Earlier this month Tamra Spade with Simply Divine Events, LLC delivered the City Council and public an update on the upcoming 2021 Cheese and Wine Festival that will be held on Saturday, Oct. 9 and Sunday, Oct. 10. The new organization was contracted by the city in 2020; however, due to the pandemic they were unable to host the event last year. This will be the first year that they are coordinating the event.
City Manager Sean Scully mentioned at the meeting that Spade is doing a really great job organizing the event and that her involvement with the businesses downtown has been imperative.
“I think they are doing a good job,” stated Parks and Recreation Director Sue Fitzpatrick. “There are a lot of challenges. It is hard being the first year because it is hard to get wine glasses because there is a glass shortage. All this stuff with COVID makes it harder to plan things. I think with that taken into consideration it will be a little different this year. Tamra is a pleasure to work with. It has been good. It has been a good process.”
Kicking off the festivities and new this year will be a Cheese and Wine dinner on Friday, Oct. 8 at the Plaza del Rio from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. The five courses will be paired with wines from the Next Wine Company and served up by the Institute of Technology Culinary School out of Modesto. Tickets for the dinner are $75 per person.
“There will be a live band out here,” shared Spade about the dinner on Friday. “It will be a fun evening that kicks off the festival.”
The streets in downtown Riverbank that the festival encompassed in the past will remain the same. The car show will be held between Fourth and Fifth streets on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Spade expressed that people are excited about the car show and they have been getting entries regularly. There will be awards at the end.
During the presentations Spade said that they did the original budget pre-pandemic so they have been trying to cut some expenses and stay within budget. She added that some supplies have been difficult to get like wine glasses and most things due to inflation have increased in cost more than expected.
“We are working through it (budget challenges),” stated Spade. “It has been difficult.”
Some of the highlights that she noted were the live entertainment with four bands on Saturday and three bands on Sunday on three stages, an assortment of vendors, a kids zone, and Hispanic Cultural Day including dancing horses and folklorico dancers. The vendor interest has been favorable and they have received a lot of last minute inquiries, she added.
The tasting sessions will include olive oil, craft beers, cheeses and of course wines. This year they will have three sessions on Saturday and two sessions on Sunday with clean up and preparation in-between. Tickets for the five tasting sessions are available in advance through the city’s Recreation and Parks Department for $25, but tickets at the door will cost $30.
There will be security throughout the weekend event. Currently masks are not mandated for outdoor events but are recommended.
For more information or to purchase tickets visit riverbankcheeseandwine.com.
“We are looking forward to this round of events coming up in October,” advised Fitzpatrick. “We are just excited to do something even if it is a bit smaller or a little bit different. We are excited to be able to do something again. I think it is going to be fun and fun for the community to get out.”
In other business at the recent meeting:
The council held several public hearings involving upcoming residential development in town.
The first was a hearing and a vote to establish a community facilities district for new homes to be built in Riverbank.
Another was a rezone for a development at 4131 Kentucky Ave.
One hearing was for a rezone to be known as the Heritage Collection, off of Claus Road, located at the corner of Sierra Street and Central Avenue, just across Patterson Road from Riverbank High School. The zoning is to be changed to Planned Development.
It’s a proposal to subdivide approximately 5.9 acres into 47 single-family residential lots which allows for a net density of eight to 16 dwelling units per acre.
News Correspondent Ric McGinnis contributed to this story.
