General admission is $25 and includes one complimentary sampling glass, entertainment and Food Stage demonstrations. Valid for either Friday or Saturday.
Tasting tickets are 50¢ each and are required for sampling beverages and some foods around the festival.
The Cheers for Charity VIP Night is $150 and includes entry on Thursday, 150 tasting tickets (valid the entire weekend), a complimentary sampling glass, entertainment, and Food Stage demonstrations. $50 of every ticket donated to Hospice of Michigan.
*Must be 21 or older to enter the Festival. Valid ID required.
Tickets are available for purchase HERE. Tickets can be purchased at your convenience between now and the festival. All tickets must be purchased online. Tasting tickets are also available to purchase online with admission. Your admission ticket and tasting tickets will be emailed to you after your purchase and the ticket will be scanned at the entrance of the Festival. You will then be handed a wristband loaded with all of your tasting tickets that can be scanned at booths around the event.
*Attendees must be at least 21 years old to enter the Festival
Tasting Tickets are available for $0.50. The Tasting Ticket system allows you to select the level of your tasting. The ticket prices are all based on the cost of the beverage. This system encourages the exhibitors to bring their best and most exclusive labels for you to taste.
We suggest that you start with at least $10 worth (20 tickets) as all drink samples and some food samples are “purchased” with these tickets at various prices. Additional tasting tickets can be purchased at the Festival.
We encourage you to purchase tasting tickets with your admission tickets. If you need more tasting tickets during the event, there are tasting ticket booths available at the event to reload your wristband with additional tasting tickets. Booths are available at the entrance to the Vineyard and one inside Beer City Station. You can also purchase additional tasting tickets at the self-service kiosks.
Thursday, November 21, 2024: Cheers for Charity VIP Night, 6pm – 9pm
Friday, November 22, 2024: 4pm – 9pm
Saturday, November 23, 2024: 2pm – 9pm
There is a set capacity for the Festival, and tickets are sold on a first-come basis. The Festival cannot expand the capacity to accommodate additional guests, but we have not had to turn anyone away to date.
The Festival offers purchase protection on all ticket purchases. Purchase protection costs 10% of the order subtotal, and allows you to be refunded should you be prevented from attending due to a qualifying unforeseen circumstance. If you choose not to purchase the protection, your tickets are non refundable. Those who elect for purchase protection can submit a claim to the website provided in your confirmation email and fill out the form for a full (or partial for Cheers for Charity tickets) refund.
General admission tickets are valid for either Friday or Saturday, so there is no need to switch for another day. Cheers for Charity tickets are only valid for admission on Thursday. Tasting tickets are valid the entire weekend.
If you attended the Festival last year and got a wristband, it will not work for this year. The chip inside the wristband doesn't have a long enough battery life to last from last year to this year so last year's wristbands will not work. This year, everyone will get a wristband automatically when they enter the Festival, so you'll get a brand new one as soon as you arrive.
Indulge in an exclusive evening of culinary delights and exceptional beverages at the Cheers for Charity VIP Night, the prelude to the Grand Rapids International Wine, Beer & Food Festival. This year, we're raising a glass to support Hospice of Michigan, an organization dedicated to providing comfort and peace to their patients and loved ones.
A Cheers for Charity ticket includes entry on Thursday, 150 tasting tickets (valid the entire weekend), a complimentary sampling glass, entertainment, and food and beverage demonstrations. $50 of every ticket donated to Hospice of Michigan.
Must be 21 or older to enter. Valid ID required. Thursday, November 21: 6 pm - 9 pm Buy tickets HERE.
Tickets are valid for one-day admission only. Tasting tickets are valid the entire weekend.
Yes, same day re-entry is allowed with a hand stamp from a Festival staff member.
We have a Festival concierge just inside the entrance. Stop there as you first enter the Festival. They will be happy to give you special tips and pointers for a great experience at the largest Wine, Beer & Food Festival in the Midwest.
You can also click around on our website, or pick up the official Festival program, provided by Grand Rapids Magazine, when you arrive, to view restaurant menus, culinary demonstration schedules, booth locations, the floorplan, and more.
Chefs from the area’s top restaurants prepare and serve small plates of their culinary specialties, which will be found at the Restaurant Booths (see floorplan for locations).
Other tables throughout the Festival offer gourmet food, specialty items, wine accessories, and holiday gifts. Samples of some of these items are available for purchase with Tasting Tickets. Items may also be purchased at the Festival to take home, or orders may be placed for easy delivery.
Pairing Dinners are one-hour gourmet multi-course meals are served on-site in casual yet intimate “bar top” settings. Talented chefs and beverage experts create a harmonious blend of flavors, offering a unique and unforgettable dining experience. Each one-hour seated dinner is limited, allowing for an intimate atmosphere where you can interact with the culinary team and learn about the inspiration behind each dish and drink.
Tickets are $85-$100 each and are available online only, first-served basis. Each Pairing Dinner time is limited to 20 seats. Festival admission tickets sold separately.
Yes, the one-hour seated Pairing Dinners require an additional Pairing ticket. A General Admission ticket is still needed to enter the Festival and enjoy the other festival features before and after your restaurant pairing experience.
Tasting Sessions are hosted by industry representatives and held classroom-style in The Vineyard and Beer City Station, giving attendees an in-depth look into the world of wine, beer, and distilled beverages. Each Tasting Session costs a certain number of of tasting tickets in order to receive the flight of beverage samples offered. Tasting Sessions are filled on a first-come first-served basis with no sign-up required.
On the Meijer Food Stage, esteemed individuals from the culinary world host demonstrations showing you how to cook delicious meals using Meijer products. Samples are usually given out at the end of the demonstration to those seated at the stage. No sign up is required to watch.
Tasting tickets are valid for the duration of the Festival, so if you do not use them all up on Friday, you can purchase another admission ticket to come enjoy more on Saturday.
If you aren't going to return, but still have some tasting tickets left, there are foods in the Meijer Marketplace and the Rendezbrew you can purchase and take home with you. You can also donate the dollar amount of your leftover tickets to our Charity Partner, Hospice of Michigan, on your way out the door.
The beverage pourers for the Festival are from various programs, organizations and clubs from all around the state including Ferris State University, the Culinary Institute of Michigan at Baker College in Muskegon and Grand Valley State University. In thanks for their volunteer efforts at the event, the Festival makes a donation to each program.
The Festival also hosts a Cheers for Charity VIP Night on Thursday benefitting Hospice of Michigan where a portion of each ticket purchase goes to providing comfort and peace to Hospice patients and their loved ones. Additionally, guests attending any of the Festival days can donate leftover tasting tickets to Hospice of Michigan on their way out the door.
This is a sampling event. You may not purchase any alcoholic beverages at the Festival to take home with you. However, most of the products at the Festival are carried in local specialty shops, wineries, breweries, and Meijer stores.
Click HERE to view parking options.
No, you must be at least 21 years old to attend. This is an alcohol related event and all attendees must have a photo ID denoting their age to enter the Festival.
Yes, there are a few available on a first-come, first-served basis. See the Security Office across the hall from the elevators near the Monroe Avenue entrance.
Newborn babies are allowed into the Festival, but must be carried at all times. Strollers are NOT permitted. No toddlers or children are permitted.
Please be a responsible taster. Please bring a designated driver with you if possible.
There are a number of transportation options available if your ability to drive is impaired.
Metro Cab Company: 616-827-6500
Yellow Cab: 616-459-4646
Great Lakes Taxi: 616-241-5150
Uber
Lyft
DeVos Place is a non-smoking facility. You may step outside to smoke at the river side of the Grand Gallery. There will be a Security guard posted there to offer hand stamps for re-entry. You must have your hand stamped in order to re-enter the Festival.
