Courier-Leader file photos
By Paul Garrod
Staff Writer
PAW PAW – Paw Paw Wine & Harvest Festival’s three-day event, Friday, Sept. 8, through Sunday, Sept. 10, offers something for everyone, from grape stomping to arts and crafts, free music and more.
The Carnival Midway, sponsored by the Paw Paw Area Chamber of Commerce, will begin its three-day run on Friday, 11 a.m. to 10:30 p.m., Saturday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., and conclude Sunday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. The carnival will be located at 125 Industrial Drive, behind St. Julian Winery & Distillery. A Kiddie Carnival will be set up all three days, also during those times, at 109 W. Michigan Ave.
Festival-goers will have a chance to enjoy a wide variety of music, tastings, and sales throughout the three days, at Warner Vineyards, 706 S. Kalamazoo St., on Friday, from 10 a.m. to midnight, at St. Julian Winery & Distillery, 716 S. Kalamazoo St., from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Paw Paw Brewing Co., 780 Gremps St., will feature Somebody’s Friend at 5 p.m., followed by The Fat Animals at 8 p.m.
The Lucky Wolf at the Paw Paw Playhouse, 404 E. Michigan Ave., will feature free live music Friday, from 2 to 8 p.m. and Saturday, from 2 to 9 p.m. with food and drinks available.
The Refresco Grape Stomp will be held Friday, beginning at 4 p.m. at Lakefront Park, then Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., before wrapping up with the finals on Sunday, at 11 a.m.
The Festival Tent, located at the corner of Gremps and Paw Paw streets, sponsored by Tapper Heating & Cooling and Tapper Towing, will be serving local beers and wines, and featuring the sounds of Tony & Doug, from 5 to 8:15 p.m., and The Bronk Bros from 9 p.m. to midnight.
At the Lakefront Amphitheatre, on West Michigan Avenue, the Black River Band will perform from 6 to 8 p.m., and from 8:30 to 10:30 p.m., The Unknowns will take the stage. At dusk, 9:30 p.m., fireworks will light up the sky over Maple Lake, sponsored by Paw Paw Downtown Development Authority.
Events continue Saturday, starting with the Grape Escape Classic Car, Truck and Motorcycle Show on East Michigan Avenue, downtown, from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., sponsored by Tapper Auto Group, followed by the Grape Lake 5k Run/Walk, at the corner of Hazen and Lake streets. Proceeds from this event will benefit several non-profits.
Festivalgoers will have a chance to shop at the Arts and Crafts Show, located in the downtown County Park and Paw Paw Street, Saturday, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., sponsored by the Paw Paw Service League.
Other Saturday events include the Paw Paw Kiwanis Turtle Derby on Michigan Avenue, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on East Michigan Avenue, and Stompyland, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., on Michigan Avenue.
At noon, Saturday, the Grape Lake Kayak Race will be held at Sunset Park, located on Power Plant Road, at M-40, sponsored by Lounsbury Excavating.
Live entertainment at Warner Vineyards will be held from 10 a.m. to noon, featuring the Spazmatics and Starlight City.
Live entertainment, as will as tours and tastings, will be featured at St. Julian from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.
From 10 a.m. to 11p.m, live entertainment at the Lakefront Amphitheatre will feature: 10 to 11 a.m. – Paw Paw District Library; 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. – Deep Fried Pickle Project; 2 to 2:45 p.m. – Mike Struwin; 4:30 to 5:45 p.m. – Chuck King – magician, comedian, hypnotist; 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. – Otsego Jazz Ensemble; 9 to 11 Billy Mack and the Juke Joint Johnnies.
At Paw Paw Brewing Co., live music will include at 2 p.m. – The Brother Ron Band; 5 p.m. – ADY; and 8 p.m. – Poison’d.
At Noon, at Sunset Park, the Grape Lake Kayak Race will be held, sponsored by Lounsbury Excavating.
On Saturday, from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m., at the Festival Tent, live music will feature Chick & The Boomers; 5 to 8:15 p.m. – Zion Lion; and 9 p.m. to midnight – PS Dump Your Boyfriend.
On Sunday, the final day, the 40th annual Vineyard Classic Bike Tour will get underway at 8 a.m. on Hazen Street, Registration begins at 7 a.m. From 10 to 11 a.m., a Prayer Service will be held at the Lakefront Amphitheatre, led by First Presbyterian Church. At 1 p.m., the St. Julian Festival Parade will kick off.
Afternoon events include: The RedArrow Youth Band will perform at 1 p.m. at Lakefront Amphitheatre. The Finals for the Hole-In-One contest will be held at 2 p.m. at Lakefront Park. At 2:30 p.m., the Paw Paw Lions Club Duck Race will be held at Warner Vineyards.
For a complete schedule of events or more information, visit: www.wineandharvestfestival.com.