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The 6th Annual Bay City Wine Walk

By Scott Baker

         Success not only comes with hard work, but also is accomplished with unique taste.
On Thursday, Sept. 23, the Bay City Wine Walk will enter its sixth year of continuous growth with more business involvement and more tickets available to the public then ever before.

For the $25 ticket price, from 5-10 p.m., wine and food will be showcased at over 13 establishments on the East side of the Saginaw River, covering from Washington Ave. to into the River itself for the first time ever.

"This is the 6th Annual Wine Walk, originally started by the restaurants down here," said Candace Bales, Director of the Bay City Downtown Management Board and Development Authority.  "(The) First small event (had) about 300 people. This year we have 1500 tickets to sell and we don't think for a second we're not going to sell out again.  It's a tremendously successful event."

After ticket sales of 1300 last year, the newest business in Bay City helped up the ante.
"With the addition of the Double Tree this year (as well as) the Princess Wenonah being added, there was a major discussion because all our emphasis has been on the quality of the event and the fact that it has to be a good experience," stated Bales.  "Nobody wants it to be so crowded that you feel like you're not able to function, so after major discussion of those additional spaces, because the Double Tree will host in the actual ballroom from what I understand, the group felt that the number could go up again. So we're keeping our fingers crossed."

 Each business relies on each other to keep the wine walkers safe and sound and spread throughout.

"One of our most important topics is crowd management and how each establishment has its own unique challenges as far as bringing through that many people," said Bales.  "And they all understand that it's up to them and that they're going to have to work extra hard this year. They did last year too. They do a very good job to make sure that everybody gets through efficiently.

And we provide music in the streets and inside the establishments to entertain while they are in line. The line almost becomes part of the party."

"It is really fun because it is such a social event," continued the Director. "Big groups of people plan ahead and come together. People from out of state come; like somebody's sister from Ohio comes and somebody else's aunt always comes from Chicago. I mean, it has gotten to be way beyond just our Bay City crowd."

 Getting around the Walk is a breeze as each person gets checked off at each business.
"The tickets themselves have a map on them and there's actually an area where you check off where you've been. In other words you get checked in where you go in. You get your sample of two different kinds of wine at each location, so between the map that is also posted in the restaurant windows and your ticket, it's pretty easy to get around."
Living it up this year includes limo rides for those in need.

"We also have limo shuttles from Knights and they're here to move people around when they're tired of walking or whether they just want the fun of cruising, because those limos are pretty cool," she quipped.

Between 4 and 6:30 p.m., the State Theatre will be preparing for the rush.
"The State Theatre is our stop for picking up commemorative glasses," said Bales. "We have a special glass every year that has the year on it, the logo and all the participating restaurants and a lot of people will be coming for glass number six. It's like a big deal to have all the glasses."

 The compass points are endless between the streets.
"The most north spot is at Washington Lanes at Strikers, one of our more unusual stops, because it's so causal. There's a bowling alley and such, but there's new ownership and they're very excited about participating again this year and getting some people in to see what they've got to offer."

"The most southern spot is Holiday Inn, which has been involved through all these years. It's a great place. There's lots of room and a lot of people use it as their starting point. But there is no sequence. There is no point one, two, three. It's whatever you want to do, that's what helps it work. Otherwise we'd have everybody bunched up together."

"It goes right into the water, which is new this year. The Princess Wenonah is actually going to be a stop. They're going to dock near the Double Tree and on the hour they're going to take a cruise between the two bridges for about 15 minutes and then go back and dock again. So you'll have the option of taking a cruise and drinking your sample, and then getting back off when it's docked. So something brand new this year. We're all real interested in seeing how it's going to work. Weather of course could detain it from taking the cruise, but they have sides on the boat and they say it can be very comfortable no matter what the weather, unless the waves are really big. So we're actually going very west this year!"

"The most east we go is the Elks Club. They were new last year and it was fun because they did a themed event and told none of us what their theme was. They're up on the fourth floor of the LaPorte Building, so you get up to the top, the elevator door opens and it was a wedding. All the men that were sponsoring it from the Elks wore tuxes, the women wore long gowns and they not only had appetizers and wine, they had cake--big wedding cakes all through the room. It was just beautiful. This year they are doing another theme which they are not telling us, so we have no idea what we'll run into once we get off that elevator."

As with the themed event, each business offers their own unique twist on what they offer.
"There has been theme food, like a Mexican theme and a French theme and such," added Bales. "But never one quite to the degree that the Elks did last year."

This year's event will also offer two additional businesses offering a stop without alcohol, according to Bales.

"We have two spots that signed on non-alcohol, but they asked if they could participate. The Waterfront Market will have cheese and food and St. Laurent's will have, I assume, peanuts and chocolate. It's kind of like an open house in those places. They're not true participants, they don't sell the tickets, they don't share in any of the money, but they asked if they could be a part of the event and the restaurants welcomed them. Last year they did it for the first time and it worked really well."

"It's much more than a wine event. It really has become a chance to enjoy our downtown, which is getting a lot of attention because it's just a very cool place. It's a great place to walk and a lot of new stores have opened and we have over 25 eateries."

The 13 establishments, with ticket sales include: Holiday Inn * Double Tree * Princess Wenonah (through the Bay City Boatlines, located inside of the Antique Warehouse) * Mulligan's Pub * Gatsby's Saloon and Eatery * Café Appareil * Old City Hall * Kingfish Restaurant * Atrium * Stein Haus  * Jake's Corner Bar * The Elks Club * Strikers (inside Washington Lanes)

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