I realize I’m a couple days late with this post, but you know I have things to do. Besides, this post is like fine wine and will get better with age. Okay, maybe not.
But like the previous weekend, I spent a lot of time at Pemberton Park and this is what I came up with.
Just as in the Good Beer Festival, a number of local dignitaries got together for the ribbon-cutting. However, the list was a little shorter than last week – in part that was because the memorial service for the late Bob Caldwell was later that day. So just three County Council members were present (Gail Bartkovich, Stevie Prettyman, and Bob Culver) with Bartkovich assisting in the opening.
In truth, I think the Wine Festival could stand to open later in the afternoon like the GBF does. The crowd was still kind of sparse at 1:30 on Saturday.
Now compare this to about the same time on Sunday, shot from roughly the same location.
The big difference seemed to be later in the day. The next two shots were taken about 3 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, with the third one a Sunday picture at about 3 p.m.
So it’s obvious the peak time came in mid-afternoon Saturday. But there was a big difference in the setup as well, since there was only one musical stage at the Autumn Wine Festival and it was set near the center of the event. Conversely, our location was near the back end where the stage for the Good Beer Festival was located, and that may have made the crowd seem smaller.
One other story on Saturday was the wind. This is what happened to our neighboring tent, which was Laura Moore Designs.
Her tent was actually damaged beyond repair, so she went tentless for most of the event. Fortunately, the loss to her artwork was very limited – one piece was broken. It could have been a lot worse.
The next tent down was this one.
What I couldn’t figure out was whether there was a deal to get in for participants in the Seagull Century or whether the tent was just for them. There really was never a large number of people there insofar as I could tell.
Another intriguing presence at this event was this car.
It was the first time I’d seen a Chevy Volt up close, since Lord knows no one is buying them. Would you pay $45,000 for that?
Well, maybe these guys would – after all, they are part owners of the company.
There was an inside joke as to how I took the picture because I believe they think of all of us as their ATM, not just that lonely taxpayer. By the way, I didn’t know until Saturday that Salisbury City Council member Laura Mitchell was on their Central Committee – when I last checked her status at election time she was still unaffiliated. Not anymore. She was there working on Sunday (with her husband) when I took the picture.
Meanwhile, we were right by the cash machine. But I like the message implied with our shot.
Got cash? Well, maybe that’s because of us. And the reason the Harris sign is obscured was that I placed a sign advertising our straw poll. (That’s a story for another day.)
Now the rest of these shots may not be newsworthy, but the big difference between the Good Beer Festival and Autumn Wine Festival is in the photographic opportunities for still life shots – like these bottles shining in the sun.
I didn’t realize they were herb bottles until the next day! That was because I was hustling to the front to take my ribbon cutting pictures and didn’t look at the sign above.
These below are wine bottles from a fairly local vintner, Layton’s Chance.
Yet I had not heard about Joe – frankly, I still haven’t. Then again I’m not a wine drinker.
But if I were a wine connoisseur I’m not sure I’d want one called “Jealous Mistress.” Maybe it’s good, though.
The winery is called Knob Hall Winery, and the Jealous Mistress in question is third from the right. This was my favorite bottle shot because of the sun and colors.
Unfortunately, though, compressing these pictures to fit my website means they lose a lot of detail. But this shot of Cove Point Winery’s wares still has a nice symmetry to it.
Yet as the sun set on another Autumn Wine Festival the diehard fans were still after that last taste.
That’s a good place to end the story of the 2011 Autumn Wine Festival.