Grapes - or perhaps more accurately, beverages derived from them - will be celebrated this weekend in Altus.
Altus is the winemaking capital of Arkansas, and the city and nearby region are home to several wineries. The oldest of them first produced wine in 1880, making it one of the oldest continuously operating wineries in the nation.
Grape Fest celebrates the city’s ties to grape growing and wine making, and it returns today and Saturday with events ranging from a Bacchus lookalike contest to an amateur winemaking competition.
“It seems like every year we add something new to it,” say publicity chairwoman Veronica Post.
Dating to the very beginning,however, have been the grape stomps. Perhaps the most popular of the events at thefestival, grape stomps happen as participants try to extract juice from grapes by rapidly smashing them with their feet.
A local celebrity version of the stomp takes place at 6:15 p.m.
today. Public stomps take place hourly from 12:30 to 3:30 p.m.
Saturday. In the spirit of the festival’s 30th anniversary, the normal 45-second time limit for stomping will be reduced to 30 seconds.
In addition to the wine and juice tastings, about two dozen local vendors will take up residence in the city park, offering everything from food to a rock climbing wall. The vendors come from Arkansas and nearby states such as Louisiana, Kansas, Tennessee, Mississippi and others.
Similarly, participants come from all across the country, too.
Post says it is hard toguess attendance numbers because it’s a free festival but judging by the amount of commemorative wine glasses sold and samples of wineand juice handed out, several thousand attend each year.
Whats Up, Pages 18 on 07/26/2013