30th Ojai Wine Festival Combines Beer and Wine for International Humanitarian Projects

For 30 years, the Ojai Wine Festival has served as the primary non-profit fundraising effort of the Rotary Club of Ojai-West and its numerous philanthropic endeavors that serve to enhance lives both locally and internationally.  This year, the 30th Annual Ojai Wine Festival will be taking place Sunday, June 12, from noon-4 p.m. on the shores of picturesque Lake Casitas. 

This year’s festival has been expanded to include an exceptional collection of wineries with an extensive VIP tasting experience, a unique silent auction, a beer garden with over 30 craft beers, a selection of local restaurants selling culinary delights, arts and crafts vendors, musical entertainment, a lakeside dance floor and free boat rides on the Rotary “Floating Classroom” Boat.

Although the Ojai Wine Festival has a broad line-up of wineries, there has never been a more exciting time for beer lovers to attend the event.   Joining the beer experience this year are national brew houses Founders Brewing Company from Grand Rapids, MI, 10 Barrel Brewing from Bend, OR, and Elysian Brewing Company from Seattle, WA.  Golden Road Brewing from Los Angeles joins the team of regional selections, which also includes local favorites Firestone Walker and Tap It Brewing from San Luis Obispo.  Selections from Ninkasi, Goose Island, Stella, Hoegaarden, and Leffe will also be poured at the festival.     

Proceeds from the signature Southern California fine wine and craft beer event directly support the international and local charitable efforts of the Rotary Club of Ojai-West.  In addition to its now 30-year commitment to the global eradication of Polio, the club is working to design and build rain catchment panels and water storage tanks to improve accessibility to clean water in some of the most underserved areas of Guatemala.  In Nicaragua, efforts are centered around the prevention of ocular and respiratory problems caused by smoke inhalation through the installation of new stoves and adequate venting systems in homes. 

“Being healthy is something that most Americans take for granted. I take pride in knowing the Ojai Wine Festival is giving the gift of health to others who need relief,” says Angela May, Executive Director of Ojai Wine Festival. “Knowing the Ojai Wine Festival spreads compassion, love, hope and health to those in need is satisfying.  By purchasing a ticket to the event, people can take part in improving someone’s life; providing them with a better future by giving them something as simple as clean water, a clean burning stove, or a vaccination to protect them from a deadly disease.”  100 percent of the proceeds from the festival go back to these vital international and local projects supported by the Rotary Club of Ojai-West Foundation. 

The financial resources generated by the Ojai Wine Festival not only allow local Rotarians to develop and implement humanitarian projects all over the world, but also provide the funds necessary for local education and arts efforts such as the Rotary Floating Classroom which provides free field trips for Ojai youth, and Ojai’s historic and beloved free summer band concerts in Libbey Park.   

For additional information on the Ojai Wine Festival and the impactful causes it supports, or to purchase tickets, please visit www.Ojaiwinefestival.com.