South Ridge Winery is preparing for their yearly summer festival, bringing in more vendors, activities and wine for attendees to enjoy than ever before. The Kick Off Arts and Culture Festival is an annual event featuring activities for all ages and boasting local vendors from Crenshaw County and surrounding areas. 

“We wanted to have something to bring everybody together, and try to showcase local artisans and crafters around here in the southern part of Alabama,” said Tonya Pippin, one of the owners of South Ridge Winery. “Most people don’t know how talented everybody is around here.” 

Matthew and Tonya Pippin, owners of South Ridge Winery, started the Kick Off Arts and Culture Festival four years ago, two years after the winery opened. 

“We weren’t sure how it was going to go, since the first year was right after Covid, but it ended up turning out really well,” Pippin said. “People just keep asking us if we were doing it [again] and then we just decided to keep doing it.”

At this year’s festival, South Ridge Winery has planned multiple activities for both kids and adults to enjoy. Activities for children include face painting, pony rides, bounce houses and kid’s slushies.

“Even though it’s a winery, it’s not just for adults, it’s for kids too, because our kids are up there,” Pippin said. “People can just come outside and enjoy the outdoors and visit with different people from our county and neighboring counties.”

Additionally, adults can enjoy wine tasting, along with wine slushies that will be sold during the festival. 

Throughout the festival, there will be vendors from Luverne and the surrounding areas selling their crafts, ranging from hand-made knives to decorated hats. 

“It’s a lot of work but I enjoy meeting all these new people and seeing everybody that has come back over and over again,” Pippin said. 

One of this year’s vendors, Grit & Grind Coffee, attended the first Kick Off Arts and Culture Festival as a vendor for a different business. Now, the owners of the mobile coffee shop plan on bringing their trailer and serving coffees, lemonades and refreshers.

“[We’re] super excited,” said Amber Hawsey, one of the owners of Grit & Grind Coffee. “If you’ve never been, it’s just a really cute, hilly place out in the middle of the country.
I mean, they’ve got a beautiful barn and it’s just a really comfy cozy place.”

The Summer Art and Craft festival will be held at South Ridge Winery at 3297 Live Oak Road in Luverne on June 8 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Tickets are $5, kids ages 12 and under can attend for free. Those interested can purchase tickets the day of at South Ridge Winery.