Lucy Ford Week 2026 | Painted Horse Winery, Milton GA
Updated: Aug 20
In October of 2025, our family lost our daughter, granddaughter, and niece, Lucy, only days after she was born. The Painted Horse Foundation grew out of that loss — and out of the community that carried us through it.
This October marks Lucy's first birthday and the foundation's first year, and we're honoring both with the first-ever Lucy Ford Week, running October 19 through 24, 2026. Every event during the week raises money for The Painted Horse Foundation, which provides financial assistance, community support, and grief resources to families experiencing pregnancy, infant, and child loss.
If you'd like the full story of how the foundation began, you can read it here. This page is for the week itself — what's happening, when, and every way to be part of it.
The Week at a Glance
Events
Tuesday, October 20 — The Lucy Ford Benefit Dinner & Silent Auction
Saturday, October 24 — The Lucy Ford Jackson Memorial 5K (in person or virtual)
Ways to give
Lucy's Farm Friends pre-sale — available now through August 31
Sponsor the Benefit Dinner, sponsor the 5K, or donate a silent auction item — open now
Try our Lucy Goosey Rosé — in the tasting room year-round
The Lucy Ford Benefit Wine Dinner & Silent Auction
Tuesday, October 20, 2026 · 6:00 PM · Painted Horse Winery & Vineyards
An evening on the farm in Lucy's honor — a Painted Horse wine dinner set under the October sky.
We'll welcome you with champagne, then settle in for four courses thoughtfully paired with Painted Horse wines, served across all of our outdoor spaces outside the tasting room — from the covered patio to the green, to the pool and fairway — with sweeping views of the vineyards and pastures below.
As the sun drops and the lights glow on a crisp Georgia fall night, we'll gather for great food, great wine, and a silent auction benefiting The Painted Horse Foundation.
Buy a single ticket or a table for ten. The menu is set for the evening; for dietary restrictions or food allergies, email us at contact@thepaintedhorsefoundation.org ahead of time and we'll take care of you.
$185 per person. Every dollar benefits The Painted Horse Foundation.
The Lucy Ford Jackson Memorial 5K
Saturday, October 24, 2026 · Start & parking at 1300 Deerfield Parkway, Milton, GA
The week closes with our first annual Lucy Ford Jackson Memorial 5K — a run/walk open to every pace. Whether you run it, walk it, or push a stroller through it, you're welcome here.
Every participant receives a race T-shirt, an award medal, water and snacks at the finish line, and a coupon for one glass of wine or one beer at Painted Horse Winery & Vineyards.
Pick up your bib and race packet at the Painted Horse tasting room on October 21, 22, or 23 during regular business hours. The awards ceremony follows at the winery — time to be announced closer to the event.
Can't be here on race day? You can still take part. Virtual registration is $15 above the in-person price and includes a commemorative bib and T-shirt shipped to you, so you can walk or run your 5K anywhere, on your own time — and every dollar still goes to the foundation.
On race morning, enter from the Webb Bridge side of 1300 Deerfield Parkway. The Deerfield entrance will be closed for the race. Registration is $55 through September 21st, then $65 for race week (September 22–October 24). All proceeds benefit The Painted Horse Foundation.
Sponsor the Benefit Dinner
If you own a business and want to do something meaningful this fall, sponsoring the Lucy Ford Benefit Dinner is one of the most direct ways to help. Your sponsorship funds the foundation's mission while putting your business in front of our community — including our Instagram following of 12.8K and our weekly email newsletter, which reaches more than 8,300 subscribers.
There are three tiers:
Legacy Sponsor — $2,500 (our top tier)
Table for 6 at the Lucy Ford Benefit Dinner
Commemorative wine glasses for each guest
2 bottles of Lucy Goosey Rosé to take home
Largest logo placement on all marketing materials
Advertising on our rotating slideshow displayed on all three televisions during events, including 3 weeks before and after Lucy Ford Week
A video interview about your business, shared on our social media
Advertising in our weekly email newsletter during the month of October
Remembrance Sponsor — $1,500
4 seats at the Lucy Ford Benefit Dinner
Commemorative wine glasses for each guest
Logo placement on all marketing materials
Advertising on our rotating slideshow displayed on all three televisions during events
A video interview about your business, shared on our social media
Advertising in our weekly email newsletter during the month of October
Hope Sponsor — $1,000
2 seats at the Lucy Ford Benefit Dinner
Commemorative wine glasses for each guest
Logo placement on all marketing materials
Advertising on our rotating slideshow displayed on all three televisions during events
A video interview about your business, shared on our social media
Advertising in our weekly email newsletter during the month of October
Sponsor the 5K
The Lucy Ford Jackson Memorial 5K on October 24 brings runners and walkers of every pace to Milton — families, friends, and neighbors all moving for the same reason. Local businesses are what make race day happen, from the shirts on participants' backs to the finish line they cross.
Sponsoring the race puts your name in front of every runner and walker, and every dollar goes straight to the foundation's work with families facing pregnancy, infant, and child loss.
Head to our 5K sponsorship page to see the levels, or reach out and we'll walk you through them.
Donate a Silent Auction Item
The silent auction runs throughout the benefit dinner on October 20, and every item on the table comes from someone in our community who wanted to give. A product, a service, an experience, a gift certificate — if it's something you'd be proud to put your name on, it belongs here.
Every item is credited to your business and seen by every guest in the room, and every bid goes straight to the foundation's work with families facing pregnancy, infant, and child loss. This is an in-person auction, held during the dinner on October 20.
Submit your item using the form on our site, then drop it off at Painted Horse Winery before October 15 — during regular business hours in the tasting room, or email contact@thepaintedhorsefoundation.org to arrange another time.
Lucy's Farm Friends
Lucy's Farm Friends is a new collectible line of plush animals modeled on the real animals who live at Painted Horse — Fraunky the donkey, Pedro the goat, Rodeo the horse, and more. Each one comes with its animal's name and story, so it arrives as a keepsake rather than just a toy.
The pre-sale ends August 31st, at $40 each, with all proceeds going to the foundation. Pre-orders are handled through the Painted Horse Winery site; pick yours up at the tasting room when it's ready — a good excuse to visit the farm and meet the real Fraunky. After that, Lucy's Farm Friends will be for sale in the tasting room.
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Pour a Glass: Lucy Goosey Rosé
Lucy Ford Week is one week, but supporting the foundation doesn't have to wait for October. Every bottle of Lucy Goosey Rosé sold at Painted Horse Winery & Vineyards sends 100% of its profits directly to The Painted Horse Foundation.
It's a fruit-forward blended rosé with notes of apple, pear, and citrus, made by Painted Horse winemaker Robert with Lucy's memory in every bottle. Stop by the tasting room at 13762 Hopewell Road, Milton, GA 30004 to take a bottle home.
How to Take Part
Here's the short version of everything above:
Join us for dinner on October 20.
Run or walk the Lucy Ford Jackson Memorial 5K on October 24 — in person, or virtually from anywhere.
Sponsor the benefit dinner or the 5K if you own a business and want to give back.
Donate a silent auction item for the dinner.
Pre-order a Farm Friend before the pre-sale ends August 31.
Pour a glass of Lucy Goosey Rosé any time of year.
No family should walk through the loss of a child alone. Every ticket, every registration, every sponsorship, and every Farm Friend helps us make sure they don't have to. We'd be honored to have you with us this October.
With love and hope,
The Painted Horse Family
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