There are many wonderful perquisites of being a member of the International Wine & Food Society, but one of the best is the ability to participate in large gatherings of like-minded people for the celebration of wine, food and friends, over a period of days, in a lovely location. The IW&FS sponsors an international festival once every three years, somewhere around the world (most recently, Cape Town, South Africa in 2009), and the Europe/Africa & Asia/Pacific regions hold their own programs for members in their home regions. (When possible, most all of these regional events may be opened to members from outside the sponsoring region.) The Board of Governors of the Americas (BGA), the administrative body which oversees the 80+ branches and 4200+ members in the Americas region, sponsors its own series of festivals and events, primarily developed for its own members.

Recently, early in 2010, members cruised the Caribbean over a 7-day period, experiencing a festival on the water. A shorter weekend event was held in April of 2010 in and around New York City, when members were invited to a 3-day event that included two special dinners in the City and a visit to the Culinary Institute of America along the Hudson River in Hyde Park. A shorter Caribbean cruise was also offered to members in 2009. In the spring of 2007, a 5-day festival was held in Santa Barbara, California, with 133 attendees enjoying the wines, foods and history of the Santa Rita Hills, Santa Ynez & Santa Maria Valley AVAs.

The concept of an IW&FS "festival", formerly called "convention" until the mid-1980s, was to celebrate all that is special at one destination. Certainly, the best of wine and food is offered, with top winemakers and chefs demonstrating their oenological and culinary skills. But, typically, it's more. Attendees learn what fresh foods flourish in the locale, what game and fish are most readily available, what different cooking styles are endemic to that location, how the history of the area had had an impact on the lifestyle of the inhabitants. Festivals are special in this way. They hook us up with new friends who also enjoy the many benefits of true dining, but they also hook us in to what the festival destination is all about.

Coming up, at this writing in September of 2010, is a regional festival in Sydney, Australia in October 2010, a long weekend in Liverpool, England in June 2011, and a Mediterranean cruise in August 2011. The BGA also is contemplating other special shorter events in different parts of the Americas region. The next international festival, about which more is available to members only on a nearby tab, will be held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada in the fall of 2012 and will be open to our worldwide membership. The BGA hopes you will find the opportunity to join us at one of our various festivals and events sometime soon.

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