The Main Street Portsmouth Wine and Dine event was a huge success this weekend. The Wine and Dine featured three food stops and three wine stops. For the small fee of $25, nearly 100 people purchased tickets to the event.

Just before 2 p.m., Port City Pub was packed to the brim, with some gathered on the patio out front. As maps were handed out, wine and diners went about their ways. There was no designated route for the stops, so patrons of the event could choose any order of stops they pleased. Port City served as not only the starting point, but the first food stop.

One of the first wine stops for many was Trendz Within, conveniently located next door to Port City. Further north on Chillicothe Street lies Have to Have it All, another stop on the map for wine lovers. Earth Candy Farmacy was also providing sanctuary as a wine stop. It was complemented nicely with the Farmacy’s Localpalooza, a festival of local vendors, food trucks, and more. The food stops were all big hits also, consisting of Port City, Maestros, and the Scioto Ribber.

The fair autumn weather provided an excellent setting for families, friends, and community members to saunter through local shops and restaurants.

“The Wine and Dine went excellently. We had just under 100 people walking around, eating, enjoying DORA, and shopping. I had people coming back to thank us and saying they will be at our future events, because they had so much fun,” says Joseph Pratt, executive director of Main Street Portsmouth. “We heard my favorite phrase a good bit: ‘I’ve never been here before! I love this shop; I’ll definitely be back.’ You know, we have a lot of small businesses that are owned and operated with love and heart and they depend on our local economy. They aren’t big box stores with a large audience and web presence. These events are great for introducing the public to the restaurants and businesses in our community,” he continued.

Plenty of people were out on the town for countless other events occurring in the area.

“It was exciting to see so many people out for different reasons. We had the Wine and Dine, ACID Art Crawl, and Localpalooza. We had people going to one event and then getting tickets for another, because they were already downtown. It was great synergy,” said Pratt.

Praises were heard all around as visitors of the event mixed and mingled with other community members. A general sense of positivity and fellowship flowed through the cool fall air as locals sipped wine and chatted in the downtown area.

“This is the first time my husband and I have participated in this. It’s been great! There are a lot of different stops, and you get wine and food. There are a lot of people out in the community today. I think it’s really great for the community to come together and go into businesses that they might not have before,” says Taylor Boldman, Wine and Dine attendee. “There are so many opportunities to come out and do things like this, and I’m so glad Main Street Portsmouth is taking the time to put together events that support the community.”

The Wine and Dine will likely return again next autumn, as the event has been a hit within the community

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