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Good ‘Vine’brations

Soldier Creek Winery to hold Harvest Festival

Soldier Creek Winery will host its fourth annual Good “Vine”brations Harvest Festival on Saturday. While some may see “winery” and think this is just for the 21+ crowd, it is definitely not. It’s actually fun for everyone in the community.

There will be many activities throughout the day, starting with the Grape Romp Fun Run starting at 10:15 a.m. The Grape Romp is a very informal, but very fun loop around both vineyards. Participants will get a glass of wine with their $7 entry fee, so that jaunt of less than one mile long is certainly worth it.

The Grape Romp starts just a bit earlier than the official harvest festival begins. This is so that any Grape Romp participants can also try to get swag bags at the Winding Vine Market. The first 50 people to be at the market at 11 a.m. sharp will receive goodie bags with treats from community sponsors as well as some of the Winding Vine Market vendors.

Soldier Creek Winery will also be offering Hayrack Rides all day throughout the event. A time chart will be posted the day of the event so that attendees can be sure they won’t miss their chance to hitch a ride. There is no fee for the hayrack rides and there is only one rule — no drinks allowed on the hayrack.

Winery Tours will also be held throughout the day. Similar to the Hayrack Rides, there is no fee for the Winery Tours and a time chart will be posted the day of the event so that everyone can choose the best time to go on their tour.

Back again this year is the Grape Stomp Tournament for those who are 21 and over. While this event has been held each year, this year will be a much shorter event from 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. versus the all-day event held the first year of the festival. There will be four qualifying stomp time slots, 3:30 p.m., 4:00 p.m., 4:30 p.m., and 5:00 p.m., with the top team of each round moving on to the Championship Round. The goal is to collect the most juice from the stomping barrel. One teammate will squish juice from grapes in a barrel while the other collects the juice in a bucket. The first team to collect a designated amount of juice will walk away with an entire case of wine of your choosing, though it is limited to two bottles of Frontenac Reserve. The entry fee for the Grape Stomp Tournament is $35 and there is a limit of 16 teams, consisting of two people, who are both 21 or older.

Because the children always want to get involved in the grape stomping, there will be a Kids’ Stomp just before the final championship round for the tournament, which is set to begin promptly at 5:30 p.m. All of the participating children will walk away with a small prize for their grape stomping efforts.

What event would be complete without live music at Soldier Creek Winery? Not this one. There will be live music offered throughout the day by The Day Drinkers (Kaleb Ferry and Jordan Reuter) from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., Elias Netz from 2:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m, and Sean Minikis & The Ronley King Blues Band from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Soldier Creek Winery just marked its fifth anniversary.

“This is our chance to let our hair down after the season,” said Megan Secor, marketing coordinator. “The harvest is in and everything is done. We can just relax and celebrate with the community!”

Secor was quick to remind about the other regular events at Soldier Creek Winery as well. Sunday afternoon music will continue until about the end of October, with the ever-popular craft nights picking up again in October as well. Don’t forget — free live music continues every Friday night all year long at Soldier Creek Winery.

Good “Vine”brations Harvest Festival

Saturday 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Soldier Creek Winery, 1584 Paragon Ave.

• Grape Romp | Fun Run | starts at 10:15 a.m.

• Winding Vine Market | Open-Air Maker/Seller Market | 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

• Vineyard Hayrack Rides | All Day

• Winery Tours | All Day

• Grape Stomp Tournament (competing to win a case of wine — 12 bottles) | 3:30-5:30 p.m.

• Live Music | Day Drinkers 11A-2P | Elias Netz 2:30-5:30 p.m. Sean Minikis & The Ronley King Blues Band 6-8 p.m.

Vendors included in this year’s festival include: Addison James Boutique, Barrel Me This, Beauty Baby Boutique, Blue Feather Jewelry, Boone Forks Forge, Boone River Rusticks, Coca Bellissimo, Color Street, First Footprint, K & E Beads, Lilla Rose Hair Accessories, LipSense/SeneGence — Erica’s Beauty Emporium, Lofty Lou, LuLaRoe, Matilda Jane Clothing, MojiLife, Pallet Junkie, Perfectly Posh, Scentsy, Second Chance Iowa, Stamping Heart Helper — Jahanna Ansorge, Steeped Tea, Succs for You, SueZee Soaps Etc, Talliha Designs, Tastefully Simple, The Craft Addict, The Pampered Chef, The Upcycle Market, Thomas Kae, Tupperware, Usborne Books & More, Vintage Pearl Apparel, Zyia Activewear.

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