Naples Winter Wine Festival facts for kids

The Naples Winter Wine Festival is a special event held every year in Naples, Florida. It's like a big party where famous chefs cook amazing food and people bid on cool items in an auction. But the most important part is that all the money raised goes to help kids in Collier County who need it most. Since it started in 2001, this festival has raised almost $220 million to support children's education and well-being.

Festival Highlights Through the Years

The Naples Winter Wine Festival has grown a lot since it began. Here are some of the exciting things that have happened over the years:

• 2001 - The very first festival raised $2.7 million for charity.
• 2002 - It raised $3.4 million.
• 2003 - The festival raised $3.96 million.
• 2004 - This year, the festival's auction set a world record for a charity wine auction, raising an amazing $6.67 million! Robert Mondavi, a very famous winemaker, was honored.
• 2005 - The auction broke its own record, raising $11.1 million.
• 2006 - The auction raised $12.19 million.
• 2007 - This was a record-breaking year, raising $16.5 million! A special car, a 2008 Rolls Royce convertible, sold for $2 million. This year also featured the festival's first wine tasting.
• 2008 - The auction raised $14 million.
• 2009 - Due to the economy, the auction raised $5.06 million.
• 2010 - The festival bounced back, raising $8.06 million.
• 2011 - The auction brought in $11.9 million, and an extra $100,000 was added to make it an even $12 million.
• 2012 - The auction raised $12.2 million. A special collection of wine from Château Haut-Brion sold for $1.1 million after a bidding war.
• 2013 - The auction raised $8.6 million. A 2013 F12berlinetta Ferrari was the top item, selling for $750,000. By this year, the festival had raised over $110 million in total.
• 2014 - The auction raised $12.5 million. A special "Beautiful Minds" fund, which helps children's mental health, raised $1.4 million. The total raised by the festival reached over $123 million.
• 2015 - The auction raised $12.32 million. A "Fund a Need" initiative for children's vision raised $1 million.
• 2016 - The auction raised $11.2 million. The top item was the chance to be the first customer in the world to get a new Rolls Royce Dawn car, which sold for $750,000.
• 2017 - The auction raised over $15.2 million. A "Fund a Need" for children's healthcare raised $1.6 million. The famous chef Wolfgang Puck was the Chef de Cuisine.
• 2018 - The auction raised over $15.26 million. A "Fund a Need" for children's hunger and oral health raised $2.43 million.
• 2019 - The auction raised close to $16 million. A "Beautiful Minds" initiative for children's mental health raised almost $3 million.
• 2020 - Celebrating 20 years, the auction raised over $20 million! A "Fund the Future" initiative, supporting seven long-term projects for children, raised over $5 million.
• 2021 - This year, the festival was held virtually and raised just over $7.3 million. The top lot, "Your Gift Grants Hope," raised more than $5.5 million to help children through various programs.