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Winter gets a send off..... seasonal festival!

2016 Festival

By Jason Jordan

The Spectator
Posted Feb. 29, 2016 at 12:58 PM

ARKPORT -- Spirits for imbibing and spirits for brightening were prevailing themes as the passing of another season was honored Saturday afternoon with the first annual Winter Festival. Jenkins‘ Farm Market and Deli, famously nestled in the "mucklands" on Route 36 continued their trend of holding seasonal festivals in hopes of inspiring the community to get out of their homes and enjoy offerings to the max before it‘s gone for another year. "We‘re trying to diversify, and it‘s really nice to give the community something to do. A lot of people complain there isn‘t anything to do, but we have a lot of local businesses that provide things to do and we wanted to showcase that," said Jenkins‘ co-owner CJ FitzPatrick.

Tastings were held by local breweries, cideries and wineries; Railhead Brewing Company of Hornell, Cider Creek Hard Cider of Canisteo, and Wild Brute Winery of Arkport.
A chili cook-off was also a treasured highlight of the Winter Festival. What‘s better to ward off the winter chill than a cup of homemade chili? Participants included a number of local businesses, including the Farm Market and Deli, The Evening Tribune, Jack‘s Gaslight in Dansville, and Steve‘s Place in Wayland. "We had some real serious contenders here for the cook-off. These guys are top notch," FitzPatrick.

Shane FitzPatrick, also co-owner of the business, was actively engaged in the chili battle, defending the title he won with employee Jimmy McLaughlin at the Fall Festival in October.
"There‘s definitely a rivalry from the Fall Harvest Festival and our in-house chili cook-off," CJ FitzPatrick, who also had chili entered in the contest, said. "It just depends on people‘s taste," he said. The winning chili was not named before press time on Saturday. FitzPatrick said the event was purposefully aimed to build relationships among local businesses who might compete on a day to day basis.

"All these guys are local, so the better they do, the better I can do because it brings business into the area and builds alliances between everyone," he said. "This is how it should be, local businesses working together to make a living, and I think that‘s the coolest part of all of this," he continued. The local vendors also appreciated the chance to show off their products to the local market in a unique setting. "It‘s a great idea, and we‘re very appreciative that they asked us to come in," said Mike McCumiskey of Railhead Brewing Company.

Source: reprint 2/29/2016 Evening Tribune