By Darlene Brace
It’s almost the end of the summer season, which means that it’s time to celebrate the changing of the seasons at Merritt Winery’s Annual Septemberfest. Merritt Winery is located at 2264 King Road Forestville, New York. Since Merritt Winery opened their doors, this will be the 42nd year that they have been hosting their annual Septemberfest. This year’s Septemberfest will be held on this Saturday, September 7th from 12pm-10pm and Sunday, September 8th from 12pm-6:30pm. The festival is an all-ages event that will feature fun activities for the whole family, and admission and parking are free.
Live music is one of the main highlights of this festival. The weekend will kick off on Saturday with live music by Learning to Fly: A Tom Petty Tribute Band, playing from 12pm-3pm. Next, the popular WNY band Black Widow will take the stage. They will entertain the crowd with their rock and roll and pop music that will get you moving to the beat from 3:30pm-6:30pm.
The festival’s headlining band, Kiss This, will perform from 7pm-10pm. Kiss This is WNY’s premier Kiss tribute band. They will be wearing the makeup and costumes just like the authentic Kiss we all have grown to love. They will sing many of Kiss’ greatest hits like Rock and Roll All Night, I Was Made for Loving You, Shout It Out Loud, and many more. It will to be a great show you don’t want to miss!
The live music continues Sunday afternoon with Nashville North. They will be rocking the stage with their country rock music from 12pm-3pm. The weekend will conclude with Rusty Nickel, and they take the stage at 3:30pm, playing rock and country covers.
Besides live music, there will be a Classic Car Cruise-In that will take place from 12pm-6pm on both Saturday and Sunday. Participants that bring a car for the cruise-in will receive a 5$ coupon to spend on food and beverage at the festival. Shine up your ride and come display it for all to see and join in the fun.
By now you and your family will have worked up and appetite. Stop by and grab a Chiavetta’s chicken BBQ dinner, featuring potato salad and macaroni salad. There will also be hot dogs, hamburgers, chicken sandwiches French fries, and garbage plates available. For dessert, try some of their apple crisp to top off your meal. Yum!
There will be over twenty local craft and boutique vendors that will be set up for you to browse and shop throughout the festival. They will be selling crafts, homemade soaps, jewelry, candles, gourmet popcorn and other treats, home décor, and other specialty items. You can browse through the vendors and maybe find something unique for yourself or a gift for a friend, while supporting local vendors.
At this year’s Septemberfest, there will be a variety of activities for children. There will be a bounce house, face painting, and a balloon artist both days. The Sheridan Volunteer Fire Department will also be there with a couple of firetrucks each day. Children will be able to explore the firetrucks and talk to the firemen that are there, which is super exciting!
While you are at the festival, you are invited to go in the winery store. There you can do a wine tasting and/or purchase wine by the glass or bottle. Merritt Winery has 27 award winning wines that they produce and sell. The have white and red wines, as well as some specialty wines. They will be serving their Sangria and XTC wine slushes that have become one of their customer’s favorites. They also serve some draft beer and non-alcoholic beverages.
Parking at the festival is free but donations are encouraged. Merritt Winery has chosen to contribute these donations that are collected to the Sheridan Volunteer Fire Department. These donations will help purchase equipment needed for their new ambulance
Every year in September you will be invited to attend Merritt Winery’s Septemberfest. Locals and visitors from across New York, PA, and other locations come and enjoy this festival. There’s a lot of great live music and other activities, so come and join in the fun and see what Merritt Winery’s Septemberfest is all about. You can find more Septemberfest information on Merritt Winery’s Facebook page or go to merrittestatewinery.com/septemberfest. See you there!