Tonight’s the night for the big Rioja Street Fare Festival with Scott Joseph and Wine on the Way. Here are some details for those of you attending:
- The event is sold out — I have no more tickets I can sell — however, as happens sometimes, people who have bought tickets find they cannot use them. If you are one of those people, post a notice on Facebook or Twitter and I can guarantee the tickets will be snapped up before you can say Vibrant Rioja! Those transactions are between you and the buyer or seller.
- With our event sold out and the Winter Park Chamber’s Sip & Stroll on Park Avenue, parking is going to be at a premium. Therefore I’ve secured the services of One Way Valet through Events by Grace to provide complimentary valet parking. Yes, tipping makes it not-so-complimentary, but this is a whole lot better than trying to find a space nearby. By the way, don’t park in the bank across from the Winter Park Farmers Market — you will be towed. Just pull up to the Farmers Market on New York Avenue and the valets will take over. And don’t be concerned with the name of the valet company — they assure me they will return your car when you request it.
- Please print out your tickets and bring them with you. Or, you may display the ticket on your smartphone as long as the unique code is visible. The people checking tickets will first ask for the name of the person who purchased the tickets, so if you were given a ticket that was purchased by someone else, give the other person’s name when you check in at the gate.
- The event is planned for inside the Farmers Market and around the parking lot, so dress casually. It’s a Street Fare Festival, so street clothes are fine.
I’ve invited a whole bunch of the area’s top chefs who have created special “street fare” dishes specifically paired to the wines of Rioja. We say street fare, but in some cases the street may be Rodeo Drive or the Champs-Eysees. Or even Park Avenue. The amazing crew from Vibrant Rioja have put together a booklet of the dishes and the inspiration wine the chefs used to create it. Who’s cooking?
- Scott Hunnel, Victoria & Albert’s
- Kevin Fonzo, K restaurant
- James & Julie Petrakis, The Ravenous Pig
- Jamie McFadden and Harold Henderson, barJme
- John Rivers, 4Rivers Smokehouse
- Gregory Richie, Emeril’s Tchoup Chop
- Brandon McGlamery, Luma on Park
- Matt Cargo, Prato
- Tony Adams, Big Wheel Provisions food truck
- Steven Saelg, The Crooked Spoon food truck
Many of the wines you’ll be tasting this evening are not readily found in retail outlets. Wine on the Way has graciously agreed to make your favorite wines available this evening. They’ll even deliver them for free in the cutest little delivery car you’ve ever seen. (It’ll be there tonight; don’t trip over it.)
A portion of tonight’s proceeds will benefit one of my favorite organizations, Canine Companions for Independence. These good folks train dogs to assist disabled people in performing the everyday duties you and I take for granted, like picking up something you’ve dropped or helping you take your socks off. They’re really amazing, and we’ll have some CCI representatives there with some of the doggies.
What else? Some fun surprises. See you there.
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