LAKE GEORGE, N.Y. (June 28, 2016): Adirondack Festivals LLC is proud to announce that more than 5,200 people bought tickets to the 2nd Annual Adirondack Wine & Food Festival, held June 25th & 26th at Charles R Wood Festival Commons in Lake George.
“I am excited to be able to say that not only did we beat our lofty goal of 5,000 attendees for the festival, we also significantly broke a record for any event held at the Charles R Wood Festival Commons since it opened last year in Lake George,” said Adirondack Festivals Owner, Sasha Pardy.
Pardy continued, “Last year we were challenged with rainy forecasts for the weekend and a downpour on Sunday. This year we were blessed with two sunny days that brought about 3,500 people on Saturday and 1,500 people on Sunday. Before the weekend even started, we had already sold 4,400 tickets and since no other organizer had ever had a crowd this size at Festival Commons, we took measures to throttle the crowd, announcing that it was likely no at-the-gate tickets would be available for Saturday. We ended up selling a few hundred more before we stopped sales, as we saw lines at vendor booths getting longer. Those who attended on Sunday enjoyed no lines and plenty of face time with our wonderful producers. We think we could have sold easily more than 6,000 tickets if we had more vendors and the heat wasn’t so intense.”
The vendor list for the 2016 Adirondack Wine & Food Festival included 21 wineries, 4 breweries, 4 distilleries, 2 cideries, 19 artisan food vendors, 6 food / beverage trucks, 1 local restaurant and a weekend full of culinary demonstrations provided by the SUNY Adirondack Culinary Students. Attendees used their commemorative festival wine glass to sample the hundreds of hand-crafted products vendors were showcasing, and then had the opportunity to purchase their favorite products to take home with them in a farmer’s market style “try before your buy” format.
“Our vendors worked really, really hard to prepare for and serve the crowds attending the festival; but every vendor we’ve talked to so far has told us they’re happy with the attendees, organization, and their sales and want to come back next year. Our festival gives them exposure to an audience they might never otherwise enjoy in their own locale,” said Stephanie Ottino, Event Manager for Adirondack Festivals. To encourage support of these local small producers, the Adirondack Wine & Food Festival offers a “Purchase Drop-Off & Pick-Up Tent”, where attendees could drop off the purchases they make throughout the day for storage to be picked up when they left the festival. “We saw this tent extremely well utilized,” said Ottino.
“Our festival brought an important demographic to Lake George. Our ticket buyers were primarily females with buying power and included younger age demographics than most Lake George events,” said Ms. Pardy.
Lake George Mayor Blais said, “An event this size has an enormous impact on the Lake George region. I believe that in just two years, the Adirondack Wine & Food Festival has become one of Lake George’s most successful signature events. It’s a fabulous use of Charles R Wood Festival Commons and the event is very well organized. We’re looking forward to a long relationship with the team at Adirondack Festivals.”
With over 5,000 attendees, the festival set a record for Charles R Wood Festival Commons. The grounds were fully completed prior to the start of the summer, with fully operating bathrooms, landscaped commons areas, and a children’s natural playground at the space. “The venue worked out great for us. Space wasn’t an issue and we had no problems with the space this year,” said Ms. Ottino.
This year, the Adirondack Wine & Food Festival is presented by Adirondack Winery and Taste New York. Adirondack Festivals announced in March that it was awarded $63,000 in funding from Governor Cuomo’s Craft Beverage Marketing and Promotion Grant Program, which was created to increase the profile, awareness and sales of New York State-produced wine, beer, spirits, and hard cider. Additionally, $15,000 in funding was awarded from Warren County & Lake George occupancy tax funds.
“These funds we were awarded have almost entirely been funneled into marketing the event; including digital, print, social media, billboard, radio and television campaigns. We were hoping these efforts would amount to 5,000 attendees and are thrilled we were on target,” said Pardy.
As the designated beneficiary of the festival, the SUNY Adirondack Foundation provided volunteer staff during festival weekend and will receive a portion of the event’s ticket sales. Additionally, SUNY Adirondack raised funds through sales of raffle tickets, water bottles, festival t-shirts and baked goods throughout the weekend. The SUNY Adirondack Culinary Program had a full tent all weekend long tuned into cooking demonstrations performed every hour on the hour of the festival.
“We’re already got lots of ideas for how we can improve as we look forward to the 2017 Adirondack Wine & Food Festival, slated for June 24th & 25th at Charles R Wood Festival Commons in Lake George,” said Ottino.
VENDOR LIST AND DETAILS FOLLOW….
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Wineries
- Adirondack Winery / Lake George
- Americana Vineyards / Interlaken
- Brookview Station Winery / Castleton
- Galway Rock Vineyard & Winery / Galway
- Goose Watch Winery / Romulus
- Halfmoon Cellars Winery / Saratoga Springs
- Helderberg Meadworks / Duanesburg
- Hudson Chatham Winery / Ghent
- Lakeland Winery / Syracuse
- Ledge Rock Hill Winery / Corinth
- Miles Wine Cellars / Himrod
- Oliva Vineyards / Saratoga Springs
- Pazdar Winery / Hudson Valley
- Raymor Estate Cellars / Victor
- Saratoga Winery, Saratoga Springs
- Swedish Hill Winery / Romulus
- Three Brothers Winery / Geneva
- Thousand Islands Winery / Alexandria Bay
- Tug Hill Vineyards / Lowville
- Victory View Vineyard, Schaghticoke
- Warwick Valley Winery & Distillery / Warwick
Breweries
- Adirondack Brewery & Moose Wizz Rootbeer / Lake George
- Brown’s Brewing Co. / Troy
- Common Roots Brewing Company / South Glens Falls
- Davidson Brothers Brewing & Crazy J’s Soda / Glens Falls
Distilleries
1. Harvest Spirits Distillery / Valatie
- Lake George Distilling Co / Fort Ann
- Springbrook Hollow Distillery / Queensbury
- Yankee Distillers / Clifton Park
Cideries
- Nine Pin Ciderworks / Albany
- Slyboro Ciderhouse / Granville
Artisanal Foods
- Bald Mountain Garlic Farm – Garlic Sauces
- Chef William Creations – Sauces & Salsas
- Cheese Filled Company – Pepperoni & Pickles
- Cross River Kettle Corn – Popcorn
- Dutch Desserts – Pies & Tarts
- Eagle Ridge Farms – Pepper Sauce & Hot Dogs
- The Gourmet Gals Sauce – Sauces
- Gusto della Vita – Olive Oil & Vinegar
- Hidden Hollow Maple Farm – Maple Products
- Horseshoe Brand Hot Sauce – Hot Sauces
- Ice Delites – Wine Slushie Mixes
- Jiff-E-Chips – Potato Chips
- Lake George Olive Oil Co – Oil & Vinegar
- Lindt Chocolatiers – Chocolates
- Nettle Meadow – Goat’s Milk Cheese
- Palatine Cheese – Cow’s Milk Cheese
- Palatable Pepper Products – Sauces & Spices
- Saratoga Crackers – Crackers
- Worldlings Pleasure – Cheese & Desserts
Food Trucks, Etc.
- Capital Q Smokehouse – Barbeque
- Empanada Sonata – Empanadas
- Flavors of Lebanon – Lebanese
- The Hungry Traveler – Sandwiches, etc
- The Dutch Udder Ice Cream
- The Boathouse Restaurant
- SUNY Adirondack Culinary Arts Program
Specialty Vendors
- AHG Creative – Wine Charms & Accessories
- AC Woodcraft – Fine wood bowls & vases
- Love is on Lake George – Home Accessories
- Sweet Rama’s Soap – Goat’s Milk Soaps
- This Old Bottle – Recycled Wine Bottle Crafts
ABOUT THE CRAFT BEVERAGE GRANT PROGRAM:
The $3 million Craft Beverage Marketing and Promotion Grant Program was created by Governor Andrew M. Cuomo to increase the profile, awareness and sales of New York State-produced wine, beer, spirits, and hard cider, will provide matching funds for the marketing and promotion of craft beverages. Up to $250,000 will be awarded to eligible Not-For-Profit organizations and For-Profit entities to help cover the costs associated with marketing the craft beverage industry. This includes the purchase of recognized media advertising, production costs of print collateral and audio/visual, industry related tours, marketing materials, and website design, development, and updates.
The eligible project must incorporate the Taste NY initiative as applicable and appropriate to the project, including but not limited to, the use of the Taste NY logo. Taste NY affiliation must be coordinated with the NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets. Taste NY is an initiative that highlights the quality, diversity, and economic impact of New York’s food and beverage industry.
Successful projects will support the Regional Economic Development Council’s long term strategic plans for economic growth in regions, as well as align with current I LOVE NEW YORK marketing strategies.
ABOUT ADIRONDACK FESTIVALS LLC:
Founded in 2014, Adirondack Festivals LLC is based out of Queensbury, New York and owned by Sasha Pardy, who is also co-owner and president of Adirondack Winery; the Presenting Sponsor of the Adirondack Wine and Food Festival; in conjunction with Taste New York in 2016. The first festival was held June 27th & 28th, 2015 at the Charles R Wood Festival Commons in Lake George, New York and was a huge success, drawing 2,500 attendees out to celebrate the best New York has to offer in Wine, Craft Beverage, locally-produced food & products & more. The designated beneficiary of the Adirondack Wine and Food Festival is the SUNY Adirondack Foundation, working closely with the SUNY Adirondack Culinary Arts Program. www.AdkWineFest.com
ABOUT SUNY ADIRONDACK FOUNDATION:
The SUNY Adirondack Foundation is a 501(c) 3 charitable corporation established in 1983. The Foundation’s primary function is to provide financial support to the college and its students. Funds are raised and distributed as student scholarships, faculty/staff professional development grants and to support College related special projects. WEBSITE>>
ABOUT SUNY ADIRONDACK CULINARY ARTS PROGRAM:
SUNY Adirondack offers a two-year Associate in Applied Science (AAS) degree in Culinary Arts with a focus on the scientific and artistic elements behind food and drink. Since culinary minds are constantly exploring and evolving the industry, students will find a wealth of career choices for trained chefs upon graduation. WEBSITE>>
