News & Features
Chesterfield Chamber Moves Annual Wine Fest to
By Nick DeRatto
Jul 16, 2008 - 3:27:04 PM

The Chesterfield Chamber of Commerce may have just held their annual Celebration of the Vine wine festival on June 28, but that doesn’t mean that it is too early to start planning for next year. Looking to expand on the success of the past two years, Chamber members are hoping to bring the festival to the grounds of the Chesterfield County government complex.
“We always knew that we would outgrow Boulevard Flower Gardens, so we began looking at bigger venues,” says Lenita Gilreath, President of the Chesterfield Chamber of Commerce. “Other venues that we had looked at either weren’t available for public events or didn’t allow us to provide alcohol. We also wanted to find something a bit more centrally located.”
While alcohol is also not allowed at the government complex, the Chamber requested an amendment to the County Code that would allow for the use of alcohol on certain public property on a case by case basis. The Chesterfield Board of Supervisors approved this amendment during their Board meeting on June 25.
“We wanted to do something similar to what Powhatan does in holding the wine festival at the government complex. Our biggest hurdle was getting the change in the ordinance, so we were definitely glad to see that approved,” says Gilreath.
Started to promote Virginia Wineries, the wine festival continues to grow each year. Though they had less attendees than expected this year, approximately 2,000 people were in attendance, making the festival another success.
“Everything went great,” says Gilreath. “We had rave reviews from the vendors and those in attendance. We had hoped for more people, but we didn’t anticipate the heat or 40,000 people going to the races.”
With the approval to the amendment, the only step left for the Chamber is to acquire a Music/Entertainment Festival Permit from Chesterfield County.
“We are still working on the layout of the festival and nothing is definite yet. We’ll know for sure at the end of the month when the Board votes on it during their July 30 meeting,” says Gilreath. “However, we don’t anticipate any bumps in the road.”
If approved, the 2009 Celebration of the Vine will take place in front of the Eanes-Pittman Building in the government complex. The Chamber anticipates over 6,000 people to attend the festival and vendors from approximately 10-15 Virginia Wineries. Events during the venue will include wine tastings, educational seminars, live music, local artists and craft vendors and an array of food.
nderatto@villagepublishing.com | 751-0421


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