Barney and Sara Newsome of Tobaccoville didn't mind sipping wines in a crowd at Salute! The North Carolina Wine Celebration yesterday.
Standing at the RayLen Vineyards' tent yesterday, the couple talked about how happy they were to see so many people in the streets of downtown Winston-Salem for the festival.
"We love it," Barney Newsome said. "It's very reasonably priced, and you come here a stranger but leave here with a lot of friends."
More than 30 wineries participated in the annual downtown festival, which started in 2006 and is put on by The Downtown Winston-Salem Partnership.
Partnership officials estimated that about 7,500 people turned out at yesterday's festival.
That's 15 percent more than the crowd of about 6,500 that attended a year ago.
Turnout numbers were strong despite a downpour toward the end of the afternoon.
Larry Stephenson, a co-chairman of the festival, said that crowds showed up at noon, right at the start of the festival. He believed that a lot of people came out early in anticipation of possible bad weather late in the day.
"Every year it gets a little bigger and better," he said.
Jason Thiel, the president of the Downtown Winston-Salem Partnership, said that the festival's success shows that the wine industry is gaining traction in Winston-Salem.
"We are ecstatic about the turnout," Thiel said. "We've had probably our strongest festival yet. Our wineries are the bedrock of our festival."
The festival began Friday night with dinners inspired by chefs and North Carolina winemakers at four downtown restaurants.
In addition to wine-tastings, yesterday's offerings included entertainment and food.
Caffe Prada, one of the festival's food vendors, sold gelato.
Alex Prada, a co-owner of Caffe Prada, said he was very pleased with his festival sales.
He said he was surprised at how the festival attracts both locals and people from out of town.
Prada said that the festival gives people a chance to walk along the streets and stop and notice downtown merchants.
"This is one of the things that bring people who otherwise wouldn't come downtown," he said.
Several people who attended the festival for the first time said they enjoyed it.
Alicia Saunders of Chapel Hill heard about the festival from her husband, Jerry, who is a native of Winston-Salem.
"I think it's great," she said. "It's a nice beginning to summertime."
Her husband said that the festival helps give exposure to the downtown area.
Hien Lewis and her friend, Melissa DeHaven, live in Winston-Salem but had never attended the festival before yesterday.
"We wanted to do something different and come out and support the community," Lewis said.
■ Fran Daniel can be reached at 727-7366 or at fdaniel@wsjournal.com.
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