Our first visit to the Ella Sharp Museum’s 20th Annual Art, Beer and Wine Festival in Jackson was a magical experience.
Ella Sharp Museum 20th Annual Art, Beer and Wine Festival
We did it! We made it to the Ella Sharp Museum’s 20th Annual Art, Beer and Wine Festival. For some reason, and apparently for the last 20 years, our schedules have prevented us from attending this event. This year, the stars aligned, and we had our first experience at this event.
For those new to this festival, like us, the Art, Beer, and Wine (like us), it is a major fundraising event for the Ella Sharp Museum and one of Jackson’s biggest events. The Ella Sharp Museum is part of Ella Sharp Park, which was willed to the city of Jackson by Ella Merriman-Sharp in 1912. Her home and 530 acres were given to the city to create a park and museum. The park opened in 1919, and the museum in 1965.
The Art, Beer, and Wine festival takes place on the grounds of Ella Sharp Park. You can stroll past booths filled with art, beer, wine, distilled spirits, food, and local non-profit organizations. As you wander, musicians fill the air with music ranging from classic rock to Americana, jazz, and more. It is an idyllic setting for a festival, particularly on a perfect weather day in June.
One facet that elevates this festival is its organization. Instead of placing art booths in one area, beverages in another, and non-profits off in an unvisited side-street, the Art, Beer, and Wine festival integrates them into a smorgasbord of sensory stimulation. We loved this layout as you may stop and get a beer, then notice some stunning art nearby, which then leads you to learn about a non-profit at the next stop. This is how all art, music, food, and beverage events should be set up!
Damn Fine Beers
The beer selection at the Ella Sharp Museum’s 20th Annual Art, Beer and Wine Festival was spot on and packed with bodacious brews guaranteed to give your taste buds a run for their money. Ogma Brewing unleashed their Soul Whip, which is a tropical storm of hazy delight. Ironbark Brewing’s Spaced Mosaic IPA hit the spot with its blast of citrusy goodness. The fellas at Grand River Brewing were rocking their majestic 313 Polish lager. Talk about damn fine beers, oh my that one sings.
Over at Hear.Say Brewing, my jam was the vanta.ray Russian Imperial, which clocks in at 12.6% ABV. While this beer will rock your world, it isn’t boozy, which is probably dangerous. Meanwhile, Brenda loved the summer brightness of over.look, a strawberry-guava fruited sour. Don’t let the word “sour” scare you off; this brew is smooth and splendid. Ypsi Alehouse were on hand offering their dandy Ypsitucky Common Ale which is an easy drinker that commemorates the hard working factory workers from Kentucky who made Willow Run Assembly hum.
We had a minute to catch up with Zack from Ramshackle Brewing. This little brewery in Jonesville is dynamite, and their English Drizzle mild ale is as smooth as a summer breeze. Finally, for the ultimate in crispy pilsner pleasure, you could not beat Ells by Mothfire Brewing.
Outstanding Wine, Cider, and Spirits
While the beers were great, the wine, cider, and spirits nearly stole the show at the Ella Sharp Museum’s 20th Annual Art, Beer and Wine Festival. Cherry Creek Cellars, based in Brooklyn, had a couple of excellent beverages. The Disco Deer is a root beer cider that will have you singing “Faygo Remembers!” in no time. This one could be dangerous as it tastes just like a sweet root beer, and you may not imagine it has alcohol until you’ve had a few pops and try to stand up. We also sampled the dry white Vignoles at Cherry Creek, which was invigorating. Serving up other delightful sunnyshine-infused beverages were Flying Otter Vineyard and Winery and River Raisin Distillery. Both of these places had sustained lines of people eager to sample their creations. Along with marvelous tastings, we had a great time chatting with the folks from these fine establishments.
Art, Food, Music, and More
As I mentioned earlier, what makes the Ella Sharp Museum’s 20th Annual Art, Beer and Wine Festival unique is the melding of all the different vendors. As we stopped to sample a beverage, we ran across some incredible artwork. Ed Warzyniec and Anna Miklo were showing their whimsical and off-center creations. Painter Lisa Brown had her easel set up to capture the beauty of the park. Reimagining old windows as the canvas for creation was Holly’s House and Around.
There were plenty of food options sprinkled throughout the festival. Whether you were after barbeque, pizza, build your own sandwiches, or wraps, you could find it. We were happy to see our friends from FFF Food Truck on hand with their one-of-a-kind egg rolls.
We also ran into our friends from Monster Box Theatre, who were handing out swag and telling folks about their membership program. For a ridiculously low fee, you can not only support a talented theater group while getting discounts on tickets to events, improv classes, and merchandise. And as a non-profit organization, your membership is tax-deductible.
Pictures
All in all, the Ella Sharp Museum’s 20th Annual Art, Beer and Wine Festival was fantastic!! We have a bunch more photos in our gallery. Take a look and let us know if you were there with us.
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