Four new downtown Murfreesboro venues will host a brand new addition---a Beer Garden---to the fourth annual Wine Around the Square (WATS) Saturday, Sept. 19. SHAVE Barber Lounge, Eischeid Law Office, REGAL TITLE, and Personal Loan and Investment Company will serve as our "tap rooms," according to 2015 Logistics Coordinator Dave Davis. Main Event tickets are $60 per person for the event and are available for purchase online at winearoundthesquare.org.

Twelve craft beers will be served, thanks to event sponsor Charlie Patel and Stones River Total Beverages, who every year arranges for all of the wine, premium liquors and beers to be donated for the event. The Beer Garden will also have corn hole games and picnic tables amid festival lighting.

"Every year we add something new," said Anne Davis, Director of the Saint Thomas Rutherford Foundation. "This year, we are adding a lot of new elements, including outdoor seating near the Courthouse with lounging sofas, more food than ever from many more food vendors, and a record 32 downtown shops and offices that will be open for wine-tasting, lemonade, bottled water and shopping. We want to provide a great value and a lot of fun for the hundreds of people we are planning for this year."

Last year more than 650 people enjoyed the outdoor event. Once again, for the second consecutive year, the entire Square will be completely blocked off so guests can walk outdoors and enjoy their wine, beer and premium liquors.

WATS benefits the Power of Pink, a program of the Saint Thomas Rutherford Foundation that provides diagnostic breast cancer services to Rutherford County women who are uninsured, underinsured and indigent. This year, corporate sponsors include MidState Radiology, Inc., Premier Radiology, Pinnacle Financial Partners, Bell Jewelers, Edward Jones, Saint Thomas Rutherford Emergency Physicians and Woodfin Funeral Chapels.

"Last year's event was so much fun," said event co-chair Patty Marschel. "It was one of the first crisp fall evenings and hundreds of people came out to walk, talk, taste wines and enjoy great food and conversation. This year, we want to invite even more Rutherford County friends and neighbors to buy a ticket, come join in the fun, and help provide diagnostic breast cancer screenings for Rutherford County women who can't afford these vital medical services on their own."

Wine Around the Square is a casual, fun evening outdoors, featuring a progressive wine tasting with more than 75 wines at multiple retail and office venues around the Square. Each venue will be staffed with volunteers who will describe and pour wine for tasting before visitors proceed to the next station.

Soul, country and rock n roll band Frazier & Company will provide live music on the Square for Main Event attendees. Grammy-nominated songwriter Tim James will provide live music for the VIP Party.

Gray Davis of Meyer Davis Design Studio will be setting up an outdoor living room on the downtown Square, including a carpeted area with sofas, armchairs, coffee tables and plants under an open canopy of string lighting. "WATS guests will be able to sip on a glass of wine and talk with friends while enjoying the music of Frazier and Company in the shadows of the historic courthouse," Anne Davis added.

The WATS event check-in will be on the south side of the Courthouse in the inner loop, across the street from Big B Cleaners and Bink's. Paid guests will receive an admission bracelet, a Wine Around the Square-etched signature wine glass and instructions for the evening. Free parking is available at the City Center Parking garage located off Vine Street or South Church Street.

In addition to the progressive wine tasting, guests will enjoy tasty snacks throughout the evening, courtesy of the following local restaurants, including Alex Belew Catering, Kroger, Blue Coast Burrito, The Curious Kitchen, Parthenon Grille, Purity Dairies, Slick Pig BBQ, Woodys Bar-B-Q, Stillhouse Restaurant, Jim N Nick's Bar-B-Q, The Goat, Bonefish Grill and Pa Bunk's.

2015 media sponsors include the DNJ.com, Murfreesboro Magazine, VIP Murfreesboro, Murfreesboro.com, WGNS Radio, WZTV Nashville/Fox 17, The CW58 and My30.

Wine Around the Square will proceed rain or shine. Guests drinking wine must present photo identification at the event for age verification before receiving an admission bracelet. To insure a safe ride home, event organizers will alert local cab companies and Uber for those guests who prefer to take a cab home at the end of the evening.

Where the Money Goes

Tickets are available online at winearoundthesquare.org for $60 each. VIP Party tickets are $250 per person; the VIP Party will be at The Big Bang Dueling Piano Bar from 5 p.m. until 7 p.m. Event sponsorships are available; email anne.davis@sth.org for more information. Every penny received from the WATS event proceeds goes directly to help Rutherford County women who are uninsured, underinsured and indigent receive mammograms; all expenses are underwritten or donated.

Last year's event raised more than $166,000 to fund breast cancer screenings for Rutherford County women who are uninsured, underinsured or indigent, a breast cancer education booklet, five biopsies and a portion of the nurse navigator's salary. Last year 482 mammograms were performed, and six people were diagnosed with breast cancer through the Power of Pink program. Event proceeds this year again will provide for a portion of the nurse navigator's salary and pay for local, indigent women's mammograms and breast cancer care. All funds raised at Wine Around The Square remain in Rutherford County and provide care for Rutherford County women.

History of Power of Pink and Wine Around the Square

The seeds of Power of Pink were planted eleven years ago when Patty Marschel's best friend, Susan Loyd, whispered to her the chilling words, "I have breast cancer." The following year, Patty chaired a golf and tennis tournament to benefit the Susan G. Komen Foundation, which ignited her passion to do something to benefit local women. Then, Rita Ash and Leslie Akins joined Patty to develop a wine and cheese event to help women here in Rutherford County.

The Power of Pink effort blossomed, and the group eventually partnered with Anne Davis and the Saint Thomas Rutherford Foundation to increase Power of Pink's reach within the community. The 2015 WATS co-chairs are Caroline Lampley, Rita Ash and Patty Marschel.

Patty's friend Susan has fully recovered from her bout with cancer, and today, the Power of Pink continues to help more local women every year to provide early breast cancer detection and to increase survival rates.