By Caroline Roosevelt
Contributing Writer

While last year’s Wine + Jazz Festival at Longwood Gardens was completely rained and winded out and inevitably cancelled, this year’s festival – held on Sept. 14 – was a day of uninterrupted sunshine and lingering summer temperatures. 

As has become a staple on the Chester County social scene, this year’s festival was again a diverse celebration of jazz, from headliner Dianne Reeves to LaKecia Benjamin to three performances by the Dale Melton Trio at the Beer Garden. The festival also brought together a fabulously dressed smattering of fans who packed their picnic blankets and lawn chairs for a bucolic afternoon in Chester County. 

With the event completely sold out, my sister and I felt like VIPs as we made our way through the main entrance and emerged onto the main lawn. It resembled a scene from a Manet painting, with people spread out languidly on the grass, leaning back on their arms and taking in the sounds of Endea Owens & The Cookout at the Open-Air Theatre next door. 

I could hear Owens’ voice from the parking lot and couldn’t wait to make my way to the theatre to get a better listen. Owens herself is an incredibly decorated emerging jazz artist, having toured with the likes of Wynton Marsalis, Solange (Knowles, of Beyonce fame), and Diana Ross. 

Vintners from all over Pennsylvania and from around the world were set up in a row of white tents by the newly renovated fountains. As you entered the “wine strip,” volunteers handed patrons glasses for unlimited tastings or full glasses of wine for purchase. Wineries were also selling bottles of their produce for those of us wanting to rush back to our picnic blankets to listen to the next set in its entirety. 

I started with tastings and then, as the afternoon progressed, I purchased a few glasses of my favorites -- for research. Lines coiled around the strip as everyone lined up for their tastings. Rose, white, red -- most wineries had something for everybody. I tried several of the local wineries -- Penn Woods Winery, Grace Winery and Paradocx, and as I finally settled on a glass to purchase, I made my way across the gardens to the Beer Garden location to listen to a set by the Dale Melton Trio. 

On the way, I met several groups of well-dressed wine and jazz aficionados, resplendent in hats, sunglasses, vibrant sundresses, and unique jewelry. The event attracted couples out for a romantic day trip, girlfriends finding an excuse to wear their new outfits, and families and friends, all coming together to forge a new memory. 

I happened upon one group of sisters mulling around one of the benches on the walkway between the fountains and the open-air theatre. They were tossing their heads back, giggling, in a way that reminded me of when my sister and I would get in trouble at church for being too loud. 

“Our mom passed away in February,” one sister told me. “She lives in Alabama (pointing to one sister), she lives in Pittsburgh (the other sister raises her hand), and I live in Maryland. We are making an effort to do more things together and we thought, ‘This festival would be perfect!’” 

At the Open-Air Theatre, my sister and I spread our blanket and camped out to hear Cuban Jazz pianist Harold Lopez-Nusa. We swirled our glasses of Rose and melted into the Manet painting ourselves, tilting our heads back to the sky, and taking in the lively twinkling of jazz piano and bouncy Latin percussion. 

As the sunlight began to fade, the walkway lights began to pop as we made our way to the Orchard to hear Reeves’s headlining performance. The orchard allowed for the most expansive viewing opportunity of the day, as everyone gathered on the expansive lawn enjoyed the  pleasure of watching the sun set over the meadow as Reeves started her set. She spoke to the audience, telling us that she admires the unity that comes from these performances, experiences that are particularly felt by her fellow musicians. 

“The only time we get to see one another is in these kinds of settings,” she said. “In the back they have a space for the musicians to come together. The reason they do that is because they know something would come of that.” 

I couldn’t help but feel she was speaking to the larger connectedness we all felt as we watched the day fade from golden hour to dusk and into evening.