Friday, September 10 at 7:00 pm

A dazzling strolling dinner, cocktails and live entertainment at the home of Butch and Janet Bartlett in Hudson, Ohio. Dinner, drinks, music, silent auction and valet parking. This is an outdoor event under tents and will be held rain or shine. Dressy casual is appropriate.

Tickets are $125 and $175. Please contact Butch Bartlett at 330-656-1459 / hobartlett@summitcharitableevents.org or Marianne Linfante-Seaman at 440-488-3473 / neoautismgroup@gmail.com for more information.

Please click here for an order form or call Andrew Grover at 440-975-8085 x136 to reserve your tickets.

Dr. Frazier will be speaking about understanding the diagnosis of autism; Brain abnormalities and what is known about structural and functional changes; Genetic abnormalities and the causes of autism that are starting to be known; Treatment points including early intervention, social skills, behavioral treatment of irritability and aggression and quality of life improvements; and Research participation opportunities through CCCA.

It’s a great opportunity for anyone with interest in the area of autism, whether it be family, caregivers or professionals.

To register, please send your name, mailing address and email address, along with # of attendees, to neoautismgroup@gmail.com. Space is limited. If you have any questions, please call 440-488-3473.

At her winery, she employs 15-year-old Austin, an autistic student at Chardon High School in the kitchen.

In his honor, for his good work, the winery named two of its wines Austin Red and Austin White.

Each year, the winery holds a competition among people with autism to design labels for the wines and donates a dollar from each bottle sold to the Northeast Ohio Autism Group, which issues grants to local groups helping those with autism.

“We get more than 50 local entries, from children and adults,” Lindberg said. “The two winners receive a prize of $100 apiece and the pride of seeing their designs on the labels of our wines.

The deadline for this year’s competition is the end of the month, but entries will be accepted into next week.

Information on the competition may be requested at the NEOG web site or by calling 440-231-0991.

Oh, and, Austin? How does it feel having two fine wines named after you?

“Not a lot of people get to have wines named after them,” he answered. “Especially at my age, when I can’t even drink the wines,” he said, with a big smile.

© 2010 WKYC-TV

A paint splatter. A pink cow and a moon. Cut-out paper flowers. A sailboat at sunset.

Behind the beautiful labels for bottles of Austin’s Red and Austin’s White wines are 3-year-old Michael, 11-year-old Anthony, 16-year-old Ryan and 8-year-old Ethan — bound by autism spectrum disorder and Grand River Cellars Winery in Madison.

Now in its third year, the winery’s annual art contest challenges children and adults with an official diagnosis of autism to design labels for its two “wines for autism.” Bottles with the winning artwork will be available for purchase at the winery, and featured at a wine-tasting fundraiser March 31 at Gavi’s Restaurant in downtown Willoughby.

A portion of the varieties’ proceeds benefit the Northeast Ohio Autism Group, which provides grants to the local autism community through schools, programs and services.

Winery President Cindy Lindberg, a founding board member of NEOAG, created the wines to thank her regular label designer and NEOAG president, Marianne Linfante Seaman, whose son Austin has autism.

As a former school psychologist in Mayfield, Lindberg began working with Austin when he was 3 and very low-functioning. Now 15, though, he’s been mainstreamed for years and sometimes helps in Grand River Cellars’ kitchen, said his mother, who prefers Austin’s Red.

“The first year (we had wine for autism) we used a local artist who has a daughter with autism,” Lindberg said. “But then my husband, Jeff, suggested a contest, and these kids have so little that’s exclusive to them, I thought it was a great idea.”

Previous years have attracted 50 entries each, submitted by teachers or parents of qualifying artists. Four finalists are typically scanned, shrunk and put onto sample wine labels to help in the difficult selection process.

“The artwork needs to be something that, when it’s shrunk down to the size of a wine label, it still looks good,” Lindberg said. “We actually decide, once it’s sitting on a bottle of wine, which looks the best.”

Submissions can be as unique as their creators, however.

“There’s a saying that once you meet one kid with autism, you’ve met one kid with autism,” Lindberg said. “They’re so different.”

Resigning from education when “an opportunity came about” in Madison, Lindberg grew up in the Grand River Valley wine region and opened the winery, which now has 14 varieties, in late 2005. She describes Austin’s Red as a dry blend, usually with some berry character and smokiness, and Austin’s white as a semi-dry blend of chardonnay, pinot gris and vidal blanc.

“They sell well, and each year we’ve been able to donate about $5,000 to the NEOAG,” Lindberg said. “It could for be a school that needs AV equipment or a therapy group that needs some type of sensory equipment. It’s cool to see what different things are going on in the community.”

Since 2008, NEOAG grant recipients have included Crossroads, Deepwood Foundation, Fieldstone Farms, The Fine Arts Association of Willoughby, Geauga County Public Library, Geauga Family First Council and Willoughby-Eastlake Schools.

This year’s contest deadline is Jan. 31. To submit artwork, visit www.neoag.org for an entry form and mail full-color, 8.5-by-11-inch artwork to Grand River Cellars, c/o Cindy Lindberg, 5750 Madison Road, Madison, OH 44057.

Artwork will not be returned. However, this year’s two winners will receive $100 cash prizes and be called and listed at www.neoag.org. Call Lindberg at 440-231-0991 with questions.