2019 Greenwich Wine + Food Festival Presented By PepsiCo

The 2019 Greenwich Wine + Food Festival Presented by PepsiCo is proud to announce GRAMMY Award-winning band Little Big Town as this year's musical headliner. The ninth annual charitable event, which has donated nearly $1 million to various causes since it began, commences Friday, September 20th with the Master Chef Wine Gala emceed by Gary Dell'Abate (Executive Producer of The Howard Stern Show "Baba Booey") and Rob Burnett (Five-time Emmy Award-Winning Writer-Director). The experience then unfolds on Saturday, September 21st into a full day of eating, drinking, chef demos, book signings and more, with the weekend closing out with an exciting performance by Little Big Town. Their latest album debuted #1 on the Billboard Country Albums chart and Top 5 on the Billboard 200 All Genre chart. In the past 7 years they have won over 20 awards, including GRAMMY, CMA, ACM, People's Choice Awards and also an Emmy. The opening band will be announced on June 12th.

The Greenwich Wine + Food Festival, located in Roger Sherman Baldwin Park in Greenwich, CT, offers ticket holders a unique, up close encounter with nationally-recognized and regional stars of food, wine, spirits and entertainment. From food trucks to fine dining, attendees gain access to some of their favorite food stars while also discovering new regional favorites.

The first round of chef talent includes: Emmy Award-winner Valerie Bertinelli (Food Network's Valerie's Home Cooking), Geoffrey Zakarian (Chef/Partner The Lambs Club at The Chatwal and Point Royal at The Diplomat Beach Resort, Co-Host of Food Network's The Kitchen and Judge on Chopped), Margaret Zakarian (President of Zakarian Hospitality), Marc Murphy (Food Network's Chopped), David Burtka (Life is a Party cookbook), Jessica Tom (Food Network Star season 14 winner), David Rose (Food Network Star season 13 finalist) and caterer to the stars Mary Giuliani (Mary Giuliani Catering & Events). More will be announced in the coming weeks.

After the intimate Friday night Master Chef Wine Gala showcasing the culinary and music scene of New Orleans, including performances from GRAMMY Award-winning Rebirth Brass Band and Kermit Ruffins & The Barbecue Swingers, Saturday features the Culinary Village. This will be home to the Grand Tasting tent, where guests can enjoy tastings and demonstrations from more than 150 of the area's finest food, wine and spirits experts. Other tents in the Culinary Village will feature the best in burgers, BBQ, tacos and more. Guests will also experience sommelier, mixologist and brew master presentations, celebrity book signings, cooking demos with Special Guest Chefs, a celebrity green room with live interviews and an exclusive Meet the Masters panel discussion.

The 8th Annual Burger Battle will return with David Burtka as this year's host, as will the 5th Annual Top Bartender Showdown, providing friendly competitions between area restaurants. Additional events include The Tailgate Party and South of the Border Fiesta. The Festival Ambassador Chefs will also prepare an exceptional dinner for VIP ticket holders on Saturday at the water's edge.

This major undertaking is the vision of Suni Unger, founder and CEO of Unger Media, the parent company behind Greenwich Wine + Food and Serendipity magazine.

Unger comments, "I'm excited to be working with so many amazing chefs-many returning, but some great new ones this year-as well as welcoming the Grammy award-winning band Little Big Town," says Unger. "I'm also honored to be raising money for so many great charitable organizations including Food Rescue US, which is at the heart of our festival."

Tickets for the event are available via www.greenwichwineandfood.com or by calling 203.588.1363. Ticket options include the All Weekend Pass ($700), Friday's Opening Night Master Chef Wine Gala ($275), Saturday All Day Pass ($200) and Saturday VIP Pass ($500). To get on the waitlist for On-Stage and Lawn Dinner Tables, please call 203-588-1363. The festival will benefit Food Rescue US, a national non-profit organization committed to reducing both hunger and food waste across the country.

The Festival weekend will be held rain or shine, and anyone under 21, including infants or strollers, will not be admitted. Pets are also not permitted.

ABOUT THE GREENWICH WINE + FOOD FESTIVAL

The Greenwich Wine + Food Festival presented by PepsiCo is a multi-day event celebrating the area's rich culinary landscape and showcasing innovation in the food and beverage industries. Previous participants include chefs such as: Daniel Boulud, Scott Conant, Mary Giuliani, Alex Guarnaschelli, Marc Murphy, Adam Richman, Marcus Samuelson and Ted Allen as well as musical artists such as Tim McGRaw, Train and Ziggy Marley. This year's festival will benefit Food Rescue US; previous beneficiaries include Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation, the Town of Greenwich Parks & Recreation Foundation, and Ment'or. Sponsors to date include Pepsico, LifeWTR, Pure Leaf, Bubly, Jeep, Compass, Monogram, Westy Self Storage, Yale New Haven Health Greenwich Hospital, NuKitchen, Rudy's Limousine Service Inc., Barbara Zaccagnini, Whistle Pig Whiskey., 90+ Cellars, and Delamar.* The Festival was created by Suni Unger, founder and CEO of Unger Media, the parent company behind Greenwich Wine + Food and Serendipity magazine. For more information, visit www.greenwichwineandfood.com.

(*As of 5/15/19)

ABOUT FOOD RESCUE US

Food Rescue US, a non-profit organization, is a leader in reducing both hunger and food waste in America. Through the use of its proprietary mobile app, Food Rescue US easily connects its team of volunteers with companies that have excess food and organizations feeding the food insecure. Founded in Fairfield County in 2011 and still operating as its largest location, it has now expanded nationally to 12 states and the District of Columbia where its volunteer food rescuers quickly deliver the food from its donors to the receiving organizations. In 2018, Food Rescue US completed more than 25,000 rescues equaling over 6.8 million meals delivered.

Americans waste 40% of its food supply ending up in landfills which creates methane gas and warms the planet. At the same time, there are more than 40 million individuals, including 12 million children, who are food insecure in America. Food Rescue US transforms a negative, food waste, into a positive, by delivering fresh, healthy food to millions of people who are food insecure through a community of dedicated volunteers.

For more information, visit foodrescue.us and download the mobile app.

ABOUT LITTLE BIG TOWN

GRAMMY, ACM, CMA, and AMA Award-winning group, Little Big Town -- consisting of members Karen Fairchild, Phillip Sweet, Kimberly Schlapman, and Jimi Westbrook -- first entered the music scene over 20 years ago with hit songs "Boondocks," "Bring It On Home," "Good As Gone" and the GRAMMY-nominated "Little White Church." Their breakthrough albums Tornado and Pain Killer produced multiple #1 singles, including "Pontoon," "Tornado," and "Day Drinking," as well as the history-making, best-selling country single of the year (2015) "Girl Crush." Little Big Town's last studio album, The Breaker, debuted #1 on the Billboard Country Charts and Top 10 (No.4) on the Billboard 200 to critical acclaim, marking the group's fourth Top 10 debut on the Billboard 200 chart. The album features their GRAMMY-winning, multi-week #1 single, "Better Man," as well as the 2019 GRAMMY-nominated, "When Someone Stops Loving You." The band recently released new music from their upcoming ninth studio album, critically-praised "The Daughters" and will continue dropping new music throughout the year.

Little Big Town has earned more than 40 award show nominations and in the past five years has taken home nearly 20 awards, including multiple GRAMMY, AMA, People's Choice, CMA, ACM awards, and an Emmy award. The Country Music Hall of Fame inductees (2014) went onto receive their star on the Nashville Walk of Fame in 2017. This past July, The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville launched their new, yearlong exhibit called LITTLE BIG TOWN: THE POWER OF FOUR showcasing the bands powerful and storied 20-year history within the country music community. The band recently launched 4 Cellars wine, their first non-musical project as a band, with Browne Family Vineyards. The collaboration features exclusive wine blended by the foursome and recently released canned wine spritzers called "Day Drinking."

For more information on Little Big Town visit LittleBigTown.com or follow them @littlebigtown.

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Photo: Courtesy of GWF

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