A PLEASANT REPAST

Downtown Melbourne Food & Wine Festival tickets almost gone

Jarin Eisenberg, executive director of the Melbourne Mainstreet Association, is getting ready for the second annual Downtown Melbourne Food & Wine Festival.

With 50 restaurants, 120 wines and 20 breweries on the menu, there's no doubt the second annual Downtown Melbourne Food & Wine Festival will be a hot ticket Nov. 18.

It's also about to become a rare ticket; as of this week, only about 100 of the $75 all-inclusive wristbands remain out of the 1,500 available.

Jarin Eisenberg, executive director for the Melbourne Main Street Association, barely got the streets cleared from last year's event before she started the business of planning this one.

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"It will have everything you loved about last year," she said, including short lines at food and drink booths and a street party atmosphere.

Plus, this year, Eisenberg has been working to up the Wow Factor, adding street performers, more music, an LED artist, a DJ and an elaborate entryway. 

"We have a lot of new restaurants," she said. "It feels like we get to welcome new people to the family."

The purpose of the event is to raise money for improvements to downtown Melbourne. Last year's festival funded a lighting project that will be unveiled in the next few weeks.

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It's more than just a fundraiser, though. Eisenberg sees is as an opportunity to show off Melbourne — and all of Brevard — as a culinary destination.

The list of participants represents most of the county and includes everything from barbecue joints and sit-outside seafood spots (Cryderman's Barbecue in Cocoa Village Melbourne Seafood Station) to upscale fine-dining establishments (Trend Kitchen in Indian Harbour Beach and the Chef's Table in Suntree).

Eisenberg hopes to grow the festival in the coming years. Paid attendance has increased by 400 tickets, from 1,100 last year. Eight more restaurants are participating, and all the restaurants have been asked to increase the amount of food they're preparing.

Downtown will take on an elegant feel for the night. The footprint of the festival will stretch along New Haven Avenue from the rail road tracks to Mainstreet Pub. Quaint white picket fencing will replace police-issue barriers, and Melbourne BMW, a major festival sponsor, will display cars along the way.

"Plus, downtown's open for business," Eisenberg said. Tickets are required to sample food and wine, but anyone can enjoy the entertainment and the festival atmosphere. Cash bars will be set up for non-ticket holders who want to purchase drinks.

Last year's festival got rave reviews on Facebook, though some guests expressed concern that people who hadn't purchased event wristbands were allowed to sample the food. Eisenberg said a security firm has been hired this year to make sure only ticketed guests are served.

The second annual Downtown Melbourne Food & Wine Festival will be from 5-9:30 p.m. Nov. 18. Tickets, while they last, are $75, and include unlimited food and beverage tasting. More information is available at foodandwine.downtownmelbourne.com.

Email Leonard at sleonard@floridatoday.com. 

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