With Valentine’s Day 2024 now on the books, let’s just say that – well – it could have gone better.
The store-bought bouquet was hardly vase-worthy.
And the over-priced, under-cooked “romantic” dinner at that oh-so-hyped restaurant?
Uh, yeah.
Not that you didn’t have good intentions about the whole endeavor.
Maybe, to paraphrase the lyrics of an old TV show’s theme song, you were just a regular dude harboring no ill will.
Either way, there’s no need to get all heartsick, Jamie Summerlin said.
Just make a date, he said, for the WV Chocolate Wine & Shine Festival on Saturday at Mylan Park.
“You can redeem yourself,” he said.
That’s because it’s the 2024 edition of the event also billed as “A Sweet Taste of Mountains.”
In two sessions that day, the festival at the Hazel and J.W. Ruby Community Center features rich chocolates, fine wine and a mix of (legally made) moonshine, giving the true mountain experience for individuals and couples aged 21 and up.
“We’re really showcasing a lot of the best West Virginia has to offer,” said Summerlin, whose Guidon Creative event-planning firm is putting it all together.
“We’ve got chocolatiers, specialty foods and confectionaries,” he said. “We’ve got artisan craftsmen and some really great wineries and legal moonshine distilleries coming in.”
That means great samples – the wine and moonshine are more about sampling, rather than full-on drinking, he said – along with games, a live deejay, premium giveaways and more.
Jacqueline’s Fine Jewelry of Morgantown and Uniontown, Pa., is this year’s gift bag sponsor for the festival.
Visit https://chocolatewineshine.com/ for all the particulars, including times and ticket pricing.
“We’ve added a lot of new wineries and distilleries that we’re excited about,” Summerlin said.
They include Forks of Cheat Winery of Morgantown, he said, which has long been courted by the festival.
And the Appalachian Distillery of Ripley, a distributor of John Schneider’s “Revenuer’s Reserve” moonshine, which has a Hollywood-Hillbilly connection.
Schneider, the actor who played Bo Duke on “The Dukes of Hazzard” comedy-action series that ran on CBS from 1979-85 launched his product in December, in an exclusive appearance at Appalachian Distillery.
Prior commitments are keeping him away from Mylan Park on Saturday, Summerlin said – “But we’ve got him lined up for next year.”
If Bo Duke can’t be here, Summerlin said, the festival has the next best thing: the General Lee.
One of the participating vendors this year is a car buff who owns a recreation of the Dodge Charger that Bo and his cousin Luke (Tom Wopat) flipped, jumped and peeled out in, for the show’s seven-season run.
The tribute car is motoring to Morgantown for the festival, too.
“Yeah, that’s going to be fun,” the promotor said.
Might that mean Summerlin attempting one of those signature slides across the General Lee’s hood, as per every episode, as well?
“Only if I’m wearing my Daisy Dukes.”
