Muscadine festival set this weekend
By News-Argus Staff
Published in News on September 28, 2005 1:47 PM
KENANSVILLE -- The North Carolina Muscadine Harvest Festival will be this weekend at the Duplin Commons Agribusiness Complex.
Kicking off the event will be a Muscadine Gala Evening beginning at 6 p.m. Friday, with wine and hors d'oeuvres. Tickets are $25. Black tie is optional. Those attending will dance to the music of Tommy Black and the Blooz, and there will be a silent auction and a live auction of festival commemorative prints by Thomas Bennett, artist in residence at the N.C. Museum of Natural Science.
The festival opens at 9 a.m. Saturday with educational seminars that will continue until noon. The festival is free to the public and begins officially at 10 a.m. and continues until 6 p.m. Features include a Muscadine heritage exhibit, a Muscadine cooking contest, farm implement exhibits, vineyard and plantation wine cellar tours, children's activities and foods from around eastern North Carolina.
A wine tasting and beach music concert will begin at noon and continue until 6 p.m. featuring the Embers and North Carolina wineries. Tickets are $15 in advance and $20 at the gate.
The music schedule includes Band of Oz, noon to 3 p.m.; Johnny Dollar Band from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m.; and The Embers from 7 to 10 p.m.
No pets or coolers are allowed on site.
The festival is sponsored by the Duplin County Agribusiness council. For more information, check the festival Web site at www.muscadineharvestfestival.com or call 910-296-1000.