Since 1972 the Women’s Association of the Northwest Indiana Symphony Society, known to most as WANISS, has been hosting a May Wine Charity Luncheon to benefit the Northwest Indiana Symphony Orchestra.

As with so many other organizations’ plans and scheduled events for 2020, this year ranks as a first for these hardworking women who are so dedicated to helping assure there is music for the ears of all to enjoy. For many years, I’ve not only attended with my mother Peggy, but also served as a judge for the annual ladies’ hat contest at the event.

“We are having a ‘Stay at Home Wine Brunch’ this year connected with June 24,” explained WANISS President Marti Ross.

“We have asked for a $25 donation and for the ‘attendee’ to stay home and to wear a hat while enjoying a glass of wine in honor of the NWI Symphony in place of a gathering event. Of course, one can donate an additional amount if so desired. We are also still having a cash raffle and have sent the raffle tickets in each of invitations mailed last month. We are asking everyone to take a photo of yourself and email it to development@nisorchestra.org so it can be posted on the WANISS Facebook page. We all have had to make major changes in our daily lives, but this too shall pass.”

Throughout the years, WANISS has always been able to quickly adapt to change. For decades, the annual May event, which easily draws more than 400 attendees, was held in the ballroom of the Radisson Hotel at Star Plaza in Merrillville until it closed in 2018. In recent years, the wine flowed freely and hats were paraded in the elegant dining room at The Center for Visual and Performing Arts in Munster.

“This year, because of the COVID-19 Pandemic, the WANISS ladies have had to make this big change,” said WANISS member Mary Stark.

“Instead of the usual brunch, hats and entertainment, we are depending on this Plan B with the raffle drawing being held on June 24 at the Symphony’s office. Support for the Symphony is even more crucial now after the required cancellation of the last two concert series and the summer outdoor concerts due to the pandemic.”

Raffle tickets and more information are available by calling Tresa Radermacher at the Symphony office 219-836-0525, ext. 206. Alternately, donations can be sent to the Symphony office addressed to: WANISS c/o Center for Visual and Performing Arts, 1040 Ridge Road, Munster, IN 46321.

Another favorite regular guest at the annual WANISS May Wine Luncheon is Margaret Kullerstrand, my longtime newsroom neighbor and fellow columnist who penned a weekly society column for years, and has a journalism roots which began in Crown Point in the 1980s as an editor at the Lake County Star. Marge and her recipes have been featured in my columns and published cookbooks throughout the decades. Her hat fashions also guarantee to turn heads at the WANISS May Wine each May. During my stage cooking shows, Marge has joined me in the spotlight to whip-up one of her featured recipes, much to the delight of audiences because of her raucous laugh and entertaining personality.

As a surprise to Marge, I’ve made it a tradition to gift her with an “over-the-top” spell-casting pointed witch’s hat at my last two cooking stage shows. My new “Back From the Farm” cookbook includes a terrific photo of Marge in one of her many pointed chapeaus during a reader Halloween event I hosted in October 2008. One of her recipe specialties is quiche, incorporating an ever-evolving range of delicious ingredients. Most recently, Marge dreamed up a variation of her quiche contrasting the flavors of both tender fresh asparagus with delectable mushrooms, as shared for today’s column, and perfect with a glass of favorite wine for this month’s WANISS “Stay at Home” charity luncheon.

Columnist Philip Potempa has published four cookbooks and is the director of marketing at Theatre at the Center. He can be reached at pmpotempa@comhs.org.