Wine, beer, food and music will be served up at historic locales in Mokena, Frankfort and Manhattan this month.
Mokena Food, Wine & Brew Festival
The 12th annual Food, Wine & Brew Festival will be from noon to 8 p.m. Saturday at the Historic Yunker-McGovney Farm, 10824 LaPorte Road in Mokena.
More Top Picks Best Personal Blenders
Presented by the Mokena Chamber of Commerce in association with the Mokena Community Park District, the event typically draws 800 to 1,200 attendees.
“It’s a great venue, an old farm from when Mokena was just a farm town, with original barns,” said Dennis Buxbaum, president of the chamber and the Mokena Lions Club. “It’s an open farmland and you can see for quite a while and it just adds to the ambience.”
Beverage vendors include Tinley Park’s Hailstorm Brewing Company, Lansing’s One Trick Pony and Wild Blossom Meadery & Winery from Chicago’s Beverly neighborhood plus PRP Wine International Inc. and Aged 2 Perfection, Illinois wine-tasting companies.
Warrior Vodka to benefit the Wounded Warrior Project also will be available.
Other vendors are Pete Mitchell’s Bar & Grill and Dancing Marlin of Frankfort, Harvest Room of Palos Heights, Siam Marina and Salina’s Catering of Tinley Park, Granite City Food & Brewery of Orland Park and Pepper Mill, Fox’s on Wolf and Aurelio’s Pizza of Mokena.
“It’s one of our favorite fests to attend because of the location and weather,” said Carri Sirigas, co-owner of the Harvest Room. The farm-to-table restaurant is participating for its third year and serving Smoque Mac n Cheese with 14-hour smoked brisket and strawberry barbecue sauce plus Sol Punch, a signature cocktail made with hibiscus tea from its own line of organic tea called Two Sisters Brews paired with North Shore Sol chamomile citrus vodka.
Entertainment will be provided by the Chico Smorgallees Jazz Ensemble, Bernie Glim, Dueling Pianos and Fives Guys Named Moe. WTMX-FM (101.9)’s road crew will be on site from noon to 2 p.m.
Previously called the Food & Wine Fest, the event was renamed two years ago with the addition of craft beer, Buxbaum said.
Tickets are $25 in advance at the chamber office or $30 at the event and include 16 tastings and a souvenir glass.
For more details, call 708-479-2468 or go to mokena.com.
Manhattan Wine Fest
The Manhattan Park District Foundation’s eighth annual Wine Fest will be from 5 to 10 p.m. Sept. 26 at the Baker-Koren Round Barn Farm at 24115 S. US Highway 52 in Manhattan.
Tickets are $20 in advance or $25 at the door. Tickets include eight tastings and a souvenir glass. Tastings will end at 8:30 p.m. and sales at 9:30 p.m.
Open to those 21 and older, the event will include wines from around the world, food by Parmesan’s Wood Stone Pizza and other vendors, music by the Hat Guys and a silent auction.
Raffle tickets cost $10. Prizes include an iPad Mini and a two-night getaway.
Declared a Will County Historic Landmark in 1999 and later purchased by the Manhattan Park District, Baker-Koren Round Barn Farm is a former working farm dating back to the 1840s. The park site is open daily and includes a ball field, 18-hole disc golf course, horseshoe pit, tennis court, walking paths, playground and picnic pavilions.
For more information, call 815-478-3324 or go to manhattanparkdistrict.com.
Frankfort Wine Walk
The fourth annual Wined-ing through Historic Frankfort Wine & Ale Walk will be from 4 to 8 p.m. Sept. 27.
Tickets are $30 in advance and $35 at the event, if available, and include wine and ale samples, appetizers and dessert bites at participating shops and restaurants and a swag bag. Tickets are $10 for designated drivers and include water, food and a swag bag. Advance tickets are sold at Chew on This Dog Barkery, This & That Gifts, White Street Café and the Paper Spot.
Musicians will perform throughout the downtown area.
More Top Picks Best Hip Thrust Machines For Home Gyms
For more details, call 815-469-2177 or go to shophistoricfrankfort.com.
Vickie Jurkowski is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.