It was cold outside, but warm and inviting inside the Cherry Creek Golf Club and Banquet Center on Friday evening when the Shelby Community Foundation hosted its fifth annual Snowflake Social.

The event offered tastes of international cuisine from Italian tortellini with tomato and basil sauce to Chilean paella, but also included a touch of homegrown delicacies such as Michigan Perch encrusted with Better Made potato chips and pork medallions with Michigan apple stuffing.

Vince and Joe’s Gourmet Market of Shelby Township provided a variety of international and Michigan wines for tasting.

There was also a gift basket raffle and a chocolate fountain with an assortment of fruit, cookies and marshmallows for dipping.

Nancy Bates, the foundation’s current chairperson, has organized the event for the last three years. She expected to meet and greet approximately 175 guests during the course of the evening.

Some were repeat visitors, while others, like Shelby Township business owner, Kerry Gatti of Home Instead Senior Care, attended the event for the first time. 

Her initial response was positive.  “So far, so good,” she said while enjoying a sampling of wine and food with her friend Dave Updike.

Bates said the foundation does not make a large profit from the event.  The main purpose is to raise the foundation’s community profile.

Since 1996, the Shelby Community Foundation has supported senior citizen assistance programs, library and recreation programs, assistance for special needs children and school projects. 

The foundation has also funded 50 $1,000 scholarships over the past five years.

“We’re here for the people in our community [to] make Shelby a better place to live,” Bates said.

The foundation is a 501(c)(3) tax exempt, nonprofit community corporation supported by both corporate and private donations. All monies stay within the community.

The event is also a welcome, low-key respite from the winter, said Dr. Tom Dearlove, the foundation’s secretary.  He praised the social as a community gathering that brings people together who might not otherwise have an opportunity to meet.

The Shelby Community Foundation’s next event is its 11th Annual Golf Outing on Wednesday, June 1 at Cherry Creek Golf Club.  The outing will benefit its scholarship fund.  Call the foundation at 586-909-5305 or visit shelbycommunityfoundation.org for details.