Extended Shine to Wine Festival Huge Success
Double the space, double the attendance, approximately 3,000 people came to downtown North Wilkesboro on Saturday for the sixth annual 'Shine to Wine festival. ''The weather held off most of the day making it very comfortable for
enjoying the festival. It was a good crowd and a good event bring lots of people into our downtown,'' said North Wilkesboro Mayor Robert
Johnson. ''Everyone is pleased with the extended length of the festival from Main to D Street this year. It gave more room for more
wineries and more vendors. We worked hard this year to promote the festival as something for everyone. We had more arts and crafts. And
the new kid’s tent was very successful. We saw more families come out this year. Our goal is to introduce visitors to our downtown while
raising funds for beautification and economic revitalization of our town, '' said Laura Blackburn, Historic Downtown North Wilkesboro Executive director.
The annual wine-tasting celebration allows attendees who buy a ''tasting ticket'' to sample the products of local vintners. The attendees may also buy a sealed bottle of wine they like to take home after the tasting. This year, 21 wineries had tents at 'Shine to Wine, which is sponsored by the Historic Downtown North Wilkesboro organization.
''We had a steady line at the ticket tent throughout the day. We think people came more sporadically during the day because of the threat of rain,'' Mrs. Blackburn said. ''With doubling the festival space, offering more wineries and more attractions, we doubled our usual attendance. It was so wonderful to see people both from our community and from across the state enjoying and learning about this industry, which holds such great promise for the area's economic future,'' Blackburn said.
Ken Baker of Sweet Vine Winery was new to the festival. “I was surprised at the number standing in line for a tasting. This was a
very organized and well attended festival.”
The festival also highlights the immense culinary talents that exist within downtown and Wilkes County by featuring a chef's competition
for the third year in a row, a ''secret ingredient'' culinary contest among local restaurants. All food was donated by local farms. The beef
was donated by Seth Church of Apple Brandy Beef Farm in North Wilkesboro, the produce was donated by Shiloh Avery of Tumbling Shoals
Farm in Millers Creek, and the secret ingredient was goat cheese donated by Liza Plaster of Ripshin Goat Dairy in Lenoir. “The chefs
were thrilled with the selection of food and each provided their own spin on each dish”, said Katina Washington, volunteer chef assistant
for the festival. Each chef creates an appetizer and entrée for a panel of three judges in 90 minutes. Professional Chef Judges were
Shannon Saylor of Hickory and Don Dutow of Blowing Rock. As an exclusive to those who purchased hotel packages at Addison Inn and
Holiday Inn, a name was drawn and Heather Rickles from Charlotte won the space as the final judge.
The winner of the contest was Chef Myleia Slagle of 6th & Main Restaurant. Awarded the prize as ''most creative'' was Wilkes Community College student chef James Miraglia.
Historic Downtown North Wilkesboro is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the historic preservation, protection, culture,
and use of North Wilkesboro's traditional downtown area. If interested in participating in next year’s festival contact HDTNW
at 336-667-4875 or info@hdtnw.org.
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Wilkes County Cruisers
