Cortland Arts & Wine Festival

On Saturday August 4th, 2012, the Cultural Council of Cortland County will host its sixth annual Cortland Arts and Wine Festival from 10am-6pm.

Courthouse Park in Downtown Cortland will come alive with visual arts, music, healing arts, a farmers’ market, tasty prepared food, and of course, wine tasting.   Courthouse Park is a gorgeous setting with a stately courthouse, trees, monuments, memorials, and a fountain.  There is also plenty of free parking close to the park. Cortland, the Eastern Gateway to the Finger Lakes, is centrally located midway between Syracuse and Binghamton off Route I-81 exit 11. The wine tent opens at noon. Individual tickets for the wine tent are $15 and can be purchased online or at the wine tent on the day of the festival. Group tickets for 10 or more people are $12 and should be purchased in advance online, by calling the Council at 607-753-1188 or by emailing the director at staff@cortlandarts.com.  Patrons must be 21 and show picture ID to enter the wine tent and pick up wine orders.  Once inside the tent, attendees can sample and purchase award winning wines made in the Finger Lakes and other regions of New York State.   Pazdar Winery will be on hand with a collection of chocolate, chili, and other unique wines.   Other favorite wineries at the festival will be Eagle Crest, Americana, Hazlitt, Long Point, Cobblestone, Montezuma, and Eleven Lakes.  Keep checking our website for an update of additional wineries that will be added in the coming weeks (http://cortlandartsandwine.org/).Whether visiting the wine tent or not, attendees will find a host of other appealing activities to partake in at the festival. You can interact with sixty plus fine local and regional artists/artisans displaying and selling their work.Many will conduct demonstrations so you can see them in action. There’s always a rich variety of juried works available.  The Council will award over $1,000 in prizes to artists, including a $100.00 prize for Best of Show.New to the 2012 festival will be a healing arts tent for yoga or a shoulder massage as well as a sidewalk art contest.When hungry, you’ll want to head to the food court or farmers’ market.  The Market will feature vendors selling organic produce and other local items. One of the highlights will be Main Street Farms selling produce nurtured in an aquaponic growing system.   A miniature aquaponic system will be on display for visitors to learn about this innovative farming method where “fish grow the vegetables.”  There will be a line-up of outstanding talented local and regional musicians entertaining throughout the day.  Imagine viewing art, sampling wine or food, doing yoga in a lovely park setting with a backdrop of classical, jazz, and pop music.

Treat yourself to visual, auditory and gustatory delights on August 4th at the Cultural Council’s Arts & Wine Festival!