Keep this colorful vision of Winefest on your bucket list for 2021.
Winefest Postponed until November 13, 2021
After 22 years of the celebrated walkabout wine, culinary, and art celebration, Amador County Arts Council (AmadorArts) is cancelling Winefest due to COVID-19. This event has always been a success thanks to a large crew of volunteers and community partners committed to keeping the arts visible and vibrant throughout Amador County.
Following months of planning, the Board of Directors, staff and volunteers of AmadorArts have chosen to pause Winefest until both safety and fun can be guaranteed. So save the date for November 13, 2021! This was a difficult decision, but the safety of locals, tourists, and artists is of the utmost importance to AmadorArts.
In the meantime, AmadorArts is focused on keeping the arts central to Amador County life even during a disaster. The council will continue to provide virtual arts opportunities, artist resources, lifelong arts education, music, and more! There are new programs being launched, and the non-profit is collecting fantastic virtual auction items.
Winefest is the primary fundraiser for AmadorArts, providing the funds necessary to qualify for state and federal grant monies that are designated to serve Amador County. Meghan O’Keefe, Executive Director, explains: “The National Endowment for the Arts and the California Arts Council have grants to ensure that every county has an Arts Council, even small places like Amador. The funds raised at Winefest make AmadorArts qualify for those grants. In the absence of Winefest, we will find new ways to engage locals and tourists alike in the wonderful world of Rural Arts. We gotta keep our spirits up in these trying times.”
Carol Brown, AmadorArts Outreach Coordinator, who tirelessly heads the Winefest effort, is asking residents, artists, business owners, restaurants, wineries, merchants—anyone who sees the importance of having the arts active in our community, to contact her with auction items and ideas: carol.amadorarts@gmail.com or simply call the Amador County Arts Council in Jackson at 209-256-8166. Volunteers will still be needed for computer work, photography, and more.