{"id":149777,"date":"2026-06-04T23:42:05","date_gmt":"2026-06-05T03:42:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thevalleyledger.com\/?p=149777"},"modified":"2026-06-04T23:42:05","modified_gmt":"2026-06-05T03:42:05","slug":"ncc-hosts-annual-food-wine-gala-to-raise-funds-for-student-scholarships","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thevalleyledger.com\/?p=149777","title":{"rendered":"NCC Hosts Annual Food & Wine Gala to Raise Funds for Student Scholarships\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

(Left to Right) Chris Cree, Chef Christopher Heath, Ashley Russo\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Attendees of NCC\u2019s Food and Wine Gala enjoyed The Art of Food<\/em>\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

BETHLEHEM, PA<\/strong>\u00a0–\u00a0As\u00a0beautiful\u00a0as it was delicious,\u00a0The Art of\u00a0Food<\/em>\u00a0was the theme of the 2026 Northampton\u00a0Community\u00a0College (NCC) Food & Wine Gala, which raised\u00a0$304,410<\/strong>\u00a0this year for student scholarships.<\/p>\n

\u201cYour presence tonight is a powerful expression of your belief in our students and in the life-changing impact of NCC,\u201d President of NCC, David A. Ruth, Ph.D., said to the room of nearly 400 gala attendees.<\/p>\n

On May 29, donors, sponsors, and community members spent their evening at the NCC Bethlehem campus in support of NCC students. The Food & Wine Gala has provided over\u00a0$3.4 million<\/strong>\u00a0in scholarships since its inception. Seventy percent of NCC students worry about having enough funds to pay for school, and scholarships raised during events like these help students focus on their education without taking on additional financial burden.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are deeply grateful to Mike and Diane Molewsi for their visionary leadership in bringing this event to life 17 years ago, which continues to inspire its success today,\u201d said Dr. Ruth. Now, co-chairs,\u00a0Ashley Russo<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Anthony Onorata<\/strong>, have continued to lead an event that makes a profound impact on the lives of NCC students.<\/p>\n

For the third year in a row, the gala was headlined by\u00a0Chris Cree<\/strong><\/a>, master of wine and founder of Cree Wine Company, and\u00a0Ashley Russo<\/strong><\/a>,\u00a0co-founder and chief community & culture officer of Turnstone Creative and CEO at Magnaplate,\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0who served as the Master of\u00a0Ceremonies. An exciting new addition this year was\u00a0Christopher Heath<\/strong><\/a>,\u00a0<\/strong>executive corporate chef for Paxos Restaurants, who directed NCC\u2019s culinary students on this year\u2019s vision for the menu.<\/p>\n

\u201cPaxos has been hiring from NCC for 20 years, and today, I have lots of students and alum throughout all of our restaurants. I don\u2019t think I\u2019d be where I am today without the exceptional work from students who attend this institution,\u201d Heath said.<\/p>\n

The Art of Food<\/em>\u00a0theme transformed the evening into a celebration of creativity in all its forms. During the cocktail hour, NCC art students\u00a0Jess\u00a0Easley, Jacob Talijan,\u00a0<\/strong>and\u00a0Akira Roman<\/strong>\u00a0sketched thoughtfully arranged food still life, inviting guests to observe the artistic process in real time. Their work was displayed alongside a curated collection of student pieces, including past and present winners of the\u00a0Patrick J. Kraus Freshman Drawing Competition<\/strong>, creating a vibrant showcase of emerging talent.\u00a0Additionally, NCC Summer Theatre students treated attendees to another art form and sang a piece from\u00a0A Chorus Line<\/em>\u00a0during dinner.<\/p>\n

Lucas Wolk<\/strong>, NCC Alumni Board member and director of community impact at Education Voters of PA, spoke of the impact the College made in his own life. “In 2020, I made the\u00a0decision to enroll at NCC, about six weeks after losing my job due to the COVID pandemic. My wife and I had just bought our first home. One morning, I woke up without a job, without a plan, and honestly, without much confidence in what came next.”<\/p>\n

Wolk said NCC wasn’t just a college to him. It made him believe his hardest chapter wasn’t his final one. “Tonight is about the students whose stories are still being written. The future nurse; the first-generation student; the single parent; the laid-off worker who is starting over; and the student quietly skipping meals so they can stay enrolled. Generosity helps turn fear into possibility, uncertainty into confidence, and hardship into opportunity.”<\/p>\n

At the heart of the evening was an exquisite three-course meal curated by Chef Heath, artfully matched with three of Cree\u2019s favorite wines.\u00a0A\u00a0live action featured a one-of-a-kind Martin D-11 Food & Wine Guitar created especially for the evening; a curated Chris Cree Wine Experience; a week at one of Avalon, N.J.\u2019s most sought-after properties; a New York City getaway; a rare series of Silver Oak wines from both Napa Valley and Alexander Valley; and the opportunity for guests to contribute directly to scholarships that impact the lives of NCC students.<\/p>\n

Beyond the extraordinary setting, lively entertainment, top-tier food and fine wine, the evening was a celebration of a community that believes in the power of education to transform lives.<\/p>\n

Thank you to this year\u2019s\u00a0sponsors and partners<\/a>\u00a0for a wonderful and successful evening. See images from the gala\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

About Northampton Community College<\/strong><\/p>\n

Founded in 1967, Northampton Community College (NCC) serves more than 20,000 students annually through degree, workforce training, and community education programs. Committed to access and student success, NCC provides innovative, high-quality learning experiences that prepare students to enter or advance in the workforce or transfer to four-year institutions. With an enduring commitment to the regional communities it serves, NCC remains a vital workforce pipeline and community partner. For more information or to apply, please visit\u00a0northampton.edu<\/a>.\u00a0Follow NCC on\u00a0LinkedIn<\/a>, Instagram\u00a0@NorthamptonCommCollege<\/a>, TikTok\u00a0@NorthamptonCC<\/a>, and\u00a0Facebook<\/a>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(Left to Right) Chris Cree, Chef Christopher Heath, Ashley Russo\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Attendees of NCC\u2019s Food and Wine Gala enjoyed The Art of Food\u00a0\u00a0 BETHLEHEM, PA\u00a0–\u00a0As\u00a0beautiful\u00a0as it was delicious,\u00a0The Art of\u00a0Food\u00a0was the theme of the 2026 Northampton\u00a0Community\u00a0College (NCC) Food & Wine Gala, which raised\u00a0$304,410\u00a0this year for student scholarships. \u201cYour presence tonight is a powerful expression of your … Continue reading NCC Hosts Annual Food & Wine Gala to Raise Funds for Student Scholarships\u00a0<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":149778,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false},"categories":[69,5738,482],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-149777","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-in-the-valley","category-northampton-county","category-press-release-2"],"acf":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thevalleyledger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/nccevent.jpg?fit=672%2C372&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/149777","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=149777"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/149777\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":149779,"href":"https:\/\/thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/149777\/revisions\/149779"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/149778"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=149777"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=149777"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=149777"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}