by Rachel Heitzenrater
rachelh@myweeklysentinel.com
CANTON — The Canton Wine & Cheese Festival committee has decided to re-vamp and change what used to be Wine & Cheese.
Instead, they will be focusing on a new festival with a new date, no longer planned for June 26.
“While every effort was made to try and keep the Wine & Cheese Festival, it was made clear to the committee early in 2021 that Manley-Bohlayer Farm was not going to be available to host it and we were going to have to come up with a new plan,” said committee head Shane Wilber. “Thanks to great support from the Canton Chamber we are pleased to be able to begin a new adventure with the Canton Downtown Celebration.”
Canton Downtown Celebration will be scheduled for July 10 this year and will feature aspects of the Wine & Cheese Festival, while adding something new.
Instead of the festival location of the Manley-Bohlayer Farm, Canton Downtown Celebration will be centered in Canton in the business district, to highlight local businesses.
“There is still a lot of planning going on at the moment but our plans for the Canton Downtown Celebration are to make it a day where attendees will get a chance to enjoy wine tastings, vendors, live music, and a block dance in the evening,” said Wilber. “In addition, we plan to incorporate as many aspects of the downtown as possible to really make this a special time for our town.”
The annual block dance will be included with the event this year, with the McNett Band performing from 7-10 p.m. in the town square.
Currently, the committee is sending out applications for vendors who have previously participated in Wine & Cheese, but will open vendor applications on a first-come first-serve basis once previous vendors have been contacted. To get an application, email the chamber of commerce at their new website at www.cantonareachamberofcommerce.com/contact-us.
“I hope when the celebration is complete this year that the foundation will be laid for an event that downtown Canton and the surrounding areas can look forward to for many summers to come,” said Wilber.
“In late 2009 Jodi Wesneski approached me as president of Rekindle the Spirit about starting a new festival at the Manley-Bohlayer farm that would include wine,” said Marcie Shinn. “The Apple & Cheese Festival had been so successful and there had been many requests for a festival which would have Wine and Cheese. We put together an amazing committee of Chamber members and Rekindle the Spirit members.”
She continues, “2010 was the first festival and we were SO excited to see at least 500 people come through the gates! It was always the intent to keep it a small festival and incorporate all the beauty of the wonderful Manley-Bohlayer property. Our attendance grew to about 2,000 visitors over the next few years. Our vendors were gracious and willing to give a new festival a try. They came back year after year. And the patrons loved the venue, the vendors, the music and came back year after year.”
Though Wine & Cheese will be missed, there is a great opportunity to make this celebration something bigger and better than in the past.
“With Jodi’s leadership and the amazing committee, the festival was a wonderful event for the 10 years we were able to have it at the farm. If times were different, I am certain the festival would still be a big hit and still be held at the Manley-Bohlayer Farm, but times have changed. The new Canton Downtown Celebration has huge potential for being another wonderful event for the Canton area,” she said.
“On behalf of the Chamber, I would like to say that we are excited to see a new festival which will highlight our downtown businesses, our proud members. I look forward to seeing what the committee comes up with as a festival, though Wine & Cheese will certainly be missed,” said Eric Schoonover, Canton Chamber of Commerce President.
More details of the event, including specific vendors, will be released closer to the event date.