Imagine a place where desserts from top pastry chefs were everywhere, and your job was to taste them all and decide which is best. On this excursion, there are live cooking demonstrations, great deals on silent auction items, music, a personal estate that most of us can only dream of owning, & chocolate tutorials. If this “imaginary place” seems too good to be true, I am here to attest that it is not! Each year Adoption Discovery, a non-profit dedicated to helping families navigate the adoption process, hosts this very event, and I have happily attended each one.
An hour before the event begins, those who purchase VIP tickets begin to arrive for the VIP reception where they enjoy a huge array of delicious appetizers* and get the opportunity to mingle with the celebrity judges. This year’s judges included news anchors, a former NBA player, a famous musician, many celebs from the food industry, and a top executive. VIP attendees also participate in live cooking and chocolate demonstrations and get a first look at the many items available at the Silent Auction.
No matter whether you purchase a VIP ticket or general admission, you are greeted by a smiling group of volunteers who are eager to register you and point you in the right direction. Your eyes bounce from room to room as you discover a chocolate sculpture* (this year was an adorable teddy bear), photos of children available for adoption in the state of Georgia, an ice sculpture*, and the beauty that this personal estate offers in each meticulously decorated room. As you step through the French doors into the back lawn, you encounter the estate pool and patio which surpass any 5 star hotel. It is a work of art filled with desserts and an open bar* like you have only dreamed of seeing.
The excitement builds as the votes are cast, the Silent auction is ending, and the winner of Best Dessert Atlanta and the People’s Choice awards are soon to be announced. You think this event just can’t get any better until Bridgette Bradley, founder of Adoption Discovery comes to the stage, tells you there are 150 thousand children waiting to be adopted in the U.S. and 160 million worldwide, and that 81 million families consider adopting, but only 1 percent actually follow through. She tells how the Adoption Discovery program delivers unbiased
information helping those families not only choose to follow through with the adoption, but navigate the adoption process. Then she tells about the high percentage of families who once they adopt, adopt again and again. You may be like me, not good with numbers, but she makes it very clear that we are looking at an orphan crisis that CAN BE SOLVED. Suddenly, you discover the best part of this event is not the Yuzu Chibouste provided by Bluepointe (Best Dessert Title Winner) or the Sticky Toffee Pudding provided by Fourth & Swift (People’s Choice Award), but the fact that the money you spent to have a wonderful time and enjoy one of your passions is being used to solve a world problem, and has the capacity to do it in your lifetime! 
As you walk away feeling that dessert overload, lugging that amazing 5 ft. art piece that is going to look great over your living room mantle and the swag bag filled with all kinds of goodies, you feel better than you’ve ever felt before because YOU just made a difference by doing something YOU LOVE...and that is what this blog is all about...being MORE than JUST a socialite!!
To find out more about the Adoption Discovery program, visit www.adoptiondiscovery.org. Checkout www.bestdessert.org. for more information about Best Dessert Atlanta, including information about their upcoming event on September 10, 2011.
*VIP reception catered by Soiree, Chocolate Sculpture provided by Callebaut, Ice Sculpture sponsored by Grey Goose Vodka, Alcohol provided by Macs Beer & Wine and Grey Goose Vodka, Photographs provided by Eyebeam Photography and LBG Photography.
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