NA Event Watch: Bubbles and Bluegrass on Friday, September 25

"Bubbles and Bluegrass" is a free concert event at the New Albany Riverfront Amphitheater on Friday, September 25. Gates open at 6:00 p.m., with bluegrass jam sessions for everyone (bring your instruments) and a free bluegrass guitar workshop conducted by Chris Brandstatt at 6:30 p.m.

The headline act is Cast Iron Airplane, which includes some of Louisville’s premier bluegrass players. Uppa Creek is rumored to be playing prior to Cast Iron Airplane.

Sonny Fenwick's legendary Bubble Truck will be on site, promising bubbles, root beer, hula hoops, balloons and more bubbles. There will be other bubbly things like beer in the Studios riverfront beer garden, boasting a special appearance by NABC Elector for this occasion. The River City Winery also will be there, and there’ll be food.

The organizers urge visitors and attendees to “eat at the event or stop by one of New Albany's many independent restaurants on the way and make a New Albany night of it.”

“Bubbles and Bluegrass” is sponsored by:

Duke Energy
The Horseshoe Foundation of Floyd County
The City of New Albany
Sarah Ring of Real Living Realty Services.

River City Winery now sampling in downtown New Albany.

Yesterday was the monthly "First Tuesday" mixer, co-hosted by Develop New Albany and the River City Winery. The photo above was taken by Ted Fulmore, and to view more, click here. I was busy dodging paparazzi determined to catch me in the act of drinking something other than beer, which turned out to be a dryish Cabernet/Merlot blend.

The River City Winery is located on Pearl Street, just a block away from the Bank Street Brewhouse. I call that "synergy."

The building renovation is nothing short of amazing, and the winery crew was busy bottling and applying labels downstairs as the event took place at ground level. I gleaned that there will be limited evening hours for wine tastings only beginning immediately, with food to follow later this summer (late July or August).

River City Winery website

River City Winery coming to downtown New Albany.

Regular readers know that we're in the process of building a new production brewery and taproom in downtown New Albany. There'll be more on that project later in the week, primarily because much has been accomplished during the past two days to facilitate our goals, but until I have the time to write about NABC Bank Street Brewhouse, your attention is directed to Pearl Street.

Roughly one hundred yards away from the future brewery lies the forthcoming River City Winery. Gary's task has been larger than NABC's, because in addition to the winemaking and food service start-up costs, he and his wife have taken on the responsibility of restoring an historic building for the winery's use in addition to accommodating tenants upstairs.

Lately I've been drinking more wine. Not less beer, mind you, but opting for glasses of wine here and there rather than a brew. As an illustration of how depth of knowledge in one area does not necessarily imply a corresponding understanding in another, the local/regional winery bug hadn't bitten me until the past year following visits to Huber (Starlight IN) and Thomas Family Winery (Madison IN), the former being a place I'd dismissed years ago after drinking a sweet wine, and the latter known to me primarily for Steve's brilliant hard cider.

I've been mistaken, and I'm looking forward to River City Winery in helping me to learn more about local winemaking. Proximity should benefit us both ... and help improve the prospects for downtown revitalization.