By Gabbie Burton
Contributing Writer

A little rain couldn’t stop the wine-loving masses from getting their day-drink on at the fourth annual Kennett Summerfest hosted by Kennett Collaborative. Over 800 attendees flocked to South Broad Street on Sunday, June 8 with rain coats and umbrellas in tow, to try samples from the 17 different wineries, cideries and meaderies as well as taste local food and listen to the live music that was all featured in the event. 

My friend and I attended the event for the second year in a row and found ourselves even more impressed than last year. Kennett Collaborative Executive Director, Daniel Embree, shared that the event had nearly doubled in size from last year, giving us and everyone else even more to explore. 

Upon arrival we made a bee-line to Honey Lane Winery – a favorite from last year when we discovered mead for the first time and declared 2024 to be the year of the “medieval summer.” My friend sampled our favorite Black Raspberry Mead from last year and I sampled the Blueberry Mead while LuAnn McHugh and Scott Verzinskie, winemaker and beekeeper respectively, told us more about their experience at Summerfest. 

“Our favorite part is seeing the reaction to our product,” McHugh said. “We have a lot of joy in it, making people smile.”

As we started to stroll through the other vendors and situate ourselves in the surrounding atmosphere, we admired the groovy jazz performance coming from the food court on Apple Alley and felt the vibes of the event steadily increase as wine and positive energy continued to flow. While rain shifted the musicians to the main stage, the performances from Tuk + The Big Brass Ones continued to impress. 

After stops at some of our personal favorites, WayVine and Old Stone, we tried new and delicious offers from Dressler Estate, Casa Carmen, and Revolution Bees when we decided to break for some much needed carbs. Mini Millie’s pasta cart did just the trick with their wagyu bolognese and kale pesto pasta to keep us going. Although we did of course have to stop back at the food court for a sweet treat at Hangry Bear ice cream and I also had to take an Emi’s gyro to go, as that’s an opportunity I will never pass up. 

We closed out our Summerfest experience leaving with bottles of Chardonel from 1723 Vineyards, another personal favorite of mine after visiting the vineyard and speaking with owners Ben and Sarah Cody for a previous story this past February. The Cody’s credited Kennett Collaborative for their organization of the event and the celebration of local wines.

“It’s always a great event, Kennett Collaborative goes the extra mile to make it all work,” Ben said. “We meet new people and see our regulars, colleagues and collaborators, it's nice to catch up with everyone.”

In all, my friend and I left Summerfest feeling both successful and indulged. We look forward to returning next year for another perfect send off into summer.