Tickets for the 2011 Traverse City Wine & Art Festival, Northern Michigan’s premier summer celebration of wine, art, food and music, are now on sale through the festival website at www.traversecitywinefestival.com.
Festival organizers are taking applications for participants including food vendors, artists and volunteers. Applications and information are available on the festival website along with sponsorship opportunities. The festival will be held on August 20th from 3pm to 10pm under the tents on the beautiful front lawn at The Village at Grand Traverse Commons.
Last year, 3,500 people danced, dined and drank, almost tripling the attendance from the inaugural celebration. This year’s event promises to draw even bigger crowds and will feature a new twist as Old Mission and Leelanau Peninsula wineries will partner with the region’s most innovative restaurants and caterers to develop gourmet food and wine pairings specific to the festival, all at reasonable prices.
Dan Matthies, owner of Chateau Fontaine, said, “I do a lot of events across the state and the Traverse City Wine & Art Festival is phenomenal. The organizers create a comfortable and manageable atmosphere for all. This festival has the potential to be astronomical for the area!”
True to its name, the Traverse City Wine & Art Festival will showcase art in all its forms. In addition to 30 tents of high quality Michigan art for purchase and appreciation, the festival will feature some of the state’s most exciting musicians including Claudia Schmidt, Shout Sister Shout and Steppin’ In It providing the soundtrack to one of this summer’s most anticipated events.
“The Traverse City Wine & Art Festival is the event that brings nearly all the wineries of our region together to celebrate what we have here in Northern Michigan. It really is a landmark celebration of Michigan’s wine coast and culture.” Festival organizer Laura Herd said.
Almost 400 volunteers will be needed to help make this year’s festival even better than the last. Getting involved is as easy as visiting the website and filling out an application. Volunteers play a pivotal role in the success of the festival and will receive free admission to the event.
2011 volunteer Julia Hemphill related “It was a gorgeous outdoor event. The ambience at the festival was unlike anything I have seen in Northern Michigan. I had so much fun volunteering that I didn’t want to stop when my shift was over!”
Music Lineup
The Traverse City Wine & Art Festival is excited to announce a fantastic lineup that features some of Michigan's finest musicians.
Northern Michigan jazz/folk great Claudia Schmidt will kick things off with her "Funtet" composed of some of the region's finest players. Garrison Keiilor one said "when Claudia sings a song, it stays sung."
Claudia will make sure that the songs stay singing by joining Michigan's own Shout Sister Shout, who feature rising star Rachel Davis and deliver the smoky, sophisticated sound of 30s and 40s jazz reminiscent or Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Nat King Cole, Sarah Vaughan and others. It will be the first time Claudia and Shout Sister Shout have taken the stage together, an event that promises to be one of those "better not miss it" nights.
You'll be able to dance into the night with Steppin' In It, a Lansing based folk-rockin', jazz playin', bluegrass pickin', old-time swingin' quartet. The Telluride Bluegrass Festival says this versatile and literate band is "knee deep in the future of bluegrass" - we know you'll agree.
The Traverse City Wine & Art Festival is a Zero Waste Event with Bay Area Recycling for Charities distributing compostable glasses, plates and utensils.
Tickets for this year’s festival are $20 in advance and $25 at the door. Lodging packages with area hotels are available as well through the festival website.
For more information on the Traverse City Wine & Art Festival, please contact Andrew McFarlane at 231-421-1172 or email info@traversecitywinefestival.com. And please visit our Facebook page for updates on festival news and links to win free tickets.
Web Site: http://traversecitywinefestival.com/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Traverse-City-Wine-and-Art-Festival/89279603092
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