Sarah's Vineyard celebrates Summer Solstice

What better way to kick off the season than with Sarah's Vineyard Winery's Summer Solstice. With enough wine, music and art to go around, the event is a perfect opportunity to sit back and relax over the weekend.

“The festival originated as a small art festival featuring local artists that was started by our owner Margaret Lytz that she hosted at her home,” said Shawn Boyer, Entertainment and Event Manager at Sarah's Vineyard Winery. “ Once the vineyard lease was obtained from the national park the music and wine were added to form the first Summer Solstice."

This year Summer Solstice has made two significant changes – one of which is the layout of the festival.

“Parking will now be in the front lawn with the vendors and music closer to our main building,” he said. “We believe this will make the festival easier to navigate for our guests.”

The other change consists of the music. For the last nine years, the event has been considered a blues festival, however, this time around the organizers have added the likes of acoustic rock, zydeco and funk.

“We believe this will make the festival a more enjoyable event to visit the entire weekend as opposed to just one of the days,” Boyer said. “Don't get us wrong, though, we still love our blues and will have more than enough for the avid fan.”

Included in the price of admission is a crystal glass, which will be monogrammed with Sarah's Vineyard on one side and The City of Cuyahoga Falls bicentennial logo on the other. Boyer said he is glad to have been given the opportunity to partner with the city in celebrating its 200 years.

According to Boyer, one of the best things about doing this festival year after year is to introduce Ohio wines to the community. He admits that not many people are aware of the number of wineries that the state has to offer, and he is glad that he can spread the love. Having a strong bond with the community is also one of his major focuses in having events like Summer Solstice.

“We love the opportunity to interact with the local community,” he said. “When our guests are happy, we are happy.”

Summer Solstice begins June 22 and runs through June 24. Friday from 4 p.m. to 10:30 p.m., Saturday from 12 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. and Sunday from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Sarah's Vineyard Winery is located at 1204 W. Steels Corners Road, Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio.

For a complete list of Ohio wineries involved and the schedule of live music, head on over to www.sarahsvinyardwinery.com.