Kent’s annual Main Street Kent Art and Wine Festival will take place downtown this Saturday, from noon to 10 p.m. Stretching from the Hometown Bank Plaza on North Water Street to the surrounding areas of North Water and West Main Streets, attendees will have plenty to do and see.

The event offers wine tasting, food vendors, artists and live music to festival goers. Attendees can purchase ten taste tickets and a commemorative wine glass for $20, with additional tickets for $1 each.

The festival offers an important opportunity to showcase Kent and its cultural scene.

“People come in from all over northeast Ohio, so it’s just really important for people to see what Kent’s turned into over the last few years,” said Derek Rudy, the event’s publicist. “It’s getting bigger and bigger every year.”

This year’s festival is, in part, sponsored by Kent State’s College of the Arts and the university’s  Ashtabula regional campus, which offers the only wine degree program in the state. The program includes courses in the areas of viticulture— the study and science of grapes—and enology, the study of wines.

Vendors such as local artisans, wineries and artists from around the region and city will be showcased at the festival.

Musical performances by musicians like Cleveland-based, folk, indie, rock singer-songwriter Diana Chittester and the Boys, as well as Kent-based Hey Mavis and four other artists will also be featured.

Other vendors will include downtown Kent businesses such as the Acorn Alley’s cheese shop, Kent Cheesemonger, and Popped!—a popcorn and sweets shop.

“It’s the tenth (year), so it’s been going on for some time now in Kent,” Rudy said. “The main purpose is to help get some of these different vendors, some of the local wineries (and) exposure.”

All profits earned from the festival will go toward Main Street Kent, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the revitalization of downtown Kent, according to its website.

A full list of vendors and artists to be featured at the festival is available online on the Main Street Kent website. Tickets for the event can be purchased at the event.

Contact Cameron Gorman at [email protected].