Ahead of its 2020 season, the WinterWonderGrass Music & Brew Festival has detailed its annual “Caravan to WonderGrass” campaign taking place this October. The series will kick off at this year’s Great American Beer Festival in Denver, CO on October 3rd, stopping in Tahoe City and Truckee, CA over three days before the culminating event happens on October 26th in Manchester, VT.
Caravan to WonderGrass aims to curate intimate, pop-up events in the festival’s host states—Colorado, California and Vermont—to produce gatherings that celebrate the release of the annual festival lineups while also offering an opportunity to connect more deeply with the local community. As the announcement press release notes, “A ‘caravan,’ after all, is defined as, ‘a group of people, especially traders or pilgrims, traveling together,’ and with three national locations to its name, WinterWonderGrass, and the events leading up to it, embody just that.”
“The journey is often the greatest part of the adventure–the anticipation, the allure of reconnection, the enthusiasm and camaraderie,” WinterWonderGrass founder, Scotty Stoughton, shares about the Caravan concept in the announcement. He elaborates, “We absolutely love the communities where WinterWonderGrass has found a home over the years, and we enjoy spending more time connecting with the culture of each of these unique villages. Part of our mission during the Caravan events is to highlight the incredible local food, talent, farms, train depots and lakeside porches inherent in each community, and use them to welcome the next iteration of WinterWonderGrass each year.”
WinterWonderGrass kicks off its annual Caravan to WonderGrass series during this year’s Great American Beer Festival in Denver, CO over October 3rd–5th in front of 60,000 people. Great American Beer Festival attendees can experience four days of music across each session with performances by Vince Herman and Andy Thorn (Leftover Salmon) featuring Silas Herman on October 3rd; a special WinterWonderWomen showcase on October 4th featuring Bridget Law (Elephant Revival), Shelby Means, Courtney Hartman and Bonnie Sims. To close the Colorado edition, WinterWonderGrass will host two sessions on October 5th, with Meadow Mountain performing the early session and Telluride Bluegrass winners, Wood Belly, playing the evening session. All showcases will take place at the WinterWonderGrass Presents the Ikon Pass® Stage.
Additionally, Caravan to WonderGrass will host dual shows at Cervantes Masterpiece Ballroom and Cervantes Otherside in Denver, CO on October 3rd with a lineup including The Bluegrass Generals featuring Andy Hall and Chris Pandolfi (The Infamous Stringdusters), Drew Emmitt (Leftover Salmon), Andrew Altman (Railroad Earth) and Adam Aijla (Yonder Mountain String Band) plus another WinterWonderWomen showcase, this time featuring Bridget Law (Elephant Revival), Megan Letts, Shelby Means, Courtney Hartman and Bonnie Sims, with additional performances from Pickin on the Dead, Meadow Mountain and Banshee Tree.
By October 11th, the Caravan makes its way up to Steamboat, CO, with showcases happening at The Depot Art Center in downtown Steamboat from 5:00 – 9:00 pm, presented by WonderGrass & Steamboat Creates. Music will be provided by a collective of local and regional acts, billed as The WinterWonderGrass All-Stars. This event is free and open to all ages, with food truck offerings from Skull Creek Greek onsite, and chances to win exclusive festival merchandise and tickets to the 2020 Steamboat, CO event.
The California Caravan encompasses three events, taking place over October 17th, 18th and 19th. On October 17th, WonderGrass & The Tahoe Food Hub present The Supper Club at the Tahoe Food Hub in Truckee, CA, with food prepared by Chef Wyatt Dufresne, formerly of PlumpJack Squaw. Attendees can expect a seasonal 4-course menu sourced locally and prepared collaboratively between the chef, and the farmers and ranchers who cultivated the ingredients. Tickets are $110 and admission includes food, conversation, music and a chance to bond with fellow members of the WinterWonderGrass community.
Over October 18th and 19th, WonderGrass Presents two pop-up performances from Midnight North, taking place at Moe’s BBQ in Tahoe City, CA on the 18th, and Alibi Brewing in Truckee, CA on the 19th. Both shows will last from 9:00 pm – 12:00 am and are free and open to all ages. During both performances, there are chances to win tickets to the festival and exclusive festival merchandise. Attendees are encouraged to arrive early because From 6:00 – 9:00 pm both nights, tickets to WinterWonderGrass 2020 Festival events are available for sale with no processing fees.
The Caravan to WonderGrass culminates on October 26th at Earth Sky Time in Manchester, VT from 5:00 – 10:00 pm. For this Halloween-themed Caravan event, music performances will be provided by Andy Falco (The Infamous Stringdusters), Saints and Liars, and Terrible Mountain String Band. Food offerings will be provided by Earth Sky Times Farm. Tickets are $10 and the event is open to all ages. Attendees are eligible to compete in a costume contest, where prizes include tickets to the 2020 Stratton, VT event and exclusive festival merchandise.
A limited quantity of fee-free tickets to WinterWonderGrass festival stops will be available for purchase during all Caravan to WonderGrass events. For tickets and more information on specific Caravan events, head here.
Tickets for all 2020 events WinterWonderGrass events including Steamboat Springs, CO (February 21-23), Squaw Valley, CA (March 27-29) and Stratton, VT (April 10 & 11) will go on sale Thursday, October 3, 2019, at 10:00 am MST. The lineup announcement will take place the same day. For more information about WinterWonderGrass, head here.
