest year was 2015 when it raised $3.353 million.

"Our focus is really on creating awareness around the area's mental-health challenges. That's what we're rallying around, creating a sustainable change," she said.  

"If we can do that, the dollars will follow. I am sure of it."

Connect with this reporter: @ATometich (Twitter)

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The 2019 Southwest Florida Wine & Food Fest

What: A grand tasting and auction to benefit SWFL Children's Charities. In its 11th year, the event has raised more than $25 million for Golisano Children's Hospital, FGCU and Florida SouthWestern State College. This year's event will focus on children's mental and behavioral health. 

When: Noon Sunday

Where: Hyatt Regency Coconut Point Resort, 5001 Coconut Road, Bonita Springs

Tickets: $1,500 per person; call 239-433-4260

More: swflwinefest.org

Participating chefs

Sean Deckter, Cibo

Harold Balink, Harold's

Osmany Acosta, Seminole Casino Hotel

Brian Roland, Crave Culinaire

David Nelson, Timeless: An MHK Eatery

Andreas Singer, Hyatt Regency Coconut Point

Ignacio Ortiz, Roy's

Allen Fisher, Shangri-La Springs

David Robbins, Society

John Sexton, Baleen at LaPlaya Resort

Norman Love, Norman Love Confections

Anna Toole, Saboram Wow

Visit swflwinefest.org/vintner to see the event's wine sponsors and more.