The Town of Stuart will hold its 10th annual Wine & Beer Festival on Saturday, April 5, at the Star Theatre from 12-4 p.m. Admission is free.
Town Manager Bryce Simmons said there will be a $10 wine tasting, which includes a free wine glass.
“Right now, there are four wineries that we know will be there—Villa Appalachia, Wood Acres Fruit Wines, Childress Vineyard, and Daring Wine and Cider Company,” he said.
One Family Productions will also be onsite selling beer and other concessions for those who aren’t wine enthusiasts.
While the event has typically been held at the Stuart Farmers’ Market, Simmons said it has often been plagued by bad weather, such as rain and heavy winds. As a result, the town decided to hold it at the Star Theatre.
“That’s also due to some ABC (Alcoholic Beverage Control) permitting issues. An ABC permit has to be tied to a particular address, so in pulling the ABC permit, it just sort of made sense to do it at the Star,” Simmons said. “That way, it’ll be climate-controlled, we’ll have plenty of space where people can just enjoy themselves. Plus, I think it makes it more of an intimate event.”
Simmons said the festival will feature house music rather than live bands, as in past years.
“The reason that we’re doing that is, especially when you get a lot of people in for a wine tasting, it always seems to happen that you get the band, do sound check, get everything leveled, and then as soon as they start playing, people inevitably start complaining about it being too loud. Because people ultimately want to be able to have conversations and talk and see their friends, so we’re just going to do house music for this event,” he said.
Tony’s Pizza will provide concessions and pizza, the Patrick County Alzheimer’s Association, LLC, will be selling cheese and chocolate-covered strawberries, and Henry’s Coffee will also be selling concessions onsite.
For additional information, call (276) 694-3811 or (276) 692-7188.
