Raise a Glass: Holiday Valley Beer & Wine Festival Returns November 8th
Raise a Glass: Holiday Valley Beer & Wine Festival Returns November 8th
Holiday Valley’s annual Beer & Wine Festival returns November 8th with 50+ breweries, wineries, and live music—plus a Friday night pub crawl to start the weekend right.
PHOTO CREDIT: Ashley Baron
When the leaves have all changed to their fall colors and there is an undeniable crispness to the air, you know that the annual Holiday Valley Beer and Wine Festival will soon be upon us! The 21st edition of the fest will take place next Saturday, November 8th from 3:00-7:00pm at the Main Lodge at Holiday Valley. Open to anyone 21 and over with ticketed admission, the festival is sure to be a good time - if the last twenty were any indication! For an early-bird experience, revelers can join the “Crawl Outta Fall” kick-off event and pub crawl the night before on Friday, November 7th starting at Edna’s at the Tamarack Club. EllicottvilleNOW caught up with Dash Hegeman, the resort’s Director of Marketing, for comments.
“The Beer and Wine Festival was started as a way to have a fun event that would close out the summer and act as a bit of a kickoff for the ski and snowboard season,” Hegeman explained. “The event is a collaborative effort between Holiday Valley, Ellicottville Brewing Co., and Southern Tier Brewing. It is always an exciting time of year because it not only means that winter is right around the corner, so there is a lot of energy that comes with that, but the event always brings a lot of enthusiastic people to the resort who are looking to sample some of this region's best specialty drinks and have a good time. After the event ends, many of those people then continue the party downtown, which means that it's a benefit to the bars and restaurants in the village as well.”
This year’s Beer and Wine Festival will no doubt be the largest one yet. “There is a great lineup of vendors this year,” Hegeman said. “As of this moment, there are roughly 50 vendors that will be serving up craft beer, wine, and other specialty drinks. The list can be found on our Beer and Wine Festival events page at holidayvalley.com.”
The vendor list of breweries, cideries, distilleries and wineries is long and varied, and includes local and regional favorites like Ellicottville Brewing Company, Southern Tier Brewing Co., and 42 North Brewing Company. Wineries and distilleries include the Winery of Ellicottville, Ellicottville Distillery, and Southern Tier Distilling Co., to name a few.
As for entertainment, the festival is sure to be high-energy with live bands playing on every level at the venue, according to Hegeman. “Every floor of the Main Chalet will be treated to a great musical performance. Darkwater Duo, Mayday Buffalo, and Second Hand News will be keeping the vibes at a high for the entire event.”
New for this year is the VIP ticket category, which includes early access to the event (VIP doors are at 2:30pm), a dedicated VIP area on the top floor of the Main Chalet, exclusive beer releases in the VIP area, a special VIP lanyard, and a souvenir gift.
VIP tickets for this year’s event are sold out, but Hegeman encourages those interested in purchasing VIP tickets next year to keep an eye on the website for more details. “It's the first year that we've offered this, so it's awesome to see that they have been well received,” he said. “As for next year, you'll just have to stay tuned to holidayvalley.com next summer for details about the 22nd annual Beer & Wine Festival.”
To immerse yourself in the full Beer and Wine Festival experience, the Crawl Outta Fall kick-off party and pub crawl on Friday, November 7th is a must-do.
“For just $15, guests will get a passport card that shows the list of bars and restaurants that are offering specialty drinks that evening,” Hegeman explained. “There will be a shuttle service that takes people from the resort to the village, and once there, they can go to the bars on the passport, order that drink, and get their passport stamped. Those that turn in their passport at Beer & Wine with at least 4 stamps will be entered to win a Dine, Stay & Play package from Holiday Valley.”
Take advantage of the final days of fall and help usher in the new season with these great events! As for what’s in store this upcoming ski season, Hegeman says that Holiday Valley is preparing for another outstanding winter ahead. “Over the summer, the resort invested in more snowmaking infrastructure, two new SnowCats for the Grooming Team, and an array of other projects that will make the guest experience even better this year,” he shared. “Out at the Holiday Valley Tubing Park, the team there has worked with a company to install a nighttime LED light show that lights up the tubing lanes with a rainbow of different colors while they tube, which will be a very fun addition to that experience. The extended forecast that I've seen has a strong winter predicted for Western New York, so fingers crossed that comes true and we see a lot of people out on the slopes making amazing memories this year.”
Send off fall with one last hurrah at the annual Holiday Valley Beer and Wine Festival and the Crawl Outta Fall pub crawl. Crawl Outta Fall registration takes place on Friday, November 7th from 4:00-7:00pm at Edna’s at The Tamarack Club, 6447 Holiday Valley Road in Ellicottville.. Tickets are $15 for a tasting passport.
The 2025 Holiday Valley Beer and Wine Festival takes place the following day on Saturday, November 8th from 3:00-7:00pm at the main lodge at the resort. Tickets from now until November 7th are $75 per person and $20 each for designated drivers. Exclusive weekend lodging packages are available. Contact the resort or visit holidayvalley.com for bookings or additional details.