From comfort food to gourmet dishes from live entertainment to a shopping bazaar, friends and families will enjoy a menu of fine fare and fun at the 26th Annual Taste of The Litchfield Hills. Connecticut’s oldest food and wine festival will be held on Labor Day weekend, Sept. 3-5, 2011, at its new location, Ski Sundown, 126 Ratlum Road, New Hartford.
Each year, since 1985, the festival has attracted thousands that have enjoyed sampling the region’s food and wine. A sneak peak at this years offerings include Angus beef sliders, baked mac and cheese, cedar plank roasted salmon, corn and Maine blue crab fritters, cherry-smoked chicken, fried goat cheese salad, gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches, grilled pizza, Lao crispy egg rolls, lobster salad sliders, mesquite-smoked pulled pork, New England clam chowder, seared scallops & braised short ribs, sesame chicken, shrimps in a blanket and many other delicious delicacies. A Farmers Market, new this year, will offer locally grown and raised foods.
Sweet offerings include apple cider cinnamon donuts, banana & toffee pie, dessert crepes, fruit smoothies, New England kettle corn, pumpkin chiffon roulade and many other delectable desserts. The festival will also offer wine by the glass from some of the most popular wineries in Litchfield Hills including Hopkins Vineyard, Jerram Winery, Miranda Vineyard, Sunset Meadow Vineyards, and White Silo Winery.
Foodies will enjoy “grazing-sized” portions of house specialties prepared by chefs from regional restaurants, bistros and other purveyors of fine food with prices ranging from $4.00 to $8.00 per item. Table seating will be available in the festival’s Culinary Tent, at outdoor picnic tables and inside the air-conditioned ski lodge. Plus, guests are invited to picnic on the grounds with their own lawn chairs and blankets.
Live entertainment will include country singer-songwriter Courtney Drummey (Saturday, 1-4 p.m.), oldies band The Rockin’ Hearbeats (Saturday, 5-8 pm), jazz recording artists The Christine & Elliot Spero Duo (Sunday, 1-4 p.m.), blues artists The Andy James Band (Sunday, 5-8 p.m.) and jam band Flipper Dave (Monday, 1-4 p.m.).
Festival -goers will also enjoy an upscale shopping experience in the festivals’ outdoor bazaar featuring such unique gift items as artisan-crafted jewelry, gourmet food products, kitchenware and other products and services.
Hours for A Taste of the Litchfield Hills will be 12 to 8 p.m. on Saturday & Sunday, Sept. 3 & 4, 2011, and 12 to 5 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 5, 2011. Ticket prices are Adult (age 12-64): $10 On-Site or $8 Advance Purchase; Senior (age 65+): $8 On-Site or $6 Advance Purchase; and Child (Under 12): Free admission. Advance tickets available at www.LitchfieldFestivals.com.
For further information on Litchfield Hills and other area activities and a free copy of UNWIND, a 112-page color guide to lodging, dining and all the attractions in the Litchfield Hills of Connecticut, contact the Western Connecticut Convention and Visitors Bureau, PO Box 968, Litchfield, CT 06759, (860) 567-4506, or visit their web site at www.litchfieldhills.com.