What if you had the chance to sample wines from 50 different wineries, pair them with gourmet dishes catered by 20 of the finest local restaurants, and enjoy live orchestral music, all while giving back to your community? That chance is coming up on May 30, when the College of the Canyons Foundation hosts the 2009 Santa Clarita Valley Wine Classic.

From 7:00 to 10:00 p.m. in the Main Gallery at the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts), guests will experience an evening of fine wining and dining and also have the opportunity to bid for a variety of rare and current wines, restaurant certificates, and gift baskets in both live and silent auctions. Past events have even seen the pouring of rare ‘library’ wines no longer in circulation.

This will be the event’s 20th year benefiting the SCV Youth Orchestra, which, since 1969, has used instrumental education to provide a positive creative outlet for hundreds of young people from the local community. More information about the event, including tickets, participating vendors, and wine evaluation forms may be found at www.scvwineclassic.org.

Tickets are $70 each, $135 a pair for advance sales and $80 each, $155 a pair at the door. Discount tickets for designated drivers are available for $35. CalArts is located at 24700 McBean Parkway in Valencia.

Tickets may be purchased on the website, by calling (661) 362-3737.