ARLINGTON — The Arlington Education Foundation hosted its fourth and most successful wine tasting fundraiser on Friday, Feb. 1, raising approximately $17,000 to enhance education in the Arlington School District.

“Passport to Wine” was hosted by the Angel of the Winds Casino in its Watershed banquet facility, where guests tasted wines from two local Washington wineries — Dubindil Winery in Snohomish and Two Mountain Winery in Prosser — as well as an assortment of casino-themed wines from American Northwest Distributing, in cooperation with Bistro San Martin.

“The success of the fourth ‘Passport’ is largely due to the generosity of the Arlington community, as well as our many wonderful sponsors,” Passport Chair Kathy Burkholder said. “We gave guests a wider variety of opportunities to give to the Arlington Education Foundation, and to support programs and projects in Arlington public schools.”

The Arlington Education Foundation directs 100 percent of the funds raised from “Passport to Wine” toward supporting grants for classroom projects. The AEF will begin accepting applications for grants within the next couple of weeks. Applications can be found online at www.arlingtonedfoundation.org.

Members of the AEF Board privately donated $1,750 for a classroom mini-grant to be awarded that evening to the school with the most heavily weighted attendance at the event. Post Middle School received the check for having the greatest number of educators turn out to support the AEF that supports them in the classroom.

For a $100 donation, “Passport to Wine” guests had a one-in-52 chance of winning a beautiful 28-piece glass table setting for eight, designed by Kurt McVay Art Glass and valued at $5,000. The winner, Carolyn Sanden, was elated to take home the artisan glass table service.

Angel of the Winds Casino was a major sponsor of the event, and the generosity of the following Arlington businesses contributed to its success: Kurt McVay Art Glass, Dwayne Lane’s Arlington Chevrolet, Edward Jones: John Meno, Bistro San Martin, Skagit State Bank, Arlington Copy Mail & More, and Sierra Property Management: Brad and Anita McKinley.

The Arlington Education Foundation was founded in 2002, and raises and disburses funds for the enhancement of programs and projects within the Arlington public schools. Projects funded with more than $2.55 million to date include the Linda M. Byrnes Performing Arts Center, the Elementary Choral Library, Arlington High School video production of live and remote broadcasting, technology teacher stations at Post Middle School, new books for the library at Eagle Creek Elementary, a language lab at AHS, and several mini-grants totaling more than $6,000. For more information, log onto www.arlingtonedfoundation.org.