The Highlands Food and Wine Festival will pass a major milestone in its charitable giving following a successful four-day run in 2023.
According to event organizers, the festival will likely surpass the $200,000 mark when it comes to giving back to the community. From 2016 to 2022, the Food and Wine Festival has generated more than $176,000 in donations for multiple organizations.
The festival has raised $80,000 to support the Louis Osteen Scholarship at the Culinary Institute of America, $36,000 to the Highlands Food Pantry, $20,000 to Scaly Mountain Fire and Rescue (in coordination with Winfield Farm), $10,000 to Friends of Founders Park, $10,000 to the Highlands-Cashiers Land Trust, $10,000 to the Highlands Biological Foundation and $10,000 to restore NC waterways.
“We really appreciate that the food and wine festival organizers give back to the park, and they are good stewards of the facilities,” Friends of Founders Park representative Hank Ross said. “All of our major events that use the park do a great job of leaving the area the way they found it, and we are certainly grateful for that.”
Along with the festival’s charitable contributions, the event is also used to promote social consciousness and sustainability. In partnership with the Culinary Institute of America, Highlands Food and Wine established the Louis Osteen Legacy Scholarship in honor of the famed chef and Highlands resident who passed away in May 2019. The endowment provides scholarships – with preference given to Highlands and Cashiers residents – to those who wish to follow in Louis Osteen’s footsteps in the culinary arts.
The festival also works to preserve the beauty of the Highlands community and promote good environmental practices. Through recycling and composting programs and an effort towards becoming a plastic-free event, Highlands Festivals, Inc. has diverted more than 18,000 pounds of recycled and compostable waste from area landfills.
Highlands Food and Wine has also become a big part of the town’s economy each November.
The Town of Highlands receives a percentage of sales tax from tickets, retail sales, hotels and other short-term rentals. According to event organizers, occupancy rates for area lodging have reached their annual peak during the festival weekend for the past several years and rival the ever-popular Fourth of July weekend.
“For us, it is like another holiday weekend,” Highland Hiker owner Chris Wilkes said. “Over the years we have always done great business during the food and wine festival and we look forward to it every fall. It’s one of the premier events that brings people to town, and they not only stay here, they shop here too.”
According to festival organizers, all of the out-of-town service providers that are hired to help produce the event are flat-fee, contracted vendors. They do not share in proceeds or otherwise take funds from the community.
Highlands Food and Wine Festival is produced by Highlands Festivals Inc., a 501(c)3 organization, which is comprised of local business owners and residents. The organization was formed in 2016.