Tickets to the 40th annual Art Fair & Winefest are still available, but organizers of the downtown event are encouraging would-be attendees to not delay purchasing tickets. The festival, scheduled for May 21-23, is sponsored annually by Downtown Washington Inc.
“We really want to encourage people to buy their tickets early in hopes of cutting down the lines and to help with social distancing,” said Cassidy Lowery, an events and promotion specialist with Downtown Washington Inc., the main sponsor of the multiday festival that typically draws between 8,000 to 10,000 people over the weekend.
More than 350 people have bought tickets to the wine tasting to date. Typically, 800 to 1,200 people buy tickets to the wine tasting.
Approximately 100 people have purchased tickets to Sunday’s Sip and Savor event, where attendees enjoy wines paired with menu items from local restaurants.
Tickets can be purchased online through Downtown Washington Inc.’s website, www.downtownwashmo.org.
The wine tasting is scheduled from 5 to 10 p.m. on Friday and from noon to 10 p.m. on Saturday. The Sip and Savor Sunday event is scheduled for noon to 3 p.m.
The festival’s overall hours are from 5 to 10 p.m. on Friday, May 21; 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturday, May 22; and from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday, May 23.
The wine portion of the festival will be held in the Washington Farmers’ Market, and the food and art vendors will be located along Main and Elm streets. The art vendors close at 8 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, according to Lowery, who said the festival will be held rain or shine.
“The music and the wine tasting are all covered, so I’d encourage anyone to not let the rain — if it rains — to stop them from coming out and having a good time,” Lowery said.
Slated to perform at the festival are: Burnt Whiskey, the Shawneetown Band, Garden Party, Pilot Grove and Aqua-Holics.
Burnt Whiskey, which is scheduled to play Friday from 6 to 10 p.m. Performing on Saturday from noon until 3 p.m. is the Shawneetown Band.
Taking the stage Saturday afternoon is Garden Party, which will perform from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. Pilot Grove is the evening’s final band, performing Saturday from 7 to 10 p.m.
The Aqua-Holics will perform Sunday from noon to 4 p.m.
Parking and admission to the festival are free.
This year’s winery lineup includes: Adam Puchta Winery, of Hermann; Augusta Winery, of Augusta; Balducci Vineyards, of Augusta; Lake Creek Winery, of Marthasville; Montelle Winery, of Augusta; Small Batch Winery, of Wentzville; White Mule Winery, of Owensville; Stone Hill Winery, of Hermann; McKelvey Vineyards, of Leslie; and Mount Pleasant Estates, of Augusta, which is the third-largest winery in Missouri.
Each of the wineries is invited to bring 5 Missouri wines to the wine tasting, Lowery said.
In addition to the wine tasting, there also will be 35 different vendors lining the downtown streets, offering everything from handsewn women’s clothing, acrylic paintings, fine jewelry, repurposed metals, watercolor paintings, blown glass, photography, woodwork and ceramics to dips and soup mixes, clothing and home decor.