The overwhelming success of the Vero Beach Wine & Film Festival, enjoyed by thousands of people each June, prompted organizers to give seasonal residents an opportunity to see what they’ve been missing. The resulting Vero Beach Wine & Film Festival West, held recently at the Vero Beach Outlets, drew film aficionados, oenophiles and foodies, who all enjoyed a weekend packed with activities.
Festivities began Friday evening at the Restoration Hardware Outlet, where British Chef Ben Robinson, who has traveled the world as a head chef on mega yachts, including as executive chef on the Bravo reality TV show “Below Deck,” gave attendees a demonstration on filleting and preparing an Italian tartare using fresh pompano.
Beforehand, guests milled about discussing which films they were looking forward to while sipping on wines and noshing on a delectable spread by Wild Thyme Catering.
“This is the fifth year of the Vero Beach Wine and Film festival; yes, we made it!” said VBWFF founder, Jerusha Stewart, in welcome. “We’re going to be screening some of our award winners from past years and you will also get a sneak peek at the films in June. So tell all your friends how great they were and why they need to be at the Film Festival in June.”
Bob Stanley, VBWFF wine director, introduced Michael Goldberg, a representative of the featured vintner, David Frost Wine, who spoke about the former PGA Tour golfer and his South African vineyard.
“We’re really excited to have the Wine and Film Festival here at the Outlets and couldn’t be happier with the turnout tonight,” said Beth Hager, Vero Beach Outlets marketing director, before introducing Robinson.
Robinson said with a grin that he had chosen pompano for the demonstration because “during hurricanes you might wake up and find one of these on your doorstep; and what are you going to do with it? What I like to do is bring the extraordinary into the ordinary person’s home.”
During the weekend, retail store fronts had been converted into pop-up theaters, where a selection of short films, documentaries and feature-length films were shown throughout the day.
Interspersed were food demonstrations and wine tastings in Design Within Reach by local chefs Travis Beckett, Ben Robinson, Winston Guerrero, Mitch Dembrowski, Zach Campion and Ashely Allison. And late Saturday afternoon there was a Grand Tasting of assorted wines.
“We saw some great funny movies this morning,” said Mary Ellen Brophy on Saturday. “‘Ludwig’ was hilarious and the other one, ‘Self Control,’ was also very funny. I’d like to see it again.”
Helen Tracy, who has attended all the June Wine and Film Festivals, was enjoying this one as well. “I love film and I love wine,” she said. “I even take two days of my vacation in June just so I can do the whole four days.”
“This has been an incredible day. The love from the community, the pass-holders, the shoppers and our new volunteers has just been amazing,” said Stewart on Saturday. “Everybody is embracing the idea of having an international film festival in Vero Beach. It’s wonderful to see how inspired people are as they exit the theaters.”
Looking forward to June, she said, “We promise that you will see the most compelling and visually entertaining story-telling from around the world. We have selected some of the top award-winning films in the festival circuit, including ‘A Fine Line.’”
She said the film being embraced by Suncoast Mental Health, the event’s beneficiary, was “Coming Up for Air,” which is about teen suicide.
“It’s about a young man close to being an Olympic diver,” she explained. “His mother discovers he’s suffering from mental illness. It’s incredible; it’s like you’re diving in with him.”
Next up is Wine, Film and Fashion, June 7 at Vero Beach Outlets. For more information, visit vbwff.com.
Photos by: Mary Schenkel
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