Abundance lacking : Number of grape vendors down to one at festival

By Brett Bennett

Posted: August 7, 2009 at 8:14 a.m.

Anthony Reyes
Norbert Ranalli, left, with Ranalli Farms helps Dianna Carpenter and Don Brown choose a carton of grapes Thursday during the 111th Tontitown Grape Festival at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Tontitown.

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TONTITOWN — The Tontitown Grape Festival boasts carnival rides, live entertainment and spaghetti dinners, and one of the snack vendors sells only grape-flavored ice cream.

For having the word grape in its title, though, there aren't many placesto actually buy boxes of grapes.

Originally started in 1909 to celebrate the grape harvest, the festival now features only one spot on the festival grounds to buy locally grown grapes.

Ranalli Farms sets up a tent and small booth in front of the old TontitownSchool Building along Henri de Tonti Boulevard. This is next to where the Washington County Sheriff's Office sets temporary crossing areas across from the Tontitown Town Hall and deputies direct traffic to stop for pedestrians.

"We've got a really good variety," vendor NorbertRanalli said. "Last night, we had a really good turnout."

Buyers can choose seedless red and green grapes or the purple Fredonia grapes, purchasing them in small boxes or by the half-bushel.

Ranalli said they usuallystay open until 11 p.m. and work long hours on the harvest leading up to festival.

The harvest at their farms takes about 60 days, as different varieties of the fruit get ripe at different times.

They also supply the grapes used in the grapestomping events and any grapes served in conjunction with the festival's spaghetti dinners.

"We work many, many long hours," Ranalli said.

The number of local grape farmers has diminished over the years as the area has changed, but Ranalli said he hopes there will always be some local grapes actually sold at the grape festival.

One of the booth's customers Thursday evening was Diana Carpenter.

"It's good to be able to get the grapes that have the good, thick skins," she said.

Thursday was the first day of the spaghetti dinners for the festival, which continue through Saturday evening.

Hundreds, if not thousands, of festival-goers ate the meals, as lines for both the dine-in spaghetti dinners and carryout orders stretched around buildings throughout the St. Joseph Catholic Church property.

The annual dinner features spaghetti with a secret sauce and fried chicken, and the meals cost $10 per adult and $5 for children 12 andyounger.

Around 7 p.m., David Thornburg said he had been waiting in the carryout line for about 30 minutes. Based on the number of people still in front of him, he expected it would be another 10 minutes before his order would be taken.

Still, Thornburg said, he didn't think it was a bad wait for the food.

Turnout to Thursday night was in the thousands. Cars filled the parking lots of the businesses and commercial lots on Henri de Tonti Boulevard, while other visitors parked in fields surrounding the festival grounds and by the city park across the street.

News, Pages 1, 5 on 08/07/2009

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Wow. That's kind of sad. I remember when Tontitown and most of Northwest Arkansas for that matter was nothing but rural countryside. I see a lot of good things that have come out of development in Northwest Arkansas, but I do regret that it has caused a decline in farming and agri throughout Washington and Benton counties.

Posted by: deaeterna

August 7, 2009 at 1:02 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )