ALLAMUCHY – Imagine sitting on the rolling lawn of Rutherfurd Hall, sipping a delightful glass of award-winning New Jersey wine, and enjoying some of the best local music this side of Key West. Or perhaps your taste is more craft beer. The 8^th annual Grand Harvest Wine and Music Festival Sun., Sept.27 offers it all.

Tickets are now on sale for this popular and elegant festival to be held from noon to 6 p.m. to benefit NORWESCAP, The Arc of Warren County, and WNTI Radio 91.9

This day-long event features music by renowned local musicians that include Electric Gumbo, Steve Kirchuk Trio, Michael Long, Grace Jensen, The Royal Dumonts, Brian Kathenes, and B.D. Lenz. Upscale food trucks, quality food and craft vendors, and Rutherfurd Hall tours will be offered.

A number of award-winning New Jersey vineyards and wineries will also be on hand to offer tastings, including Brook Hollow Winery, Villa Milagro Winery and Vineyard, Cava Winery, and Ventimiglia Winery and Vineyard, with bottled wine available for purchase. Free tastings and etched wine glass are included with the ticket price.

According to Jon Male, senior vice president for PNC Bank and event founder, the event has been designed to offer a rich, family-oriented afternoon in the countryside as it raises both public awareness and much-needed funds for NORWESCAP and The Arc of Warren County, as well as WNTI Radio, the public radio station from Centenary College that has a long history of promoting nonprofit organizations throughout Northern New Jersey.

“We are very excited that, in its 8th year, the Grand Harvest Wine & Music Festival has grown to accommodate a larger crowd and attracted many more sponsors and vendors,” he said. “It’s a wonderful opportunity for the entire family to enjoy great music and food, and we’ve kept the ticket price affordable so that families won’t feel a pinch after a long summer of activity with the kids.

“It’s also an opportunity for people to enjoy some of New Jersey’s most beautiful wineries in a historic and beautiful setting such as Rutherfurd Hall.”

The Grand Harvest Wine & Music Festival offers a variety of sponsorship packages that give sponsors a high level of visibility to the 400-plus guests expected that day. Free parking is available on the grounds of Rutherfurd Hall, and a free, fully-accessible bus shuttle will run a continuous loop from nearby Panther Valley Mall on Rt.517.

Morning personality Mel Thiel of WNTI Public Radio from Centenary College will serve as emcee during the festival, and the WNTI Street Team will assist with parking and ticket sales.

Tickets are available at a number of locations through Sept.20 at $20 per person and $25 thereafter and at the gate, and guests under the age of 21 are admitted free of charge. No pets or outside alcohol and other refreshments are permitted, but festival-goers are welcome to bring picnic baskets and lawn chairs.

A special table sponsorship is available for reserved VIP seating under the tent. Sponsors may reserve a table outright or sponsor a favorite musician.

NORWESCAP is a nonprofit community action agency established in 1965 that creates opportunities for more than 30,000 low-income people in northwest New Jersey by providing a large portfolio of self-sufficiency and emergency services. The Arc, Warren County Chapter was founded in 1954 and provides support and service to more than 1,100 county-area residents whose lives have been touched by intellectual and related developmental disabilities.

For tickets and sponsor information, please visit www.grandharvestwinefestival.com.