Harker Heights is hosting its annual Food, Wine & Brew Festival this year on September 16th at Harker Heights Community Park.
The event, which is in its 16th year, attracted more than 6,000 people last year.
It will take place from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the park, located at 1605 Knights Way, east of Harker Heights High School.
Over 40 sponsors and providers from a wide range of industries are taking part in the festival.
There will also be live music from LC Rocks, who will be performing a concert after the festival. The concert is scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m. and last until 10:00 p.m. LC Rocks is an Austin-based cover band that plays rock’n’roll songs from the 80s.
“We’re expecting about 5,000 people to attend this year, and with the additional concert, we could have another 450,” said Harker Heights City Councilwoman Jennifer McCann, who has been involved with the festival since its inception in 2007.
“We were very lucky and delighted to have this band,” McCann said, noting that they are a very popular band.
In addition to the band, the event also features numerous businesses specializing in a variety of industries. Businesses serving food at the event include Crab Cowboyz, Rossler’s Blue Cord Barbecue, Traveling Pint & Pizza, and Roni’s Mac Bar.
In the wine and beer sector, Obsidian Brewery, Waco Ale Company, Piezo Winery and Southern Roots Brewing Company are among those represented.
“When this festival started, it was all about wine and was called the Central Texas Wine Festival,” McCann said. “We had 600 people in attendance and I counted the tickets by hand.”
McCann said when Gina Pence, former president and CEO of the Harker Heights Chamber of Commerce, joined the chamber, the scope of the festival expanded and it became the Harker Heights Food, Wine and Brew Fest.
Now that Pence has become Salado’s city planner, McCann said the festival misses her administrative experience but that others have stepped in to handle the details.
“The girls in the chamber did a great job,” McCann said. “One of them had a different role and another isn’t from here, but they really did a remarkable job.”
Other festival sponsors and vendors this year include healthcare companies such as Smile Doctor Orthodontics and SignatureCare Emergency Center, as well as Kendra Scott Jewelry.
There will also be no shortage of local companies at the event.
“We are so fortunate to have such a supportive Chamber of Commerce and Board of Directors – and such a supportive city,” McCann said. “We are truly blessed.”
