Treat for foodies coming to Winter Park area

  • 2020-01-31
Vendors, live bands, and a chance to sample wines will be available to Winter Park residents soon.

The Orlando Reggae Wine Food & Music Festival 2020 will give attendees a chance to enjoy a day outside while they listen to reggae and soca music. The admission includes a sip and paint event; access to vendors; a wine tasting and souvenir wine glass; and live music.

Reggae originated late in the 1960s in Jamaica. Although it developed in the Caribbean, reggae was also influenced by American jazz, and particularly the New Orleans-style rhythm and blues played by artists like Allen Toussaint and Fats Domino. Soca is short for “Soul of Calypso,” and came from Trinidad and Tobago, developing there in the 1970s in an effort to revive Calypso music, which was then decreasing in popularity.

Attendees are welcome to bring blankets and folding chairs, but be aware that the event will go on, rain or shine, and dress accordingly. Tickets allow attendees to taste as many wines as they like, but everyone is asked to drink responsibly. The event is limited to those 21 years of age and above.

The festival is set for February 16, from 1.00 pm until 8.00 pm, at Bill Frederick Park on South Haiwassee Road in Orlando, a few miles from Winter Park. The gates open 30 minutes before the festival begins. Organizers of events like this could use banner printing to create colorful decorations.