The Eight Annual
Forks & Corks Food & Wine Festival
Tickets for The Grand Tasting
Sell Out in Two Minutes!
The Sarasota-Manatee Originals sold 1,200 tickets in the first two minutes of its online sale on November 10.
This four-day culinary celebration, January 23-26, 2015, brings together celebrated regional chefs, world-renowned vintners and brewmasters, and industry insiders.
(Sarasota, Florida) Tickets for The Grand Tasting, the anchor event of the 2015 Forks & Corks Food & Wine Festival, sold out in record time during the online sale on November 10. According to Kate Atkin, executive director of the presenting organization, The Sarasota-Manatee Originals (SMO), all 1,500 tickets sold out within the first two minutes of the sale. Guests were able to purchase up to six general admission tickets or up to four VIP tickets.
“We’re thrilled!” says Atkin. “We were prepared for a quick sell-out so we worked diligently prior to the event to educate people how to best get their tickets when the sale began.”
Atkin adds that she empathizes with those people who were not able to get tickets.
“We’re sorry that some people will be disappointed but we want to remind everyone that there are many other events happening during the festival,” she says. “The winemaker events at area restaurants and wine boutiques are truly inspired. And our interactive wine seminars, led by celebrated wine experts from around the world, are very popular. There will also be several retail tasting events over the weekend that people can attend and meet visiting winemakers.” Atkin notes that details for all of these events will be available on the festival website (www.dineoriginal.com/forksandcorks) by December 1.
According to Atkin, the online ticketing system “operated flawlessly” during the two-minute assault. “We analyzed that 49 percent of the people who came to the site for the sale were new visitors,” she says. “We also observed that visitors came from 81 cities and towns throughout Florida.”
Atkin says that The Originals appreciate “the fans of this amazing event and their continued support and patronage of our locally owned restaurants. This demand is what defines us as southwest Florida’s premier food and wine festival.”
Forks & Corks Food & Wine Festival, a four-day culinary festival presented by The Sarasota-Manatee Originals, unites food, wine and beer enthusiasts with preeminent regional chefs and celebrated vintners from around the world. The festival, January 23-26, 2015, features various winemaker events at area restaurants and retail shops (January 23, 24); interactive wine seminars (January 24); The Grand Tasting in The Ringling Museum’s courtyard (January 25); and a trade event for area restaurants, retailers and hoteliers (January 26).
For more information about the eighth annual Forks & Corks Food & Wine Festival, visit www.dineoriginal.com/forksandcorks, or call 941-365-2800. For more information about The Sarasota-Manatee Originals, visit www.dineoriginal.com.
About the Sarasota-Manatee Originals
The Sarasota-Manatee Originals is a not-for-profit trade organization founded in 2003. Together, more than 50 locally-owned, independent restaurants throughout Sarasota and Manatee counties work collaboratively to celebrate and promote the creative cuisine of the region, from unique quick service eateries and waterfront family restaurants to award-winning fine dining establishments. Passionate member restaurateurs work together to produce community events, optimize cooperative marketing efforts and develop synergistic partnerships among members as they focus on preserving the culinary heritage of the region. With more Florida Trend and Zagat top-scoring restaurants within a 20-mile radius of downtown Sarasota than any other area in the Florida, the Sarasota-Manatee Originals is dedicated to sharing the area’s vibrant culinary scene with the world. For more information, call 941-365-2800 or visit www.dineoriginal.com.
