LAKEPORT — The popular Lake County Home Wine Makers” Festival, taking place on June 26, will shift its venue from Kelseyville”s Main Street to Library Park in Lakeport. The announcement came from Connel Murray, vice president of Clear Lake Performing Arts (CLPA), the nonprofit group that sponsors the event.
The Home Wine Makers” Festival has attracted hundreds of amateur wine makers and attendees from all over Northern California since its inception in 2002. It has become the major fund-raising event for CLPA, which supports music activities in Lake County including the symphony and youth orchestras.
Jim Perry, event chair, said triple-digit heat at last year”s festival led to the decision to shift localities. “We actually loved Kelseyville, and the Kelseyville Business Association couldn”t have been more cooperative,” he said. The KBA was also a festival sponsor. “We had planned to pattern our event after some of the village-based wine festivals in Europe, where they close the town center,” he continued, “but I guess they don”t get 103-degree temperatures in June like we did this year. Some of our volunteers actually dropped out with heat exhaustion.”
The Lakeport City Council recently approved CLPA”s application to hold its event in the park, including the closure of Park Street in order to accommodate the many arts and crafts exhibitors and food vendors who are a part of the festival. Ed Bublitz, who has responsibility for soliciting the participation of amateur wine makers, says his committee will continue to provide participants with necessities, including canopies if needed. For information, contact Murray at 277-7076, or e-mail him at murrayjc@sbcglobal.net.
