More than 20 local food purveyors will be present when the 2017 edition of the Red Bank International Beer, Wine and Food Fest commandeers the White Street municipal parking lot this Sunday. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
While the recent cancellation of Riverfest has left a hole in Red Bank’s yearly segue into summer, fans of strolling smorgasbords and top-down tunes needn’t wait too long to get their festival fix — as this Sunday, the White Street municipal parking lot will be the scene for the 2017 edition of the Red Bank International Beer, Wine and Food Fest.
Rainbows over our beautiful Navesink River prior to Saturday night’s rain. The outlook for Sunday, and the Red Bank International Flavour Festival on White Street, is sunny with temperatures in the low 60s. (Reader photo. Click to enlarge)
Sunday’s International Flavour Fest wine list looks pretty good to PieHole – and nothing goes better with wine or beer than sunshine and blue skies. So here’s hoping the National Weather Service has it right with their forecast for Sunday’s fine eating and drinking weather. (Click to enlarge)
Start that five-day kale cupcake and PBR detox cleanse today to get your body in shape for Sunday’s International Flavour Festival in Red Bank’s White Street parking lot. This marks the third year for this event featuring wine, beer, music and eats from 25 of Red Bank’s restaurants. Rain date: May 4. (Click to enlarge)
The weather forecast isn’t great. But if the rain holds off, as it did on Saturday, day one of Sippin on the River in Red Bank’s Marine Park, day two could be another crowd-pleaser.
The food-and-drink festival, spotlighting Red Bank restaurants, runs from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Admission is $5.
Here’s Sunday’s lineup of musical acts. Start times are from the bands’ sites:
A weekend’s serving of cheek-bulging chow and hip-shaking music take up residence in Red Bank’s Marine Park this weekend. (Photos by Dustin Racioppi. Click to enlarge.)
By TOM CHESEK
It was the subject of a behind-the-scenes brouhaha that rivaled the most spirited Battle of the Bands: a “take back the weekend” campaign that pitted some of the mainstays of the Red Bank business community against an established event that many locals believed had both outgrown and turned its back on its host community.
When the calendar flipped to the first weekend in June, 2011, however, the consensus was that Riverfest was a refreshing breath of sweet summertime air off the Navesink a successful revival of a seasonal signature that Lynda Rose, president of the Eastern Monmouth Area Chamber of Commerce, calls “a perfect fit for the town, the businesses and anyone who enjoys being in Red Bank.”
Beginning Friday and continuing into Sunday evening, Riverfest returns to the sloping lawns and waterfront walkways of Marine Park with a three-day, rain-or-shine, strolling smorgasbord of culinary creations, “local organic” music and family-friendly activities.
Billed as “New Jersey’s Largest Food and Music Festival with Free Admission,” it’s both a throwback to an earlier small-town vision of Red Bank, and a summer-season keynote to a new chapter in the borough’s ever-evolving history.
The most recent Red Bank International Beer, Wine and Food Fest, held in April, raised $15,000 for two charities: borough-based Parker Family Health Center and Shrewsbury-based Holiday Express. Jim Scavone, executive director of event host Red Bank RiverCenter, presented checks of $7,500 to each organization at Wednesday’s borough council meeting. 
