Florida A&M University to Celebrate its Annual Grape Harvest Festival

Celebrating its 11th year, Florida A&M University (FAMU) will host its Annual Grape Harvest Festival Saturday, August 27 at the Viticulture and Small Fruit Research Center located at 6505 Mahan Drive in Tallahassee. This year’s theme is “A Vintage Year: Stomp, Rattle and Roll.”

Judy Ammons, first lady of FAMU, will serve as chairperson of the FAMU Grape Harvest Festival along with Jane Marks, first lady of Tallahassee, and Mary Barley, a wellness coach and author, as co-chairpersons.

The festival will begin at 8:30 a.m. and the First Lady Vineyard Run/Walk will kickoff with registration at 7 a.m.

The Annual FAMU Grape Harvest Festival is a community event being sponsored by FAMU and coordinated through its Center for Viticulture and Small Fruit Research.

“We are pulling all plugs to provide an entertaining day of discovery and fun that helps to build stronger relationships between the university and the community as well as families and friends throughout Florida and beyond,” said Bobby Phills, festival coordinator.

This year’s festival will have an assortment of fun-filled amusements, educational displays and informative demonstrations for both young and old. The schedule includes the following: the hula hoop contest; grape throwing games; winemaking demonstrations/workshops; blood bank donations; a health fair with exhibits from the FAMU Schools of Nursing, Allied Health, and Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences; an invitational wine-tasting session featuring FAMU’s own and Florida commercial wineries; and an exciting and highly popular old-fashioned grape stomping contest.

Participants will have an opportunity to pick grapes at a specified time and place. Bags will be provided; but no buckets will be allowed. The festival promises to be jammed packed with fun-filled excitement for the entire family.

Admission is $5 per person and $2 for children 12 and under. The pre-registration fee for the 1K and 5K is $10 for children and students with valid ID on or before August 26 and $15 the day of race. The pre-registration fee for adults is $15 on or before August 26 and $20 the day of the race. The fee for the wine tasting is $2 and interested individuals must be 21 and have proper ID.

For more information, contact Angela Harper at (850) 599-3996.