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MEDIA REVIEWS
WSET – ABC13 : First Lynchburg Beer and Wine Festival Draws Thousands
Reporter: Lauren Compton l Photojournalist: Daniel Heffner
Lynchburg, VA – Thousands of residents and tourists raised their glasses in celebration of Lynchburg’s first beer and wine festival on Saturday.
Event planners sold close to 3,000 tickets in advance, and more at the door. And, they say the success of the festival will help local businesses and create more interest in the downtown area.
“I think having all these people down here on the Riverfront is just showing what a great area Lynchburg is, “said Kim Jennings, owner of Capture It Events.
Jennings organized the event, and says the attendance of the festival far exceeded her expectations. For the past six months, Capture It Events and Lynch’s Landing have worked together to organize the festival.
“This festival just shows that people in our area are looking for more to do, and we’re going to keep offering it,” said Chris McCune, Events Manager for Lynch’s Landing.
Many attendants say they were pleased with the wide selection of wineries and local brewing companies offering taste sampling. But, even more say that this festival shows the progress of downtown’s revitalization.
“I think it shows that downtown is safe and it’s good for people to come down and see that. There’s no drama just good music, and good food,” said Amy Nesbitt, attendant at the festival.
And, the festival also gave several local businesses an opportunity to showcase their products. For Philip Popek of Slowing Moving Farms in Amherst the large crowds at festival mean extra exposure.
“It helps us with advertising, and getting people out to our business. It also helps us tell people our products so they know who we are,” said Popek.
And, the Jefferson Street Brewing Company is hoping the festival will do the same of their business as well.
“We’re hoping we get a lot of people interested. And, we’re hoping to talk to a lot of people,” said Beth Gray, employee of Jefferson Street Brewery.
News & Advance: Beer & Wine Festival Draws Big Crowd
By organizers’ accounts, Lynchburg’s first Beer & Wine Festival was a smashing success – and that was hours before the downtown event ended.
As downtown parking spots filled up for the event that packed out Riverfront Park, festival-goers pulled up onto the curbs and into the grass even hundreds of yards down Concord Turnpike.
Event organizer Kim Jennings said she estimated before the event that the turnout would be somewhere about 8,000 people and said by 3 p.m. that figure looked about right.
Between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m., 22 wineries and breweries from across the region poured samples, vendors sold food and crafts and live music played, as temperatures topped out at about 80 degrees.
Jennings said she planned the festival to give Lynchburg locals an event they didn’t have to drive far to experience.
“There were no beer or wine festivals here in Lynchburg,” she said. “We wanted to bring this to downtown.”
“It’s been well worth it,” Jennings said, noting she plans to hold the event every September. “The crowd looks like it’s having a good time,” she said.
Donald Furrow-Scott, of Hickory Hill Vineyards and Winery at Smith Mountain lake, said the winery was sampling seven of their 10 wines and he was pleased with the turnout.
“It’s not too crowded, it’s a beautiful day, it’s a good time of year and the people are nice,” he said.
“This has been really extraordinary,” he said, adding the winery usually participates in about a dozen festivals per year.
Peter and Victoria Meredith, of Lynchburg, said they appreciated the location of the event.
“It’s nice to have something local that we don’t have to drive three hours to go to,” said Victoria Meredith, adding she’s been to several wine festivals but most aren’t very close to home.
Peter Meredith, more of a beer drinker, said he appreciated that aspect of the event.
“There are not so many beer festivals, so this is a welcome change,” he said.
“It’s just nice to get out. It’s a beautiful day,” he said. “It’s nice to have an opportunity to sample some beers and wines that you normally don’t get exposed to.”
Doug John, of Forest-based Pints O’ Plenty, wasn’t selling wine but giving samples of some of the wine he teaches people to make in his home sessions.
“If you asked people where the best wine was at this festival, they’d say right here,” he said.
“I’ve been teaching people how to make wine and beer since 1995,” he said. “I teach them how to make it exactly right.”
“The wine (and beer) that you make is going to be as good as anything you can buy,” he said.
“This one probably is my favorite so far,” said Erich LeBeau, of a white cranberry wine made by Kenneth Reynolds, one of John’s students.
“This guy’s awesome,” he said of John.
Locally, breweries and wineries included Hickory Hill; DeVault Family Vineyards, of Concord; Lazy Days Winery in Amherst County; Leo Grande Vineyards and Winery in Goode; Nelson County’s Devil’s Backbone Brewery; Blue Mountain Brewery in Afton; and Lynchburg’s Jefferson Street Brewery.
VENDOR REVIEWS
I just wanted to let you know how much my family & I enjoyed the Lynchburg Beer & Wine Festival. It was a GREAT afternoon and we especially liked the fact that both beer and wine were available for sampling, along with some food items. This opened up the festival to a larger group of people. I have been to the wine festival at Tanglewood Park in Winston-Salem, NC and I can honestly say that Lynchburg’s was definitely of that same caliber. I hope that you will make this an annual event.
J. Bryan
A beautiful day, a great crowd, quality vendors and wineries…all the ingredients for a great event. Thanks for the opportunity to participate!
Edie, Posh Paint Designs
This was our very first festival (Lynchburg Beer & Wine Festival) and did not really know what to expect; but at the end of the day we were very happy with the whole event. We had a blast and really appreciated all of the great compliments from festival crowd. We will be back next year for sure.
Marvis Trent, Blue Ridge BBQ
I was actually blown away by the Lynchburg Beer and Wine Festival. We had a great time and the atmosphere was really friendly and festive. As a vendor, I was most impressed by the organization of the event and look forward to being a part of this fun festival again.
Eastern Star Catering
I have had the pleasure of working with Capture It Events and Kim Jennings on a number of shows, including the most recent Women’s Show. If you are like me (a small business owner) you often wonder if your advertising dollars are being spent effectively. The shows that Kim manages have become my most productive events ever!!! We receive great follow up business and ALWAYS see a boost in sales for weeks after attending. I wholeheartedly endorse her programs and am scheduled for every show she currently has planned.
The Women’s Show was a wonderful event. The layout was great and the event was very well promoted. Any event Kim puts on is always one to be a part of!
Dr. Joey Arthur, Lynchburg Chiropractic Center
We had a fantastic time at the Lynchburg Women’s Show – Even though we have been in business in Downtown Lynchburg for 21 years, the exposure the show gave our store was incredible. The week after the show was our busiest sales week since Christmas and also bought tons of new customers in who either did not know of our store or it reminded them we were here.
Deborah, Accents Flags
Participation in the Lynchburg Women’s Show made many more people aware of Basket Case, even though I am celebrating my 20th year in business! The volunteers were amazing and so generous in helping me set up the day before the show, which was pouring rain. The advertising prior to the show was well put together in all arenas; TV, radio, magazines. Let’s do this again!!!
I had a great time at the show because of great marketing and set up. Without a crowd it’s not a show.
Jeremiah, Stone Blue Productions
I was impressed with Kim Jennings and Capture It events, LLC when the winter weather caused the Lynchburg Women’s Show to be postponed. Communication was great from the signing up for the event, through the rescheduling, to the end of the event. Also, and most importantly, there was a real “buzz” in the community about the event. Kim did a masterful job promoting the event…so much so, the morning of the show there was a line of people waiting to get into the doors. I would recommend using Kim and Capture It Events if you plan to participate in any trade shows.
Dave Nelles, Nelles Insurance Solutions, Inc.
At Your Service Events Planner was pleased with the experience of the first Lynchburg Women’s Show and the manner in which the show as planned and organized. Capture It Events did an excellent job of marketing and advertising and there was a long line outside of the Schilling Center thirty minutes before it started! The turn out was great and we plan to be there next year.
Connie, At Your Service Events Planner
I loved the Lynchburg Women’s Show! There were plenty of volunteers to help the vendors. A delicious lunch was provided. My staff member and I talked to at least 500-1000 women about our Merry Maids franchise. I have already gained one excellent customer! Capture It Events was very thorough in putting out information for vendors about parking, booth selection, set up times, etc. This was my first experience at doing a show. I had a great time and think my business will grow as a result.
The Lynchburg Women’s Show was FABULOUS! It was such fun to see so many friends and meet new ones. I can’t say enought about what a good job Kim and her crew did to pull this off. Job well done…VERY well done!
Nadine Blakely, RE/MAX 1st Olympic
