The City of Grapevine held its 36th annual GrapeFest from September 16 to September 18. It’s a special event that celebrates wine, but not just any wine — Texas wine!
GrapeFest is a celebration of Texas wines offering a variety of experiences for wine consumers and people looking to get out of the house. Those in attendance enjoyed an atmosphere that is not exclusively for adults but also family-friendly. The fest offers plenty of kid-friendly events including the Carnival & Midway and the Kidz Zone.
GrapeFest offers many different wine tasting experiences and opportunities to test your pallet with the People’s Choice, Champagne Terrace, and the Liberty Park Wine Experience which will feature wines from Sonoma and Sicily regions.
“GrapeFest is a celebration of Texas wines so it started to showcase the variety of wines that can be grown right here in Texas,” said Holly Gaddy, Director of Communications for the Grapevine Convention and Visitors Bureau.
“Yesterday we had live nonstop entertainment throughout the festival and there was a family on the lawn in front of one of our headliners and the mother and her young daughter, they were just dancing and it was so sweet it was like a movie moment and the father kind of joined in and they were creating memories right there on the lawn and I thought okay, that’s what this is all about we’re creating memories we are making experiences for folks that they want to remember,” said Gaddy.
GrapeFest attracted people from all over the state of Texas, The Dallas Express was on hand to witness a family who traveled from Abilene, Texas to enjoy the festivities and atmosphere.
The Dallas Express also ran into a local couple who say they have been attending GrapeFest for a while now.
“We’ve been going to GrapeFest for 10 years now, we’ve been hooked since our first year,” said Eddie Medina, husband and local Dallasite. “It’s well organized, clean and has a good variety of attractions. It just seems to get better every year,” he continued.
“I like how the event is big on promoting small businesses. When you see the amount of artisans and vendors plus the fact that the businesses on Main Street are all “Mom and Pop” stores it’s really impressive. Anytime we can help small businesses flourish that’s definitely a plus,” Medina added.
On Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, North Texas experienced terrific weather that allowed people to get outside and enjoy the many events that were being held.
“I’ve had so much fun every year I’ve gone no matter which day I’ve attended. I’ve never been disappointed,” said Colleen Medina, wife and local Dallasite.
“The excitement I feel leading up to it and when I’m there. I don’t have a favorite thing, it’s just a great place to be especially on a beautiful Saturday in September,” she continued.
Sunday was the last day of GrapeFest to get out and enjoy good September weather and state-grown wine.