Wayne Main Street schedules ‘Toast’ fundraiser

Local band, Sugartips, will be entertaining at Toast Wayne, the annual fundraiser for Wayne Main Street, set for 7-10 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 3. 

This year, the event will take place at a new venue, the former site of St. Mary's School, 34530 W. Michigan Ave., located next to St. Mary's church in downtown Wayne. The event will feature live music, a curated silent auction, strolling appetizers from local restaurants, along with complimentary bar service. Tickets to Toast Wayne are $35 each or four tickets for $100 and can be purchased at https://downtownwayne.org/toastwayne/

Toast Wayne is a strolling event that features a silent auction and appetizer stations hosted by area restaurants, giving patrons the opportunity to sample local fare for more than 10 local restaurants.  Many silent auction prizes will also be donated from local businesses.  

Sugartips, the evening entertainment, was founded in 2009, and is an acoustic duo comprising two seasoned local musicians. Vocalist Greg Paddock has fronted a number of Detroit-area bands and has provided backing vocals for award-winning singer J.R. Richards, original lead singer of Dishwalla. Guitarist Ryan Harrison is a veteran of the local Detroit music scene, and a graduate of DIME. The group performs acoustic versions of favorite standards along with renditions of today's popular music. 

“When we were discussing a musical feature at the Toast Wayne event, Sugartips was the unanimous pick by the committee. This group is a treasure to the city of Wayne. We are thankful to have them with us again,” commented Sam Rainey, a Toast Wayne committee member.

“Not only does this event showcase what Wayne has to offer, it brings us together as a community. Wayne is a very close-knit city, so an event like this turns familiar faces you see around town into friendly faces,” commented Lori Morrow, Toast Wayne Committee chair.

This event is the signature fundraiser for Wayne Main Street and enables the organization to continue the mission of building a revitalized and vibrant downtown Wayne, organizers stressed. The efforts of the organization have resulted in more than $3 million in private investment in downtown Wayne since 2014, a spokesperson said. 

Launched in 2011, Wayne Main Street has evolved into one of the largest civic organizations in the city. Last year, volunteers from Wayne Main Street contributed more than 2,700 service hours to the community.  In 2014, the organization was recognized by the Michigan Main Street Association as a Select-Level Main Street community.  Wayne Main Street employs the four-point Main Street approach by promoting downtown Wayne as the heart of the community, furthering the commitment to historic preservation, creating programming that draws people to downtown Wayne and producing premier events.