Step into A Night at the Tropicana — a vibrant world inspired by tropical wonders, where lush colors, lively rhythms, and a spirit of celebration fill the air!


Join us on Friday, March 14, 2025 to immerse yourself in an unforgettable evening of eating, drinking, dancing, and raising money all to support Ripe For Revival initiative to combat food insecurity in Raleigh by bringing fresh and affordable food to our community!


Purchase Tickets Here

What is AN EVENING TO IGNITE?

  • An Evening to Ignite 2023 at Merrimon-Wynne in Raleigh, NC benefitting Neighbor To Neighbor

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The Merrimon-Wynne House hosted its first event for a non-profit in 2017 as a way to bring together community members and vendors around the mission of a local organization in need of funds and community awareness. Bringing together some of the best Triangle event industry friends, The Merrimon-Wynne House made it their mission to host an over-the-top annual event with a fun, new theme where all proceeds raised for the event go directly to the selected nonprofit.

As the event grew, Merrimon-Wynne, Band Together and La Fete Planning & Design joined forces to increase the collaborative impact of one grassroots nonprofit annually. As of 2024, An Evening to Ignite has helped raise over $600,000 for nonprofits in the Triangle.


After an intensive application process, we are thrilled to be working with Ripe For Revival to raise $150,000+ at An Evening To Ignite 2025 on Friday, March 14, 2025.


Learn More About Becoming A 2025 Sponsor

We Invite You To A Night At The Tropicana!

An Evening To Ignite is your opportunity to fully immerse yourself into a sophisticated, high-energy evening inspired by the golden age of Latin nightclubs. Immerse yourself in the allure of tropical elegance with lush decor, pulsating rhythms, and a dazzling ambiance that brings the spirit of giving to life. What better way to do so than with a fabulous outfit! We have created some outfit inspiration just for you! Our stylebook has a wide variety of outfits to help you be a part of our tropical elegance as we celebrate, raise awareness and raise monetary donations for this very deserving organization!

  • An Evening to Ignite 2023 at Merrimon-Wynne in Raleigh, NC benefitting Neighbor To Neighbor

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  • An Evening to Ignite 2020 at Merrimon-Wynne in Raleigh, NC benefitting Families Together

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An Evening To Ignite By The Numbers

$600,000+

Raised for local, grassroots nonprofits

1,460

Guests have attended in total

$930,000+

In kind donations and services given by the events industry since 2017

33

Event businesses contributed services/goods in 2024 to make the event 100% donated


Meet Ripe For Revival

Ripe For Revival is a nonprofit that is focused on reconnecting the food system through practical, creative solutions that empower every member of the food supply cycle, from farmers to nonprofits and neighbors.


Ripe For Revival aims to bridge the gap between farm excess and food access. We live in one of the nation’s leading agricultural states and there are millions of families facing food insecurity daily. That should not be the case.


Ripe For Revival runs a pay-what-you-can mobile markets in central and eastern North Carolina with continued expansion into the greater triangle region including Wake and surrounding counties. The Mobile Market Program offers the accessibility to affordable fresh often local produce, proteins, dairy and eggs to communities facing food insecurity. The pay-what-you-can model offers inclusive shopping opportunities for the whole community. Their comprehensive approach to addressing food insecurity also involves hosting educational events on health, nutrition, reading, and hands-on experiential learning opportunities in the communities they serve.


LEARN MORE ABOUT RIPE FOR REVIVAL

Ripe For Revival By The Numbers

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Ripe for Revival currently have seven mobile markets on the road that offers the accessibility to affordable fresh and often local produce, proteins, and dairy to communities facing food insecurity.

30%

Shoppers can pay suggested retail on average 30% below retail, pay it forward or pay what they can that day depending on their situation.

300,000

Since June of 2022, Ripe For Revival’s mobile markets have distributed more than 300,000 pounds of food, including meat, produce, dairy,

and eggs.

2.25

Ripe For Revival's fleet has covered over 60,000 miles throughout Eastern NC - that is enough miles to circle the Earth 2.25 times!

TICKETS NOW ON SALE!

Purchase Tickets Here

The Countdown To An Evening to Ignite 2025 Is On!

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Be A Part Of The Future Of Ripe For Revival

REVIVING COMMUNITY THROUGH FOOD.

Learn More About Becoming A 2025 Sponsor

Thank You To Our Premier Partner!


Thank You To Our Sponsors!

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VIP DINNER SPONSOR


LEVEL TWO SPONSORS


LEVEL THREE SPONSORS


LEVEL FOUR SPONSORS

Past Events

By Lindsey Simmons March 19, 2024
WHAT. A. NIGHT! In partnership with Band Together and La Fête Planning & Design our annual fundraising event, An Evening to Ignite, was a night to remember! Hundreds of individuals came together in support of our 2024 charity partner, Neighbor To Neighbor , a local non-profit dedicated to reversing the debilitating effects poverty has on the most vulnerable families in Raleigh. They believe in providing long-term, one-on-one mentoring relationships for teens resulting in positive generational leaps in education, employment and personal development. What started as an idea and a dream in 2017 to bring together community members and events industry vendors to make a large-scale impact for one local, grassroots nonprofit has become a reality and grown into an annual event that raises over $150,000 each year! With the amazing support of our sponsors, vendors and local community, we are so proud to announce that we raised $201,933.32 for Neighbor To Neighbor ! Every single dollar that was raised will help bring to life Neighbor to Neighbor’s dream of a state-of-the-art teen tech center that will create more training pathways, mentorships, and employment opportunities for youth in our community. We cannot wait to see this space realized! The success of this event is due in large part to the generosity of our vendor community and their contributions of time, effort, staffing, materials, inventory, and talents. Over 40 local event industry vendors came together to donate over $250,000+ of goods and services to ensure 100% of the proceeds raised during the event went directly to Neighbor to Neighbor. Year after year, our vendor friends continuously raise the bar by outdoing themselves and helping make Evening to Ignite bigger and better than the year before. We are eternally grateful to be in such a collaborative and talented industry!
Fundraising event
By Amy Yarbrough March 27, 2023
After wrapping up our annual fundraising event, An Evening To Ignite, we would like to share our success and thank our partners.
March 7, 2021
It’s hard to believe that An Evening to Ignite was a year ago! Right before our world changed, we threw the party of the year to raise money for Families Together, an organization that helps fight homelessness in Wake County. Guests were transported back to the Roaring Twenties to enjoy a night full of eating, drinking, and dancing all while raising money for a charity that we quickly came to love. A giant tent served as the entrance into the magic where people were greeted with secret hands offering champagne. Chandeliers made from pampas hung above while cozy lounges created the perfect speakeasy vibe. Jazz music flowed throughout, while cigars were rolled, tarot cards were read, and poker chips were stacked. In the Carriage House, the sounds of saxophones and trumpets echoed from the band while the numbers on the screen continued to rise. Auction items were on display and bid on again and again throughout the night. UNC basketball tickets, a weekend trip to Aspen, and diamond earrings were among these items just to name a few! Light-up neon rings known as “Bling Rings” on event night could be seen on everyone’s fingers and bought from any host. It’s safe to say they became a fashion statement by the end of the night! As the evening went on the party only got better. The space was transformed into a neon wonderland for everyone’s favorite- a silent disco! Guests jammed out to different songs on their headphones while dancers floated through the crowd. As the night progressed eyes were focused on the numbers on the board and determined to meet our goal.  With the help of some amazing vendor partners, we are so proud that we were able to raise over $100,000 creating homes for 41 homeless families in our community! We can not thank our guests enough for joining us in supporting such a wonderful cause. Each year we look forward to hosting this annual event that has helped so many amazing organizations in need and will continue to do so once it’s safe to be together again. We can not wait to do it even bigger and better next year! Cheers to a Roaring 2022!
January 16, 2020
NEW YEAR. NEW THEME. SAME GREAT PARTY. We’re taking you back in time to the enchanting era of the 1920’s for an unforgettable party that you and yours can dress to impress, eat, drink and raise money for a very deserving local non-profit, Families Together , with the goal of raising over $100,000 to help end homelessness in the Triangle area! We are hoping you will join us to raise money for and celebrate this amazing organization! In 2018, we hosted CATCH Me At The Casino and raised over $100,000 with the help of local friends, family and companies and this year’s event is going to be bigger, better and one you will not want to miss!
August 3, 2018
We are so excited to be CO-HOSTING, for the second year in a row, Catch me at the casino ! this amazing event benefits project catch , as all ticket proceeds and donations will be going towards helping end Child homelessness in wake county. Heyens Holdings , our parent company, is a strong believer in giving back to the communities we're lucky enough to be a part of, especially to those who give back to us each and every day.
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