The 10th Annual Harvest Wine & Food Festival runs Thursday, October 15 through Sunday, October 18. The ticket page on October 11 told a clear story for anyone in WaterColor. Most of the events that have sold out are held in restaurants and private homes along 30A. The two big events on Cerulean Park, the green at the center of WaterColor Town Center, still had general tickets on sale. If you live a short walk from the park, the easiest part of the festival to get into is the part being set up on your own green.
This is also the first Harvest since the group behind it changed its name. In September, the Destin Charity Wine Auction Foundation became the Northwest Florida Children's Foundation. The festival keeps its name, and its proceeds go to the foundation's nonprofit partners.
Four days, one ticket page
Here is the full schedule from the official festival schedule, with each event's status as of October 11. Prices come from the festival's ticket page and already include fees.
| Day | Event | Where | Price with fees | Status on Oct. 11 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thu., Oct. 15, 6–9 p.m. | Pahlmeyer wine dinner | Pandora's Steakhouse | $239.57 | Sold out |
| Thu., Oct. 15 | Lerner Project wine dinner | Mimmo's on 30A | $239.57 | On sale |
| Thu., Oct. 15 | Bordeaux wine dinner | The Wine Bar, WaterColor | $186.68 | On sale |
| Thu., Oct. 15 | Alpha Omega wine dinner | Indaco Alys Beach | $239.57 | Sold out |
| Thu., Oct. 15 | Innumero wine dinner | Surfing Deer | $239.57 | Sold out |
| Thu., Oct. 15 | Sign of the Dove wine dinner | 140 Flatwood Street, WaterColor | $345.36 | Sold out |
| Fri., Oct. 16, 4–6 p.m. | Arborum, Alpha Omega & JCB tasting | 30A Wine Storage | $107.33 | On sale |
| Fri., Oct. 16, 7–10 p.m. | Harvest After Dark | Cerulean Park | $266.01 | On sale |
| Sat., Oct. 17, 1–4 p.m. | Grand Tasting, general admission | Cerulean Park | $207.83 | On sale |
| Sat., Oct. 17, 1–4 p.m. | Grand Tasting, VIP | Cerulean Park | $398.26 | Waitlist |
| Sun., Oct. 18, 11 a.m.–1 p.m. | Jazz Cocktail Brunch | 140 Flatwood Street, WaterColor | $239.57 | Waitlist only |
Four of the six Thursday dinners are gone. The two still open are the least expensive dinner on the list, the Bordeaux dinner at The Wine Bar in WaterColor Town Center, and the Lerner Project dinner at Mimmo's on 30A. Sunday's brunch is at the same private home on Flatwood Street as the sold-out Sign of the Dove dinner, and it is now waitlist only. Ticket counts change by the hour this close to the festival, so these statuses are only a snapshot from October 11.
The two nights on the green
Cerulean Park hosts both events that set the weekend's pace, and the festival describes each one differently.
Harvest After Dark runs Friday from 7 to 10 p.m. The schedule describes "a limited crowd," "unlikely pairings," and food from guest chefs from across the Southeast. Its presenting sponsor is 30A Wine Storage, which hosts the 4 to 6 p.m. tasting that afternoon. The schedule calls the building Northwest Florida's first private wine storage facility. For $334.78, the Friday all-access pass covers both events. The tasting and After Dark bought separately come to $373.34, so the pass is the better deal if you plan to go to both.
The Grand Tasting is Saturday from 1 to 4 p.m. It is the largest event of the weekend, with wine stations from around the world alongside seafood, barbecue and other food stations. The VIP tent was on waitlist as of October 11, but general admission was still on sale. A Friday-plus-Saturday general admission bundle costs $433.16.
The festival's headliner list includes chefs Tory McPhail, Dakota Watson, Gregg Smith, Nikhil Abuvala, Tim Creehan and Mimmo La Innusa. Wineries on the list include Pahlmeyer, Vineyard 29, Sinegal Estate, Phifer Pavitt, L'Aventure, Saint Helena and Jax Vineyards. Chef McPhail is also cooking the New Orleans-themed menu for Sunday's brunch.
Eating at home that weekend without a ticket
With tents on Cerulean Park Friday night and Saturday afternoon, Town Center will be busier than a usual mid-October weekend. WaterColor's year-round places still keep their regular schedules, and several of them are worth knowing for that weekend:
- Fish Out of Water at WaterColor Inn keeps fall hours through October 31. It is open Monday through Thursday from 3 to 9 p.m. and Friday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. It doesn't take reservations, so every table is first come, first served. Because it opens at 11 a.m. on Saturday, you can have a sit-down lunch on the Gulf while the Grand Tasting runs a few blocks inland.
- Scratch Biscuit Kitchen in WaterColor Town Center is open daily from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Its breakfast hours finish well before After Dark starts on Friday.
- The Wine Bar at Wine World lists restaurant hours of 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily. It also hosts Thursday's Bordeaux dinner, so check with the restaurant before planning a regular Thursday dinner there.
- WaterColor Beach Club has WaterColor Grill, the walk-up Beach Cow window and the Costa Chica lounge. These are for residents and eligible WaterColor guests, and guests age 5 and older need wristbands.
Gather Kitchen + Bar, just off the WaterColor Inn lobby, serves only Inn guests and Watersound Club Lifestyle members.
Where the festival money goes
When the foundation announced its new name, it also published its 2026 grant list. Sixteen charities received $3.25 million, and the foundation says it has invested more than $42 million over 21 years. This year's grantees include Caring & Sharing of South Walton, Point Washington Medical Clinic, Habitat for Humanity of Walton County, Boys & Girls Clubs of the Emerald Coast and Children in Crisis.
In the announcement, foundation president Karah Fridley-Young said the group works by "encouraging collaboration rather than competition" among its nonprofit partners. Board chairman Tiffany Edwards described the auction as "the means, not the mission." A ticket to the Grand Tasting goes to the same pool of grants as a seat at the auction the foundation is best known for.
After the tents come down
Once the Harvest tents are packed up on Sunday, the rest of WaterColor's fall calendar runs on a steady schedule. The next stretch includes another weekend with two big events at once, this time in WaterColor and Seaside.
- October 24, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Seaside holds its Annual Halloweener Derby and dog costume contest in Central Square. Seaside's August fall guide lists 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., so check the time with Seaside before you go.
- October 31, 4 to 7 p.m. Halloween in Seaside takes place in Central Square.
- November 5 to 8. The Seeing Red Wine Festival takes over Central Square and other venues around Seaside.
- November 6 and 7. The 26th WaterColor Mountainfilm on Tour shows films outdoors at WaterColor Marina Park Amphitheater. Gates open at 5:45 p.m. and films start at 7 p.m. Regular tickets cost $50 per night or $90 for both nights, plus fees, and children 8 and under get in free. Regular pricing lasts through November 5, and the price may go up on the day of the show if tickets remain.
- November 26 to 28. Thanksgiving week brings a Thanksgiving Day buffet and featured plates at Fish Out of Water on November 26. Breakfast with Santa and a "Burn Off the Turkey" route follow on November 27. On November 28, the Old Florida Holiday Winter Market fills Town Center and Cerulean Park.
Both Mountainfilm nights fall inside Seeing Red's four days. That gives WaterColor and Seaside overlapping crowds again three weeks after Harvest. The winter market on November 28 brings Cerulean Park back to the kind of event most people living around it already know.
If a festival weekend in Cerulean Park has you thinking about how WaterColor fits your own calendar, Chip McCraney is glad to talk it through, whether over a glass at the Grand Tasting or later in the season. Let's Connect.
