30 Aug 2021 Architects bake-off for worthy cause at Dessert Before Dinner With Bubbles and Bon Bons

HALLEY – The second Annual Dessert Before Dinner With Bubbles and Bons fundraiser will be held from 2 to 6 p.m., Oct. 3, at Garvan Woodland Gardens Pavilion, 550 Arkridge Rd., Hot Springs. This year’s guests will be treated to an Architecture Bake-off.   

Tickets to the benefit are $35.00 in advance and $45 on the event day. Tickets can be purchased at www.centralarkansastickets.com. Garvan Woodland Gardens, an entity of the University of Arkansas System, has the following COVID-19 protocols in place: Masks and social distancing are optional for vaccinated individuals.  Masks and social distancing are required for unvaccinated individuals.

Architecture and engineering firms competing in the bake-off include Little Rock firms, Cromwell Architects Engineers, Revival Architecture, and Woods Group Architects; and Hot Springs firm, Nature Angle.

The Architecture Bake-off is an edible design challenge, where award winning architects and designers will transfer their design talents from buildings to cakes by baking, designing, and constructing an iconic building. Judging the bake-off will be bakery connoisseurs and owners, including Ann Potter Baking, Cocoa Bell Chocolates, Community Bakery and Sweet Love Bakes.  

In addition to the must see bake-off, guests will hear well wishes and greetings from supporters, including actor and producer, George Takei.  

Included with the ticket, guests can tour Garvan Woodland Gardens, savor bubbles and bon bons, enjoy a fabulously inspired and delicious dinner, and top off the evening with the Billboard charted hit songwriter, recording artist and music producer, Steve Azar. Arkansas comedian, Nate Williams will host the event.

The celebration will be a two-day event to coincide with World Architecture Day, an annual observance on the contributions of architects to the built environment. On Oct. 4, Alex Foundation, in partnership with Heifer International, will donate books on the built environment to elementary students in Hot Springs and the Southeast Delta.  

According to an Alex Foundation spokesperson, support for their fundraiser helps provide much needed financial assistance in areas of academic and educational disparity. “This benefit is helping to provide support for STE+AM® particularly with rural, limited access and underserved students to have opportunities that they normally would not have.”  STE+AM® represents science, technology, engineering, plus architecture and math.

There is also a health benefit to having dessert before dinner. A study published in the “Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied” found that indulging in dessert before a meal could lead to healthier eating overall.