NORTHUMBERLAND—The public is invited to savor the flavor of Virginia wines from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. April 19 at the Tavern Wine Fest on the grounds of Rice’s Hotel/Hughlett’s Tavern (RHHT), 73 Monument Place, Heathsville.
Tickets will be sold at the gate for $15, which includes a free etched wine glass for tastings. Food and other wine-related vendors will participate. The Tavern Café and Heritage Arts Center Gift Shoppe also will be open.
Five wineries have signed up so far, including Triple V Farms Vineyard, General’s Ridge Vineyard, Mattaponi Winery, Zoll Vineyards and Estate at White Hall Vineyard, reported RHHT director Corrine Becker.
The season-opening Heathsville Farmers Market and Crafts Fair also will be held from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Shoppers will find farm-fresh produce, baked goods, flowers, nursery plants, meat, honey, and locally-made handcrafts. Over 70 vendors are expected.
A celebration of Earth Day, sponsored by the Northumberland Association for Progressive Stewardship, will take place concurrently. This area will offer exhibits and special activities, all with an environmental theme, said Becker.
The Tavern Café, run by the volunteers of the Tavern Culinary Group, will offer light luncheon fare. The market’s food concession stand will sell breakfast and lunch sandwiches.
Over 100 artists and artisans consign their wares in the Heritage Arts Center Gift Shoppe. Shoppers will find gifts and household items, plus several artisans in residence.
Dating from the 1700s, historic Rice’s Hotel/Hughlett’s Tavern also is home to four active artisan guilds, whose members will be on-site, demonstrating and selling their wares. Blacksmiths will be working in the Tavern Forge. Woodworkers will have both a modern and a colonial workshop in the Carriage House, which also houses a collection of antique carriages. Quilters and Tavern Spinners and Weavers can be found in their studios in the Tavern.
The market is the centerpiece of the “Make It a Heathsville Saturday” community initiative. Visit other interesting shops, attractions, eats and historical sites, including Ye Olde Book Shoppe, a used book store run by volunteers of the Northumberland Public Library. Browse St. Stephen’s classy church thrift shop and check out Kathy’s Korner for treasures for the home.
The Northumberland County Historical Society will offer tours of the old Northumberland Jail. Pick up a Historic Heathsville Walking Map and wander past homes and buildings from every century since the 1700s.
