STORY BY KAREN BOSSICK

PHOTO BY AMY G. TAYLOR

Enjoy Gimlets in the Garden and help out the Sawtooth Botanical Garden at the same time.

The public garden south of Ketchum will hold its annual summer fundraising gala event from 5 to 10 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 28.

The evening will include a meal of real food cooked from scratch catered by Rasberrys Food Reverence, a signature gimlet cocktail concocted by Distilled Resources, Inc., a hosted bar and entertainment by Nathan Hudson (DJN80).

There also will be disco line dancing led by Dale and Peggy Bates.

“We decided to change it up this year,” said Peggy Bates. “We’ve been leading country line dancing the last few years so we decided to hang a disco ball this year and do disco.”

That said, the theme of Gimlets in the Garden goes back to the garden’s roots as a time-honored summer gala that has benefitted the gardne through 25 years.

“Our passionate, engaged and dedicated board of directors is set to chart the garden’s course for the next 25 years,” said Jen Smith, the garden’s executive director.

Kat Vanden Heuvel, former executive director of the garden, will act as Master of Ceremonies and auctioneer for the event. Auction items include a Sun Valley Resort Challenger ski pass. Proceeds from the evening will benefit the garden, an educational facility which receives no university or government funding unlike so many botanical gardens.

“We rely solely on the generosity of individual benefactors, business sponsorships, foundation funding, grant awards and gifts in-kind,” said Jen Smith, the garden’s executive director.

Tickets are $150 and can be purchased online at www.sbgarden.org or by calling 208-726-9358.

Sponsors include Mountain High Landscapes, Lee Gilman Builders, Distilled Resources, Inc., Soundwave, Valley Apothecary, Covered SV, C&R Electric, Archive, UBS Financial Services, Inc., and Scape Design Studio, with underwriting by Susan Flynt, Doris Roemer-Moress and Cherie Kessler.