After a Year Hiatus the Festival Has Plenty to Offer & a New Culinary Village Destination
By: Jeff Walker, Entertainment & Food Writer / Chs Wine & Food Media
Like several cultural and renowned cities Charleston has become known for its unique festivals celebrating a plethora of genres including wildlife, food & beverage, music, arts, and entertainment. While each event carries their own taste, perhaps none is more flavorful than the annual Charleston Wine & Food Festival.
For more than 18 months Covid 19 caused many of Charleston’s highly trafficked festivals to cancel. But now as the pandemic is beginning to subside and the fears that accompanied it are easing, people are eager to congregate again. With the exception of last year (2021), the annual festival paying tribute to unique wines and exceptional foods has been a Charleston tradition since 2007.
While the overall core of the Charleston Wine & Food Festival remains, the same there are several specific changes, perhaps the most notable is the Culinary Village. Since its inception the village has been held at the Marion Square in downtown Charleston. Due to the growing number of vendors wanting to participate in the festival Marion Square has become too small to host, with festival organizers opting to move the weekend village to North Charleston’s easily accessible Riverfront Park Friday thru Sunday.
With waterfront views, room to roam, and more space to sample + sip, the 2022 Culinary Village at Riverfront Park will be an experience like no other. Like a real “village,” the Culinary Village will be a place of diverse offerings. Whether you're a ticket-holding guest or a neighbor hungry for a bite, they’re serving up something tasty for you.
An all-inclusive daily ticket grants access to four hours of sipping, sampling, chef demos, interactive experiences, live music, and more. Within The Lawn, you'll find a web of “neighborhoods” that make sense of the foods, beverages, experiences, and artisan markets woven throughout. It’s truly a culinary experience!
New this year is The Pavilion @ Culinary Village which will be accessible without a ticket. Stop by this food truck court for a bite and beverage and experience some of the tastes, sips, and sounds that make up the Culinary Village. But much like a good wine dinner don't end your night at sunset, rather join them for a NightCap, the largest music + food pairing CHSWF has ever seen!
The Charleston Wine & Food Festival are bringing you a fusion of sounds for their first-ever outdoor concert under the stars series featuring Lake Street Dive, St. Paul & The Broken Bones, and Tank and the Bangas!
Whether you’re a casual wine lover or just love to get out and enjoy a great time with friends and family, the Charleston Wine & Food Festival has something for everyone. You’ll discover plenty of food & drink at the culinary village with an equal supply of craft beer providers. With the much-anticipated festival coming back after a yearlong hiatus many of the highbrow events are sold out, but there’s still plenty to do and with the Culinary Village assessable to everyone it tends to be the heart and soul of the Charleston Wine & Food Festival. It’s the Weekend Buzz top pick for this weekend in greater Charleston.
While planning the festival takes literally a year, and with the pandemic still in the news all of 2021, the organizers had to adopt some Covid 19 policies to ensure health and safety. The festival has implemented preventative measures which include heightened sanitation; increased hand washing stations; masks available upon request; space to spread out; increased use of outdoor venues; flexible options for ticket holders; and cashless payments. For full details visit https://charlestonwineandfood.com/know-before-you-go/
For scheduled events visit https://charlestonwineandfood.com/schedule/
