MORGANTOWN — In the middle of Mylan Park’s Hazel & J.W. Ruby Community Center was a DJ booth and a designated dance floor.
Booths displaying artisanal chocolates, jewelry, wine, spirits and wood carvings created a perimeter for the space.
Illuminated wooden signs and balloon arrangements welcomed guests into the room.
This was the setup for the inaugural Chocolate, Wine & Shine festival that took place Saturday.
Attendees were invited to indulge in “a sweet taste of the mountains” as they circled the room and tasted a variety of wines, distilled spirits and confections while the live music set the tone in the venue. They were also able to partake in games and giveaways, relax with chair massages and commemorate their attendance at the festival by sitting for a few snaps in a complimentary photo booth.
Although the event came together in the end, the process of putting it together was challenging, said Guidon Creative CEO and event director Jamie Summerlin.
Summerlin and his wife enjoy attending events in the Mid-Atlantic area, and after visiting a similar event that showcased wine and chocolate, Summerlin was inspired to host one of his own that was closer to home.
“I thought, ‘What a great opportunity to showcase things in West Virginia that we have here,’ in a unique environment that we don’t typically see,” he said.
After Summerlin fully committed to the idea of bringing a chocolate and wine festival to Morgantown, he began to reach out to vineyards, distilleries, crafters, artisans and food vendors. He invited them to come together and celebrate West Virginia at the inaugural Chocolate, Wine & Shine festival.
“And here we are. It’s turned into a great event, and we’re excited to see how the day progresses,” he said.
Summerlin faced difficulties when trying to organize the festival in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. He and his fellow organizers spent months working with vendors to navigate the situation, watching as area establishments and events began opening up to see where opportunities existed.
When they saw that July seemed to be the peak of opportunity, Summerlin and his team decided to go ahead and schedule the festival – fingers crossed that everything would turn out well, he said.
“Everybody’s still being safe and smart, and doing the things they need to do. We’re excited to just get everybody back together again and celebrate the best of West Virginia,” he said.
Summerlin said that inaugural events are usually accompanied by concerns as to how everything is going to turn out. An hour and a half after the event’s opening, Summerlin felt that everything at his inaugural festival was running smoothly.
He said that based on how the festival appeared to be turning out, he would love to follow up with another one in the future. Even early on in the event, Summerlin and his team already knew of some things that they could do to improve it on their end.
“We’d love to see this thing come back,” he said.
Summerlin said that he has actually already set a date for next year’s Chocolate, Wine & Shine event: Feb. 12, 2022.
“Valentine’s Day – it’s a great Valentine’s type of event,” he said.
He said that tickets for next year’s festival will be available soon.
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