On October 4th, the Barrier Island Free Medical Clinic is hosting one of its major fundraisers of the year. Festivities begin at 3PM and wind down at 6PM. This will be the ninth annual wine and beer festival the Clinic has sponsored.
This year’s festival promises to match, if not exceed, the fun and entertainment of last year’s. One of the musicians who will be entertaining the 
crowd is the very popular Ann Caldwell, who has been featured in prior festivals. Ann can take you down memory lane with songs from the ‘40’s through the ‘70”s, or treat you to marvelous Gullah music that is hard to find anywhere else.
This year’s event will be held under a beautiful canopied tent, so rain or shine, there will be an enjoyable time for all. Festival attendees will have the opportunity to sample a wide variety of excellent wines as well as craft beers coordinated by Kiawah Wines and Spirits, a Diamond level sponsor for the event. Guests will enjoy small plates prepared by local restaurants.
There will also be bidding on a varied selection of quite impressive Silent Auction items. Two of the Silent Auction items are really eye popping. One is a 7-day stay for 4 people in a vintage Tuscan style villa with 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, and a living room and kitchen combination. The other is accommodation for 2 people in one of three different safari/game lodges in South Africa for 6 nights including all meals and two safaris daily. These auction items can have multiple winners. Whatever the highest bid is, others can replicate that bid and receive the same auction item. That is hard to beat.
This year the Clinic is partnering with the Sea Islands Hunger Awareness Foundation. The Board of the Clinic recognizes how much hunger, poverty and poor health care go hand in hand. They are encouraging people coming to the event to bring two non-perishable food items, which they will turn over to the Hunger Awareness organization.
Tickets can be purchased at Indigo Books at Freshfields Village.
The Barrier Island Free Medical Clinic is an organization that provides healthcare for people between the ages of 18 and 65 who have no health insurance. It services the people living or working on Johns, James and Wadmalaw islands. The Clinic sees roughly 400 patients per month. It has been a lifesaver for its many patients, most of whom have never had health insurance.
No wonder it is called the Miracle on Maybank.
Submitted by: Barbara Burgess
At Freshfields