Buchanan is holding its first Art, Antique & Garden Festival featuring a Wine and Beer Tasting this Saturday, May 17, from 11 a.m.-5 p.m.
The event will features art, antique and garden vendors as well as live music, food and award-winning wines and beers.
The day’s activities will take place on the Town Park located at 485 Lowe Street while a sidewalk sale will be conducted on Main Street.
Visitors are invited to explore Botetourt’s newest agricultural industry of vineyards and a brewery during this spring event. The tasting and sale portion of this event features award-winning wines produced by Barbara Kolb and her husband Jim Holaday at Blue Ridge Vineyard of Eagle Rock; award-winning wines produced by David and Marie Gibbs at Virginia Mountain Vineyard & Winery of Fincastle, as well as beer produced by Botetourt’s new Flying Mouse Brewery of Troutville that was established by Frank, Debbie and Chris Moeller.
Visitors are invited to bring blankets and lawn chairs to enjoying the scenic Blue Ridge Mountains, the James River and the day’s musical entertainment.
Musical traditions spanning more than a century will entertain visitors throughout the day. There will be performances by the bluegrass duo of Warren Amberson and Kelly Green (noon-2 p.m). They are local favorite musicians known for their talents as leads in “Acoustic Endeavors” which performs original as well as old time bluegrass favorites.
Dave Livingston, Mac Baker and Scott Youngdahl of “The Coprolite Band” will perform from 2:30-4:30 p.m. Band members are professors at VMI by day and perform what they like to call “Jurassic Rock,” consisting of rock and blues from the 1960s till today on their off time.
DJ Randy Riddle will be providing the sound system for the day as well as musical entertainment between and after live performances.
The creative talents of Botetourt’s arts community will be on display at the Town Park. Works by members of Buchanan’s artist co-op Gallery By The James— including Tom and Sharon Akers, Phil deVos, Lois Bittner, Hazel Bowers, Jessie Stull Burton, Barbara Caton, Helen Hubler and Jill Pennington— will be on display, as well as works by independent local artists Candace Monaghan, Bobby Caton, Conrad Matiuk, David and Hazel Bowers, Len Miller and Piper Lane of Wee Farm Art.
Visitors will be able to cast votes for the “People’s Choice Award” for a favorite piece of art.
General admission to the event is free; however, those wishing to take part in the Wine and Beer Tasting must purchase a wristband for $10. This will allow them to sample wines and beers as well as purchase glasses of wine and beer and bottles of wine.
Members of the Buchanan Special Events Committee, Town Improvement Society, local business owners and volunteers from throughout the community are volunteering their time and talents to host this year’s event.
Proceeds from the day’s activities will go toward continued Town Park improvements. Over the past year the town has installed new playground equipment, enhanced landscaping and is currently excavating the James River & Kanawha Canal Gauge Dock and constructing new restroom facilities
