A Flavorful Night of Community & Creativity: Recapping Our Maxwell Street Garden Fall Fundraiser

On Wednesday, November 12, nearly 50 community members, gardeners, friends, and partners gathered at Art of Gallery (747 S Western Ave.) for an evening of garden-inspired cocktails, seasonal bites, and community connection. Together, we raised an impressive $1,700 to support and sustain the Maxwell Street Community Garden.

Garden-Inspired Cocktails, Crafted by One of Our Own

Our mixologist host for the evening was none other than Justine Urbikas—Maxwell Street gardener, bartender, and General Manager at Estrella Negra, also known for her inspired creations on Instagram at @killerbunnyjustine. Justine led guests through four imaginative cocktail builds, each paired with thoughtfully prepared small bites made by our gardeners.

And speaking of flavor: if you’d like to enjoy more of Justine’s craft, you can find her behind the bar most nights at Estrella Negra, where she would love to make you her signature Seven Seas mezcal cocktail.

Justine showing the group how to make a seasonal, garden inspired, cocktail.

Our Flavorful Pairings

Throughout the night, attendees learned to shake, stir, and enjoy:

• Raspberry–Basil Gin Smash paired with Green Goddess crudité cups

• Rosemary-Smoked Old Fashioned served with mini orange olive oil cakes

• Bee’s Knees alongside homemade focaccia

• Seven Seas Cilantro–Jalapeño Tequila Cocktail paired with fresh corn salsa

  
  

All attendees received a follow-up email containing complete cocktail instructions, recipes, and select food pairing recipes, making it easy to recreate the experience at home.

Community Collaboration at Its Best

The strength of our garden community was on full display—from prep to pouring to cleanup. A heartfelt thank you goes out to:

• Robin Petchenik for major veggie prep, serving guests, and end-of-night clean-up

• Marsha Wyatt for assembling the cheese and cracker spread

• Eleni Tianis for baking the olive oil cakes, and Eleni & Niki for plating and serving pairings

• Mari Dumbaugh for set-up support and designing the recipe cards showcased at the event

• Danny Garcia (Justine’s husband) for setup, breakdown, and behind-the-scenes support

• Donna Urbikas for running registration with warmth and ease

• Mike Ramstedt at Art of Gallery for generously opening the space and assisting with cleanup

Special Thanks to Estrella Negra

We also owe tremendous gratitude to Estrella Negra Restaurant for loaning and gifting key items to make this workshop possible. Their support helped elevate the evening and ensured everything ran smoothly.

Thank You for Helping Us Grow

We are deeply grateful to everyone who contributed time, talent, ingredients, space, serving support, and enthusiasm. Events like this allow us not only to raise funds, but to strengthen the ties that make the Maxwell Street Garden a thriving community hub.

More events, workshops, and gatherings are on the horizon—and we look forward to raising a glass with you again soon.