Main Street Kent hosts 2nd annual Wine and Arts Festival

DKS Editors

Extra day added this year after last year’s turnout

Last year, about 500 hundred people attended Main Street Kent’s Wine and Arts Festival. By the end of the night, the group had gone through the 1,000 plastic cups they bought for the event, and had to ask the area bars for cups they could use.

Thomas Simpson, the president of Main Street Kent, said the turnout for the event was so great the group decided to expand the event from one to two days this year.

“It’s just a great event,” he said. “It brings a lot of folks into downtown.”

REAL QUICK

What: Main Street Kent’s Wine and Arts Festival

Where: North Water Street

When: Saturday from 1-9 p.m., Sunday from 1-6 p.m.

Cost: Admission is free, $15 for collector’s cup for wine tasting

Who: All ages, must be 21+ to drink

This year’s event will take place from 1 to 9 p.m. Saturday and 1 to 6 p.m. Sunday along North Water Street. Admission for the event is free for everyone.

Those who want to sample wine will be charged $15 for a collector’s cup that will include four samples of wine and one glass of wine. Guests will have to pay $1 for each additional sample wine and $4 for every extra glass of wine.

While guests must be 21 and older to drink, people who are underage can still come and see the various artists and listen to music, Simpson said. IDs will be checked at the door.

Mary Gilbert, the executive director of Main Street Kent, said the group switched from plastic cups to the collector’s cups for wine tasting this year because it is more environmentally friendly.

“Last year we charged by taste and people ended up throwing away a lot of glasses,” Gilbert said. “At the end of the night when we saw all those plastic cups in the trash we thought ‘oh, this wasn’t a good idea.'”

Wines from several area wineries will be featured at the event, including: Maize Valley from Hartville, Candlelight Wineries in Garrettsville and Viking Vineyards from Brimfield.

Main Street Kent is a non-profit agency focused on the revitalization of downtown Kent. All proceeds from the Wine and Arts Festival will go to Main Street Kent.

Contact all corresponder Kristen Kotz at [email protected].