In 2025, Austin Entertains continued to serve as a cornerstone of our mission-driven fundraising efforts by celebrating women in Austin’s vibrant culinary and beverage community while raising vital funds for The Junior League of Austin (JLA). Austin Entertains highlights one of JLA’s signature programs — Food In Tummies (FIT)— which is dedicated to eliminating weekend hunger for children in the Austin community.

On March 6, 2025, we proudly raised more than $77,000 for our signature programs, supporting FIT and other community initiatives across Central Texas.

Highlights:

• A full house of 442 attendees — 173 VIP guests and 269 General Admission guests
• 33 culinary and beverage participants featured, including 15 savory, 9 sweet, 3 sweet & savory, and 6 beverage vendors
• Guests voted for their Fan Favorite winners:
  • Savory: Emma Lopez, ABW-Cantina
  • Sweet: Patricia Bedford, Suga’s Cakery
  • Beverage: Najjean Bernard, Jeany’s Caribbean Elixirs
• Two fellowship grants awarded to exceptional women entrepreneurs:
  • $10,000 Winner: Kendall Antonelli, Antonelli’s Cheese Shop
  • $2,500 Winner: Sushmita Malakar, Sushmita Malakar Mobile Bartending

Together, our guests, participants, and sponsors helped JLA provide more than 17,000 bags of food — enough to cover 36 weeks of FIT program distributions for local elementary students in need.

Learn more about our fundraising impact, fellowship winners, and community reach below.