by Olee Fowler

Over four fun-filled days, April 9-12, 3,500 people ate, drank and helped raise more than $500,000 for the United Way of Miami-Dade at the 19th annual VeritageMiami presented by City National Bank.

Kicking things on Wednesday, April 9, was the Craft Beer Tasting at Wynwood Walls. Close to 800 guests walked through the Wynwood Walls and sampled 120 different craft beers from 55 different breweries including Crafty Connoisseurs, Florida Beer Company, Gravity Brewlab, Miami Brewing Company, Miami Area Society of Homebrewers and Wynwood Brewing Company, among others. Twenty of Miami’s favorite local restaurants such as Michael’s Genuine Food & Drink, Oak Tavern, OTC, R House, Shake Shack, The Embassy and Wynwood Kitchen & Bar, were on hand serving up signature dishes. Throughout the evening, guests could vote for their favorite dish of the night and the tuna tartare from R House was named the People’s Choice Award winner. For the second night of the festival, VeritageMiami took over the Village of Merrick Park for its Fine Wine Tasting. One thousand plus guests tasted wine from 70 different wineries and dined on food from restaurants such as Cioppino, J&G Grill, La Tagliatella, Lorenzo, Pascal’s on Ponce, Smith & Wollensky, The Oceanaire Seafood Room, Toro Toro and Trulucks. Uvaggio Wine Bar’s pork rillete terrine received the evening’s People’s Choice Award. For day three of VertiageMiami some of they city’s top chefs – Alberto Cabrera of Bread + Butter, Todd Erickson of HaVen South Beach, José Mendín of The Pubbelly Restaurant Group, Giorgio Rapicavoli of Eating House and César Zapata of The Federal Food, Drink & Provisions (all Chat Chow TV alumni!) — led a packed house of 650 guests for the Interactive Dinner at InterContinental Miami. The chefs, along with Indulge magazine’s Betty Cortina, helped talk the guests through a five-course dinner menu with dishes like duck and pumpkin dumplings, steak and cheesy grits, and maduros foster, while dozens of culinary students from Johnson & Wales University served as sous chefs at each table. The night ended with a conga line led by the students from Johnson & Wales, and guests and chefs dancing on the tables. Rounding out the four-day festival was the Auction and Wine Dinner at Marlin’s Park on Saturday, April 12. The highlight of the event was Tony and Emmy award-winning star Kristin Chenoweth live performance of four of her favorites songs: “Should I Be Sweet,” “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” “Popular,” and “I Was Here,” right in the middle of the baseball diamond. During the live auction items like a vintage 18-karat white gold and 25-carat diamond bracelet sold for $37,000; while a week at June and W. Allen Morris’ home in Black Mountain, North Carolina was auctioned off three times at $12,500 each. The night finished up with an after party at Marlin Park’s Clevelander lounge.

Check out the video below for some of our favorite highlights from the weekend.