Tomorrow night, Wednesday the 28th of October, 2009 (I know, almost November already!) will see a fantastic event happening out in Noordhoek, at Rioja Restaurant. They have recently moved venues, so take note of the following, from their website:

Rioja Restaurant has moved premises to Solole Game Reserve, Noordhoek. The buffalo are still wandering, springbok are still greeting you at the gate as you enter the Solole Game Reserve. The tranquille setting lends itself to a lingering lunch, a romantic dinner or even the quick pizza and beer.

Rioja’s menu still has the tapas style starters to choose from, the favourite mains are in the menu as well as daily specials on the black board. The Italian style wood fired pizzas are as thin-crusted as before and homemade ice creams and cakes are prepared daily for the sweeter tooth.

Rioja have teamed up with TEARS to do a wine tasting with the hope of raising some much needed funding for their amazing cause, which simply, presents itself as:

What Does “TEARS” Do?

* “TEARS” is run by a committee, ably assisted by a team of volunteers, and is purely voluntary.
* We rescue dogs, puppies, cats and kittens from abuse, cruelty, neglect and starvation and offer shelter to abandoned animals. They come from the townships, the freeways, and industrial and residential areas.
* We run an informal clinic from a shipping container in the centre of Masiphumelele (Site 5) on the Kommetjie Road, offering basic help to the township animals, such as dipping and de-worming, arranging for spays/neutering, homing puppies, hospitalising injured animals, supplying kennels, collars and limited food. We are also active in the Ocean View, near Kommetjie, and visit the Red Hill informal settlements once a week, providing the same services as we do for Masiphumelele.
* We also respond to hundreds of calls for help from the general public from areas ranging from our local communities to as far as the Northern Suburbs, Milnerton and Table View.
* All our rescued animals are vaccinated, de-wormed and sterilised by veterinarians.
* People wishing to adopt an animal are interviewed either personally or on the telephone and home visits are made to ensure the home is suitable, e.g. high walls, warm sleeping conditions, being taken in as part of the family, regular exercise, veterinary care when necessary.

What an amazing cause, right? As you all know, Haut Espoir is particularly vocal when it comes to the environment, and animals get the same amount of respect from all of us here in Franschoek.

Officially the tasting begins at 7:30pm, and you can find the details here on our Facebook page.

We are asking you to bring something, anything really, to benefit the animals who are a part of TEARS and their efforts. Blankets, petfood, shelter, and yes, even ZAR will be accepted to really make a difference to those people who donate their time and effort selflessly to help animals who have run out of options in life.

We hope to see you there…