If you like your cocktails strong, bitter and devilishly complex, then the annual Negroni Week is probably a highlight on your calendar.
Normally celebrated in June, you might have noticed that the event has been postponed this year (for obvious reasons) and is now taking a slightly different format.
So, in this new normal, this week is Negroni Week and it is being conducted as a digital-only event to ensure that everyone can celebrate safely at home. It will not be taking place in bars and restaurants and there will be no bar registration or venue finder on NegroniWeek.com.
Since 2013, Negroni Week has grown from about 120 participating venues to over 12,000 venues around the world, and to date, they have collectively raised nearly $3 million for charitable causes.
But even with these changes, this is probably the most important Negroni Week that has even been celebrated. It’s important because it is focusing solely on raise funds for the hospitality industry, which has suffered devastating losses due to the ongoing pandemic.
COVID-19’s global spread has resulted in continued and widespread bar and restaurant closures. The impact is been huge, and for many, the end result for businesses and jobs is still fairly unpredictable
Considering the incalculable losses that bars, bartenders, and hospitality workers are facing because of the crisis, we’re dedicating ourselves to finding ways that Negroni Week can best support these bars and workers.
So, for the first time, Negroni Week is accepting donations from consumers. Anyone, anywhere can make a donation on NegroniWeek.com to any of the organizations listed on the site.
All donations are processed through GoFundMe and go directly to the organizations to support hospitality workers affected by COVID-19.
Some of the organisations listed on the site include the James Beard Foundation in the US, the Bartenders Benevolent Fund in Canada, Help Out Hospo in Australia and the 50 Best Recovery Fund, which is International.
So no matter where you are in the world, you can donate any amount and to as many of the organizations on the list as you’d like.
Donations will be open on NegroniWeek.com on September 1st and will remain open throughout the month of September.
The hope, of course, is that 2021 will bring better days and that we will be able to return Negroni Week to its more familiar format of years past.
In the meantime, the goal for Negroni Week is to do the very best to give back to the industry that has contributed so much to this initiative over the years.
Negroni Week was created to support and celebrate the hospitality world that we all love so much, and there’s never been a greater need to express this—so in partnership with the sponsors of the event, Campari, Cinzano, Bulldog Gin and Bols Genever, the goal for 2020 will be to make this the most meaningful Negroni Week yet.
For more information, go to negroniweek.com and look at their FAQ as well as joining Imbibe and Campari’s social media channels (@imbibe, @campariofficial, and @campariUSA). You can promote the cause with the #NegroniWeek hashtag.
So make sure you not only raise a Negroni-filled glass to the hospitality industry this week but that you also take a few minutes and a little money to donate to help it.
