Located in the heart of historic downtown Livermore, this year’s 21st Annual Wine Country Festival attracted over 150,000 people from all over the Bay Area.
The festival took place last Saturday and Sunday along First Street, from P Street to Maple Street and Second Street, from N Street to K Street.
The Livermore Wine Country Festival is considered one of Northern California’s most popular wine festivals; as the Livermore Valley Chamber of Commerce states, the city is “surrounded by more than 40 wineries and over 5,000 acres of vineyard and is becoming recognized as one of the California’s premiere wine regions.”
Livermore, founded in 1876, is actually the oldest city in Livermore Valley.
With the recent renovation of Livermore’s historic downtown area, this festival was a perfect way to showcase everything the city has to offer.
According to the Livermore Valley Chamber of Commerce, “Livermore’s downtown is the place to be. It is a vibrant walkable district serving the living, dining, shopping, cultural and entertainment needs of the city.”
The downtown area is host to a multitude of shops and restaurants, all who welcomed festival attendees with open arms.
Many of the local restaurants and eateries provided sidewalk seating for folks to “eat, drink and be merry.”
The event was a great way to highlight and promote local businesses.
“What I enjoyed most was the variety of vendors,” said attendee Rosalind Evans, 47. “They had things I actually wanted to buy. Not like some festivals where there is just a bunch of overpriced artwork and things that are not practical for everyday use.”
“This stuff was really unique, environmentally- friendly and reasonably priced,” Evans added. “I love the downtown revitalization. I had never been to this festival before, but I will definitely return next year.”
For a flat rate of $40, visitors were given the opportunity to sample wines from over 21 different wineries, including Guda Ridae Winery, Westover Winery and Elliston Vineyards.
For $30, participants had the same unlimited sampling opportunity for the 15 different breweries at the festival.
There was food on every corner, with the choices seeming endless; from American and Thai, to Korean and Mediterranean. There was something for every taste, with one street specially reserved for some of the Bay Area’s best gourmet food trucks.
The weather was perfect for all festival-goers, young and old to enjoy the festivities.
Music could be heard throughout the day as a variety of local bands graced the three outdoor stages, including the musical stylings of “Replay Band,” “Jeff Reed” and “Michael Beck and Gone Country.”
One vendor stand that remained packed throughout the event was “Home Town Honey.”
Kids and adults alike were drawn to the free honey samples and live bees on display. With sneezing and nose blowing seen and heard throughout the day, it seemed as if a large number of attendees were suffering from allergies. Many decided to purchase some local honey as a long-term remedy to ease their symptoms.
“I’ve been beekeeping for years,” said Home Town Honey’s beekeeper Mike Stephanos, who has been hosting his booth at the festival for the past 13 years. “I love the festival. It’s fun to look at all the different people and talk to everybody. I love to educate people about the honey, that’s my favorite thing.”
Up until four years ago the festival was called “The Livermore Wine and Honey Festival,” though it changed names as beekeepers in the area became scarce.
The event was not just for “grown folks;” in fact, a whole block catered to the “little ones” who came out to have an enjoyable time as well.
The most popular attraction for the children was the carnival area, equipped with a Ferris wheel, giant slide, rock climbing and games.
There was also free face painting, live pirate characters strolling on the streets and a unique balloon animal petting zoo.
A plethora of one-of-a-kind artwork and vendors lined the streets of the festival, including a popular booth selling wine-flavored spreads, jellies and barbeque sauces.
