CLAYTON, New York (WWNY) – The wine bottles are out, and the beer taps are full at the Antique Boat Museum.
It’s a part of a new event this year called Food and Beverage Day, taking the place of the now twice canceled Great New York State Food and Wine Festival.
Put on by the Clayton Chamber of Commerce, 6 anchor locations throughout Clayton were chosen in a self guided tour to showcase the region with various vendors placed at every one.
“This year it is a trial and error with the one day. Which you know, people have to take care of it to get the people out. You know, everyone’s been cooped up because of the COVID,” said George Beaulieu, a Sales Representative for Bella-Brooke Vineyard.
The day may not look like the traditional festival, but it gives people a chance to experience different venues in the village and other places throughout the islands.
A stop at Clayton Distillery gave people a different type of tasting.
“I make a watermelon salad with it, you can put it on fruit, mix it with a little basil on a piece of fish,” said Patrick Cosmano, owner of Cosimano & Ferrari Olive Oil Company.
Cosmano is talking about his olive oil and vinegar recipes, giving out samples of his best blends.
He says the yearly trip up here from Rochester is one of his favorites.
“You know, I heard they weren’t doing it this year, so when I got a call to do little pop ups, I’m like ‘Yes, I’m there.’ I just love coming up,” said Cosmano.
Another stop at Thousand Islands Winery brought out more products like maple syrup and spices, something Cosmano says many small businesses missed doing last year.
“You know, like every other business during COVID, we lost sales due to, you know, a decrease in festivals. But there’s no question it’s a big change,” said Cosmano.
A big change back to what many of these places enjoy doing most.
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