A Boot Scootin' Good Time

The Gala Season on Marco Island is officially underway—and what a way to start. The sold-out Rhinestone Rodeo Gala was an unqualified success with a hot country band, a packed dance floor, and an auctioneer who was able to lasso saddlebags full of cash for the Our Daily Bread Food Pantry.

"This is our very first gala,” said Evelyn Rossetti-Ryan, Executive Director of Our Daily Bread Food Pantry. "And it’s very fitting because we are just two days away from our eighth anniversary. So we can't think of a better way of celebrating our eighth year than with new friends, old friends, our community, our partner, and our sponsors. We have a full house tonight - 200-plus folks here in the room and we're super excited about that. Great live auction items, great silent auction items. We’re raising funds to support the Pantry's mission.

The Back Country Boys, a locally popular band, had people dancing from the moment the door opened.

"We're celebrating the rhinestone rodeo in all its glory,” Rossetti-Ryan said. “Cowboy boots, country music, country line dancing to the full extent.”

A high percentage of the crowd donned country attire. Many of the ladies accented their outfits with rhinestones.

"We just felt it was a fun theme,” Rossetti-Ryan said, "and it's something a little casual, a little relaxed. The Pantry's mission is to provide food, nourishment, encouragement and hope. And we feel this is a fun way of connecting folks, celebrating our community, and celebrating what we do every day."

There was even an instructor on hand to teach the art of boot scooting.

"Angie's Boot Scoot line dance instruction performed and gave some lessons as well tonight,” Rossetti-Ryan said. “We have many, many representatives from the community and community businesses here."

Our Daily Bread Food Pantry started off feeding about 3,600 kids and their families a year back in 2016 as a mission of the church. Their mission grew to reduce hunger and create relationships in the community. They are now feeding 1,700 families, seniors and students every single week. 

“The people who utilize our pantry are working people,” said Rossetti-Ryan. "People who serve us every day, who support us every day. And it is an honor and a pleasure to be able to serve them. Our Daily Bread Food Pantry offers food. It also offers hope and encouragement each and every day. We are a six-day-a-week pantry. We could not do that without our 301 volunteers who make that pantry happen every day, who work with the precision of a Swiss watch and who provide service with a smile.