Lakeshore Wine Festival
The crowd could all see the line of carts and wagons rolling in from the vintner's farms located just on the outskirts of town and spreading out for miles. Cheer ran through the crowds and festival goers raised their glasses in celebration. It was only a matter of time before they get to once again sample that sweet nectar that weighed down those enormous carts. What would it taste like this years? Last year's wines were sweet with hints of honey and lavender. The excitement could be seen on the faces of the crowd as some already began lining up for tickets for the tastings. Another successful festival seemed to be at hand this year and the money and taxes brought in from the event would pay for the new storehouses the town desperately needed.- Mayor Emanuel Velmus
Notes from his personal journal
History
Lakeshore Wine Festival is a celebration of the wine planting season and the first readied caskets of the year which takes place in the early part of the year. The festival origins started a little more than a hundred years ago when the first vineyards were planted in the fields around Eswick, a beautiful lakeside city with miles of fertile land around it. The new fields weren't expected to offer up as much of a harvest for the first planting. The vintners were amazed by the bounty, the vines produced four times the amount of fruit with a more refined flavor than they experienced from other places they have grown. The vintners offered prayers for their luck and believed it was a blessing from the gods. They organized a celebration for the town, it was relatively small the first few years, as the new fruits ripened into there next year's batches they wanted to share this bounty with the town. The following years' rumors of the quality of wine made in Eswick spread and brought people from all over Rinas to taste the magnificent decanting. The celebration of the harvest grew larger every year, drawing artisans, craftsmen, merchants, and entertainers to the area. This eventually became known as the Lakeshore Wine Festival.
Execution
The festival evolves over its week-long celebration. Even days before the festival begins, merchants, craftsmen, entertainers, and guests arrive to begin securing space and rooms for the week's celebration. A grand stage is built in a designated field outside the city. This stage is used for speeches, contests, and awards ceremonies.
On the first day of the event, the mayor will give a speech to the gathered crowd of people welcoming them and offering a group prayer to the goddess, Sidhaeg, for the great and bountiful harvest. For the next three days, people continue to arrive from across Rinas, including more merchants and entertainers. The crowds eat, drink, play games, watch entertainment including, magicians, circus performers, and many shows put on by troupes of bards. On the fifth day a grand feast is held, hundreds of tables a lined up in the fields outside the town with tons of food prepared by chefs from all over the region. Finally, the last three days of the festival, the vintners from all around the region finally bring in their cart-load of the first batch of the year. Tickets are then sold ten for a copper to the tastings. Bottles are of course on hand to sell to those who wish to take some of the fine libations home with them.
Participants
Many well-known citizen attend this festival. Most years you can find members of the royal family, noble houses, and other noteworthy individuals taking part in the festivities.
Observance
The Lakeside Wine Festival usually begins around the 1st of Malyr, the fourth month of the year, and the start of the First Planting.
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