Westfield Grape & Wine Fest gets stomping this weekend
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WESTFIELD -- Harvest season takes center stage Friday and Saturday as the fourth Annual Westfield Grape & Wine Festival brings two days of family fun, food, music, grape traditions and local wine to the heart of one of America’s great grape-growing communities.
More than simply a festival, the weekend is a celebration of the farmers, families, traditions, and agricultural heritage that have shaped Westfield and the Lake Erie grape region for generations.
Admission is free. Friday festivities run from 3 to 8 p.m. in downtown Westfield’s Moore Park and at the Grape Discovery Center (GDC). Saturday begins with the GrapeFest 5K Walk/Run at 8 a.m. at Welch Field, followed by Festival activities in Moore Park and the GDC from 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
Friday offers a lively start to the weekend with food and vendors, children’s activities, grape juice and wine tastings, craft beverage sales, live music, and local dignitaries, teachers, and student grape-stomping contests. Patterson Library will add to the family fun with a children’s art show and a kids’ movie.
Saturday brings a full day of activities throughout downtown Westfield. Visitors can enjoy the Farmers Market, food vendors, live music, children’s activities, wine tasting and craft beverage sales, the Blessing of the Grapes, grape-stomping activities and contests for children and adults, pie-eating contests, a grape pie and grape dessert baking contest, plus hands-on grape-themed classes and workshops.
Food and grape lovers will find plenty to experience, including Cooking with Grapes, a children’s baking class, a grape pie baking workshop, an alternative grape dessert contest, a food-and-wine pairing workshop, and a wine tasting class.
Activities extend beyond Moore Park. Patterson Library will offer children’s programming and a petting zoo; the Presbyterian Church will host children’s activities; the Lakeshore Art Center will feature a grape photo booth, grape exhibit, and movie; and a scavenger hunt will take place at local businesses.
At the Grape Discovery Center, visitors can explore the museum and shop, sample regional wines, take a vineyard tour, enjoy a kids’ train ride and bounce house, and relax to live music on the patio. A trolley will operate Saturday between Festival locations.
Westfield sits at the heart of the Lake Erie grape-growing region, where the lake’s moderating climate, well-drained soils and generations of farming knowledge have created ideal conditions for Concord, Niagara and wine grapes. The Festival celebrates that agricultural heritage while giving visitors an opportunity to experience the community and traditions behind the region’s vineyards.
Visitors are encouraged to make a day – or a weekend – of their trip. Explore historic downtown Westfield, stop into local shops and restaurants, visit area wineries and vineyards, and take in the Lake Erie shoreline while enjoying the Festival.
Whether you’re stomping grapes, cheering on a pie-eating contestant, learning something new about the region’s grape industry, sampling local flavors, or simply enjoying music in the park with family and friends, the Westfield Grape & Wine Festival offers something for every generation.
Admission is free.