Steamy Sipping

It was a steamy Saturday for the Missouri Wine Festival held on the grounds of the Elms Resort and Spa. The fest is a fundraiser for the Downtown Excelsior Springs Partnership. Keith is the Executive Director of this group so this was a long, hot 16 hours of work for him. The fest featured 11 wineries from around the state, several food vendors and a slew of artisans displaying their wares.

The day was challenging for a multitude of reasons. The Elms not only was the location for the fest but also hosted two sizable wedding receptions simultaneously. Factor in a scrapbooking group using the two lower meeting rooms, a busy spa and packed dining room, and a rockin' outdoor pool area and it was wall-to-wall madness....as well as a perfect set-up for assorted dramas. Relentless oppressive humidity and temps in the 90's also didn't bode well for an outdoor wine event. Despite all of the potential for disaster, everything went surprisingly smoothly. Outside of one ambulance call for a guest overcome by heat, everyone had a great time. The vendors by and large were happy, the guests were a fun and stylish crowd and all of the events co-mingled peacefully.

It must also be said that the entertainment lineup was the best ever and Daphne gets big kudos for that. The 3$ band and the Street Corner Choir rocked the yard, Molly Hammer sung a lovely Portuguese tune and my favorite, Miss Major and Her Minor Mood Swings tore it up.

One unexpected moment for me came from a guest strolling through the fest with a WV visor on. I told him I was from St. Marys, WV and he introduced himself as Jim Terry from Williamstown...a burg that's about a 15 minute drive from my hometown. He, his wife and friends are pictured below right. Small world!

The lack of drama was good for all concerned but admittedly makes for a less interesting blog post. I'm most certainly not complaining though....there were enough challenges as it were. The last thing anyone needed, especially the K-man, was drama. We're all happy that the Missouri Wine Festival was once again, an unqualified success.