The Last Hurrah for 2020

Life in Martinsville-Henry County right now is pretty sedate. It is for me anyhow. I intended to keep on trying to get out at least a little despite the virus but thought better of it and am now just waiting for spring. The 6th Annual Wine by the River Festival back in late October turned out to be my last hurrah for 2020, though I didn’t know it at the time.

This is a festival that is held on the banks of the Smith River at the Smith River Sports Complex. In any normal year, I would highly recommend it. Even during this epidemic, though, they did a very good job at providing an enjoyable outdoor event that was as safe as they could make it. That said, the maskless woman in line behind me bumped into me twice. So much for social distancing.

I doubt that it was really dangerous in any way, even with the woman with no personal space behind me. I think that, in normal years, there are more wine vendors. This year, there were only a handful and the wait in line was around twenty minutes, more or less. The woman behind me had complained that she would lose her buzz in the time that it took to stand in line for a refill. I just squinted and tried to tune her out.

Still, she did have a halfway valid point because it was a good little wait and, thanks to her, less than enjoyable. I watched the people ahead of me and realized that the idea is to buy a bottle of wine in addition to the glass that they fill. Then you can go back to your chair or blanket, listen to the live music and enjoy the afternoon without returning to the line.

There were other sights to be seen – like a camel. While this seemed really random, my guess is that he or she was visiting from the local Infinity Acres Ranch. I’m really going to have make a point to visit there this spring.

And there were other vendors selling treats like key lime pie (Treedah’s Treats), bath salts (SoapsByJera), Scentsy (Lisa Joyce) and lots and lots more. There was also a food truck with a covered sitting/dining area.

Another exciting place to see this coming spring, Scuffle Hill Brewing was also there giving out free tastes of their various brews. Scuffle Hill, when it opens, will be the first craft brewery in Collinsville and the second in Henry County. Oh, to visit a brewery again! Hang in there guys.

I was really pleased with the Wine by the River Festival. Despite this being a heck of year for any events, they pulled it off and I can see how this will be a must-not-miss event in normal years. Tips for future years: take a corkscrew and a little collapsible table would be really nice.

So much of my time now is filled with thinking about what I will do later. I’m sure that it’s the same for everyone. Thanks to this event, I do have a bottle of Rebec wine to share with my circle of friends when we can get together again. That will be nice.

2021 is going to have a heck of time living up to what I’ve imagined it to be.