“[The festival] is about showing the community what Kalahari is—the love that we have for food and beverage—and then a little bit of outreach to the local mom-and-pop businesses that can come and participate as vendors,” said Brandon Wise, assistant general manager of the Kalahari Resort.
What began three years ago as a passion project for Kalahari’s founding Nelson family has grown into an immense celebration featuring beverages from more than 50 wine, beer and spirits vendors as well as cooking demonstrations and curated culinary samplings from Kalahari’s signature restaurant chefs. For one day a year, the resort’s staff, partnering vendors and guests are transported away from the everyday grind and revel together in a shared love for artisanship, fine dining and fun.
“It's not every day I get to dress somebody up in a human disco ball outfit and have them walk around serving champaign,” Wise said. “I, like the [Nelson] family, came up through restaurants—through food and beverage—so my passion is there for these events that allow you to just have fun.”
The Kalahari brand is known for transporting guests through its expansive, themed resorts, and the experience offered to festival goers is no different. Guests immerse themselves in an atmosphere of luxury and excitement, all in accordance with each festival’s unique theme. It’s an experience that keeps guests coming back for more.
“[The festival] exceeded expectations,” said last year’s festival guest Deborah C. “[I] loved the beautiful resort, entertainment and amazing variety of great food and drinks.”
This year’s ‘70s-themed festival takes place from noon-4 p.m. on Sept. 22 but offers early access and exclusive opportunities to guests through its VIP experience.
For the price of a $149 general admission ticket, guests enjoy:
- Event admission and a souvenir wine glass
- ‘70s-themed entertainment, food items and drinks
- Unique food sampling from Kalahari’s signature restaurants
- Beverage tastings from 50-plus beer, wine and spirit vendors
- Interactive cooking demonstrations with Kalahari chefs
- Resort-wide entertainment and live music
- A silent auction by the Nelson Family Life Foundation
- Raffles, giveaways and Instagram-worthy photo opportunities
“[The VIP experience] is a really cool chance to rub elbows with some of those fun people you don't always get to see and meet,” Wise said. “It’s a much, much less crowded and a lot more intimate experience.”
Supporting thriving communities
The Food & (Not Just) Wine Festival provides much more than beverage and food samplings—it’s also a platform for artisans from both established and emerging brands to showcase their products to guests in-person. While the festival showcases larger brands like Patron, Bacardi, Jack Daniels, Red Bull, it makes a point of elevating the visibility of smaller businesses.
“For us, it’s about getting the community surrounding the smaller vendors,” Wise said. “We have these [smaller brands] growing their businesses locally that can get exposure they might not get otherwise.”
Emerging local vendors participate in the event to share their unique products with the thousands of festival attendees. The energy and enthusiasm from participating vendors amplifies the light-hearted and upscale atmosphere that returning guests have grown to love.
“We are excited to be one of the local Round Rock breweries participating in the event, and we're going to be showcasing our fall seasonal beers,” said David Hulama, cofounder of the Bluebonnet Beer Company and a longtime, award-winning homebrewer. “[The festival] gives us a chance to get to know [customers]. Even though they might only live a mile or two away from the brewery, it doesn't mean they've necessarily heard of us because we are a very small mom-and-pop shop.”
Kalahari Resorts & Conventions strives to create a lasting impact that goes far beyond its African-themed resorts and plays a major supportive role locally and globally. Through its $50 million commitment to the Water Colors Life Project, it seeks to provide clean water to 1 million people in Africa who currently do not have access. The company is also highly involved in multiple Austin-area communities.
Kalahari looks forward to this year’s festival as an opportunity to strengthen this community. Tickets are available now on the Kalahari Resort website and selling fast, and Wise encourages everyone to secure their spots early. Accommodations are also available to guests who are traveling to the festival or would like to stay overnight.
To purchase tickets and learn more about the Food & (Not Just) Wine Festival, visit the Kalahari website today.
The above story was produced by Community Impact's Multi Platform Journalist team with information solely provided by the local business as part of its "sponsored content" purchase through our advertising team.
