By TAYLOR HARTZSTAFF WRITER The Calvanese Foundation hosted their annual beer and wine tasting festival on July 9, where volunteers filled the Aqua Turf, serving hundreds of samples of beer, wine, and cider. Musical entertainment by The Happening drew crowds to the dance floor between trips to the vendors to fill their sample cups, while vendors from Cork and Brew and Mickey Blake’s offered cigars, drinks, and accessories. The room was filled with more than 30 tasting stations, offering hundreds of options and serving up to seven different samples per table. Eleven tables served a variety of wines, including samples from World Wide Wines in North Haven and a three-table selection from Hartley and Parker in Stratford. Twenty-two tables served a variety of hard ciders and beers from Harpoon, Back East, Otter Creek, and Long Trail. Dave Harrington, a ten-year volunteer for the Calvanese Foundation, said this year’s indoor event held a crowd of around 400, representing “a pretty diverse group of people.” Though the event usually draws more than 1,000 patrons when held outdoors, Harrington said the festival always shows “a younger dynamic” than other events hosted by the foundation and offers veteran volunteers “a passing of the baton” opportunity […]
By TAYLOR HARTZSTAFF WRITER The Calvanese Foundation hosted their annual beer and wine tasting festival on July 9, where volunteers filled the Aqua Turf, serving hundreds of samples of beer, wine, and cider. Musical entertainment by The Happening drew crowds to the dance floor between trips to the vendors to fill their sample cups, while vendors from Cork and Brew and Mickey Blake’s offered cigars, drinks, and accessories. The room was filled with more than 30 tasting stations, offering hundreds of options and serving up to seven different samples per table. Eleven tables served a variety of wines, including samples from World Wide Wines in North Haven and a three-table selection from Hartley and Parker in Stratford. Twenty-two tables served a variety of hard ciders and beers from Harpoon, Back East, Otter Creek, and Long Trail. Dave Harrington, a ten-year volunteer for the Calvanese Foundation, said this year’s indoor event held a crowd of around 400, representing “a pretty diverse group of people.” Though the event usually draws more than 1,000 patrons when held outdoors, Harrington said the festival always shows “a younger dynamic” than other events hosted by the foundation and offers veteran volunteers “a passing of the baton” opportunity […]