Seafood Wine Magazine 2020

Wine Festival
At the festival itself, attendees can purchase tastes, glasses, bottles, and
cases of most wines, including the medal-winners. Paired with the excellent
festival wines will be unparalleled seafood offerings. Newport is proud to be
able to showcase the bounty of the Pacific that comes through its port every
year. You’ll find crab, bay shrimp, oysters, salmon, albacore, and other local
delicacies in abundance, as well as other types of food.
The peak time for the entire event is Saturday from 10 am to 2 pm, so
to help with traffic flow, all Saturday tickets must be purchased online until
1pm, then they will be available at the door. Increased personnel and two
entrances to the festival tent will also assist in moving people through at
peak times. Festival organizers warn that you’ll still have to expect waits on
Saturday, though. To avoid the lines, try coming at a different time (see Insider
Tips on page 9).
Parking at the event costs $5 and is somewhat limited. A better option
is to take the free shuttle, which will be running frequently all over town
throughout the event.
Returning this year is a our special VIP entrance for guests holding special
tickets including “Ruby Club Membership.”
The Ruby Club provides guests entry through the new VIP entrance near
the main entrance on all four nights and includes a host of other benefits.
Even outside of the festival’s 50,000 foot tent there is plenty of fun to
be found that weekend in Newport. The festival atmosphere spreads throughout
the community, as many local businesses and organizations plan special
events on the same weekend to take advantage of the crowds. Restaurants
often have special menus and live music, shops will have wine sales featuring
medal winners, and the local running club sponsors a 5K road race.
Such a massive event requires the work of the entire Chamber of
Commerce staff, an all-volunteer committee of two dozen, and hundreds of
other volunteers who sign up to work the event. The generous sponsors make
the event possible, and for the nineth year in a row, the festival’s presenting
sponsor is Chinook Winds Casino Resort.
Many of the volunteers perform their duties in exchange for a three-day
pass to the event. A four-hour shift is all that is required, and out-of-towners
are welcome. Check the event web site for details and to sign up.
The primary purpose of the festival is to infuse a boost into the local
economy at a time when it is ready for a boost. While revenues from festival
admissions are reinvested in the community by the Chamber of Commerce,
local organizations benefit as well. More than 20 local non-profit organizations
participate as their annual fundraiser by providing services such as monitoring
parking and cleaning up, and some have a booth that features one of the
festival’s wineries and they ‘pour for proceeds.’
Bobbi Price, Festival Manager said, “It has been an honor to have such
an integral role in the planning of the Newport Seafood & Wine Festival. Over
the last 10 years I have watched it grow and develop in wonderful ways. One
thing that I am continually impressed by and very thankful for is the incredible
amount of community support that surrounds this event. It wouldn’t be
possible to execute without the local committee that works year-round and
300 volunteers that come together through the weekend to create a successful
event.”There are many reasons why Newport’s Seafood and Wine Festival is
“The Original and Still the Best”. Of course, the fun makes this event number
one on the Oregon coast!
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