Annual festival draws big crowds for food, music
The 2022 Highlands Food and Wine Festival proved yet again to be a huge success despite Hurricane Nicole bringing several inches of rain to the Highlands-Cashiers Plateau throughout the weekend.
Even with last-minute venue changes and time shifts, the festival still managed to bring thousands of people to the plateau.
The festival kicked off on Thursday, Nov. 10 with the Grand Tasting event, in which attendees were treated to small plates from world-class chefs from around the plateau and the southeast, including Kimmy Vos of the Highlands Tavern, Scott Franqueza of High Hampton, Rachel Lewicki of the Secret Garden, and many more.
Guests were also given the opportunity to listen to the stylings of Asheville-based musician, Lyric, while sampling red, white and sparkling wines from around the world, as well as craft cocktails and brews.
The festivities continued on Nov. 11 in spite of the rainy weather causing time delays with the Truckin’ event. The event included food from six different food trucks and vendors and multiple beer, wine and spirits vendors. Attendees were treated to an afternoon of good food, drinks and music with performances by Lilly Hiatt and The Texas Gentlemen.
Despite the rainy conditions pushing the event’s start time back from 12 p.m. to 2:30 p.m, the turn out for the event remained high all afternoon.
“We have over 3,000 tickets sold and some of those ticket holders go to multiple events and some are single ticket holders, so our events range from 550 people to 1200 people,” Highlands Food and Wine Festival Organizer Casey Reid said.
The event not only attracts visitors from far and wide, but it is also a great opportunity for Highlands residents to come out and enjoy the fun and beauty that the town has to offer.
“I like the opportunity to come together with friends and family and really enjoy the best of what Highlands has to offer,” Highlands resident George Barbar said. “Highlands has so much from a food standpoint and a beverage standpoint, so it’s a chance to do that and enjoy the beautiful scenery. I think it’s tremendous.”
The Highlands Food and Wine Festival has been a staple of the Highlands community since its beginning in 2016, when it was started as a way to attract visitors to town during the off season and provide a boost to the economy while also acting as a form of marketing for the town.
“It’s a period of time when there is no one here and it attracts people to Highlands and it helps the business community,” Highlands Commissioner Marc Hehn said. “ It is awkward for some people, but I think [the festival directors] do everything they can to accommodate the community.”
Friday’s fun continued into the night with the Generous Pour event. This year marked the return of the Generous Pour, which featured musical performances by Durand Jones and the Indications while guest were treated to hosted beer, wine, spirits and culinary surprises from chefs including Wes Ken of Silver Queen, John Lewis of Lewis Barbecue, Steven Goff of Tastee Diner and Krysti Henderson of Chocolate Heaven. The event was also held in support of the Louis Osteen Legacy Scholarship at the Culinary Institute of America.
The festivities rolled into the afternoon of Nov. 12 with the Main Event, where foodies and wine lovers alike partied on Main Street in Highlands despite intermittent rain. Old Crow Medicine Show put on a crowd-pleasing show with special guest Molly Tuttle and Golden Highway.
Craft cocktails by Tito’s Handmake Vodka and Deep Eddy’s Vodka were on tap, Highland Brewing Company was serving cold brews, winemakers and suppliers were there to dish out wine tastings, and multiple local and regional chefs crafted small plates for people to feast on throughout the day.
The Sunday Shindig was the winding down of the festival on Nov. 13. The brunch event took place at Kelsey Hutchinson Founders Park and featured small plates ranging from pancakes to polenta and biscuits with pimento cheese. Live music was provided by The California Honeydrops, and craft beer, prosecco, and cocktails were on tap.
“We’re incredibly grateful everyday,” Reid said. “We were so lucky in the fact that we had a great word of mouth kind of thing and friends and family, and everybody just talked about it. We have visitors come in from over 40 states, traveling just for this across the country, which is amazing to me. So, we are just so grateful everyday that it continues to be that way.”