By Haley Mitchell Godwin

The second annual Summer Kickoff Arts and Crafts Fair Wine Fest was held on June 11 at South Ridge Winery on Live Oak Road just outside of the Luverne City limits. South Ridge Winery is a family-owned vineyard and winery that produces a variety of handmade wines from hand harvested fruit produced in their vineyard where a variety of grapes and berries are grown. The event was held amongst four acres of grape vines utilized by South Ridge Wine.
The family friendly fair was a success, ending with music by Rylee Austin, and approximately 470 paying visitors attended, according to Tonya Pippin, one of the winery’s owners. Pippin said that vendors, helpers and those 12 and under are not included in the number

“It really went great. We had more vendors this year with people from all over the south and lots of locals selling their goods too,” Pippin said. “I wanted to bring in many different kinds of vendors and have a good mixture. It was a beautiful day, but it was hot! I want to thank the vendors and everyone that came out to brave the heat. It is great to live in a community that provides so much support and we appreciate everyone that helped us with the event. We hope to have more events in the near future, and more live music on Saturday nights.”

Visitors to the winery during normal business hours are invited to spend the day. Guests can sit or rock on the porch, enjoy a glass of wine or a wine slushy while visiting with each other, and, of course, tour the winery.

A tasting room is available where wine can be sampled and soaps, lotions and other bath and body products made by Tonya Pippin are available for purchase. Also for sale are insulated wine glasses, candles, home decor items, ground coffee, jewelry, and more.

Wine tasting and wine slushies were available at the event. The slushies, that are also available during normal business hours at the winery, come in peach, watermelon, sangria, rose’, and occasionally blueberry. Coke slushies are also on tap for kids and non-wine drinkers.

There was a wide variety of handmade and specialty items for sale by vendors at this year’s wine fest. Jewelry, children’s and adult clothing, door hangers, leatherworks, handcrafted wood items, quilts, jellies and jams, personalized laser cut items, bath and body items, home decor, floral arrangements, dog treats and dog accessories, and much more was available for visitors to peruse while sipping wine. Three food trucks were on hand and vendors selling candy and desserts were also on-site.

Patsy Owens of Luverne attended the last two years and said that the event is great family fun.

“One does not have to be a wine drinker to enjoy the annual festival at South Ridge Wine; there was something for everyone. It was great to run into people I had not seen in quite a while and the vendors were wonderful, with even more variety than last year. The leather workers really impressed me and I purchased a unique necklace from a vendor out of Highland Home, Carl Massey. I also bought an embroidered dish towel made by Sharon Jayroe of Luverne, a pair of leather earrings, some freeze dried candy, an art piece featuring a seahorse made from teal and turquoise buttons by an artist from Tallasee, an apothecary jar filled with matches and a stryker on the side, and a hat from Small Town Life- things I will use myself or give as gifts. The food trucks were a nice addition and I enjoyed my food truck lunch. It is really nice to have something like this to do in Crenshaw County; something a little different, where we can have a good time and support both local vendors and those from outside the county,” Owens said.

Initially Yours, owned by Lori Bodiford of Brantley, was an exhibitor at the fair. Bodiford makes custom wood door hangers and recently started making interchangeable door hangers that allow a door hanger to be kept up yearlong with only the attachments being swapped out. She also had keychains for sale and makes other home decor items. Bodiford also ships her items and can be reached at lorriebodiford@yahoo.com or on Facebook regarding orders.

Brenda R. Coone,CEO & President of MsCraftprincess Designs and greeting card designer out of Prattville was at the festival with her hand crafted greeting cards for all occasions.

“I like to help people express thoughtfulness and kindness through imagery and sentiments that make those they care about feel loved. I started making scrapbooks in 1993. Several years later, I took a cardmaking class and discovered that I really enjoyed making greeting cards. In September 2019, I was blessed to start MsCraftprincess Designs. Working with quality paper, adhesives, stamps, markers, digital images, etc. is my passion. Our tagline is, “Giving a handcrafted greeting card is like giving a hug!” I like to say that I make paper hugs,” said Coone.

Coone and details of her services offered can be found on Facebook, Instagram and TicToc.

In the Brit and Bear booth, handmade pet bandannas could be found along with tees, bracelets, stickers, other dog accessories and dog treats made by Brittney Pettis of Dothan.

“I started sewing different bandannas for my late dog Bear right before his second birthday. After posting his picture sporting his bandannas on my social media, my friends and family started asking if I’d make some for their pets too! Of course, I said yes, and from there my business took off. Although Bear passed away in March of 2021 after battling Osteosarcoma for 11 months, his legacy continues through his bandannas. You can find us online or at various pop-up events,” Pettis said.

Based out of New Brockton, The Rose Lilly Boutique and their traveling store Haulin Sass had women’s clothing, shoes, and accessories for sale in their mobile store. The boutique’s website states that the business is a “modern mobile boutique full of charm, dressing women of all sizes for their most memorable moment.” The innovation for the store was born amid the pandemic, said Justin Flowers, husband of The Rose Lilly Boutique’s founder.

“My wife came up with this idea because she wanted to provide an opportunity for women to still shop. Haulin Sass goes to festivals and events, but our parties are really what we do a lot of. My wife always says you can sip, savor and shop. The Rose Lilly Boutique and Haulin Sass is a mobile boutique that can create a unique and personal shopping experience for your event. We do birthday parties, showers or can bring the shop out for any event,” Flowers said.

Food vendors at the Summer Kickoff Arts and Crafts Wine Fest included The Wheelhouse V2 from Opp, FLINT’S SMOKEHOUSE out of Honoraville, and Hueys Walking Tacos, a veteran owned food truck out of Enterprise.
Plans are already in the works for next year’s festival. For more information or if interested in being a vendor at next year’s festival, contact Tonya Pippin at South Ridge Winery.