Door County’s sole outdoor “foodie” festival is celebrating its sixth anniversary this year with unique new food vendors and the “soft launch” of an associated low-key cheese festival. Scheduled for Saturday, June 22, Uncork Summer will once again take place on the beautiful grounds of Wickman House in Ellison Bay.
There is a minimal $10 admission fee per person to attend Uncork Summer. Inexpensive tickets for food, wine, beer and cocktails are available on-site for just $5 each, the event’s uniform price for individual small plate dishes and drinks, whether wines, ciders, beer or cocktails.
Located outdoors on the beautiful grounds of Wickman House (wickmanhouse.com), this year’s event features 20 food vendor and sponsor booths, plus wines, local ciders, craft beers and unique handcrafted cocktails in the Wickman House bar tent. Jazz vocalist Erin Krebs and her combo will perform on the Uncork Music Stage throughout the day.
This year’s edition of the festival includes the launch of the Door County Cheese Festival, featuring Wisconsin cheesemakers as both food vendors and participants in the event’s Marketplace tent. The Northern Sky Theater musical “Dairy Heirs” is the new Cheese Festival’s marketing partner.
Uncork Summer debuted in 2014 as a means to showcase the county’s top chefs and food producers in a single outdoor setting and to signify the start of the Door County summer tourism season. The event immediately reached a broad audience of foodies and has grown each subsequent year.
Mickie Rasch, Community Coordinator for the Door County North business association, said Uncork Summer has fulfilled its allied, twin missions every year since its debut. “Uncork started right at the beginning of the Peninsula’s dining renaissance,” said Rasch, “so our event has been part of the awareness and recognition that started growing for new restaurants and chefs who went on to be successful. This year is no different and Uncork Summer attendees will be able to sample the dishes of a broad swath of new food businesses with a unique vision for the food they serve.”
Rasch noted that the event was also created to increase visitor awareness for the Town of Liberty Grove, the far northern Door County region. “Every year,” Rasch continued, “Uncork Summer brings thousands of visitors to Ellison Bay, many of whom have never been to the Peninsula or enjoyed its northern area. There’s a lot here, not only in excellent food, but also in natural beauty and silent sports. We’re rich in visual artists, especially potters, but also other types of artists and fine arts craftspeople.”
Expansive free parking for Uncork Summer is located at the Liberty Grove Historical Society property at the top of the Ellison Bay hill at the south end of the village. Free trolleys will ferry visitors from the parking areas to the Wickman House grounds from 10:30 am – 4:30 pm.
Uncork Summer, Door County Food Wine Music Festival. Located at Wickman House, 11976 Mink River Road, Ellison Bay, Wisconsin. Date: June 22, 2019. Food Hours: 11 am–2 pm, Drinks/Music Hours: 11 am – 4 pm. For more info: 920.854.4450, or visit www.uncorksummer.com for an updated list of participating restaurants and other information.