On August 22nd, the Real Estate Partners held their 4th Annual Cocktails in Havana evening. This event has grown to become the second largest fundraising event for our affiliate and this year, there are rumors that net proceeds are near $60K. This has yet to be confirmed since the final tally is being added up however, anyway you look at it, that is an impressive amount. The first year, $11K were raised and the event has raised exponential amounts since then. We are extremely grateful to Peter and Kristina Kalaydjian and Lupe Flores for their hard work, dedication and passion for Habitat for Humanity of Ventura County - thank you yet again. You guys rock!
On that note, I would also like to give extra special kudos to my 2 cousins, Miguel and Chuy, for stepping up and bailing us out of a bind. Other than the beer and hard liquor sampling, we had no barman to mix and serve drinks this year. My cousins, who were on vacation here from Aguascalientes Mexico, offered to step in and volunteer. This opportunity was a piece of cake for them since they both work at one of the most popular watering holes back in their hometown called "La Cantina". In any case, Miguel and Chuy got busy as they proved they were certainly no fish out of water. Peter told them his recipe for his famous "Jungle Juice" to which they picked up on right away. No ingredients were written down at all.
During the evening, some attendees only wanted juice while others wanted mixed drinks and this resulted in uneven quantities of remaining ingredients. So rather than closing up the bar, they began to do what they do best - they improvised. They made their own jungle juices and margarita mixes by skillfully combining remaining juices or soda and liquor until all ingredients were gone.
Talk about being resourceful. Not only did they use all ingredients wisely and evenly, they put out a tip jar and raised an additional $150 that went towards our mission. These 2 gentlemen did an awesome job and I personally will be forever grateful to them. I love these guys. Gracias muchachos! Los quiero mucho!
