WEE WHISKEY FEST
Tourism Commission awards $25,000 grant to promote event
Grand Geneva Resort & Spa will be the site of Wee Whiskey Fest's Grand Tasting, which will be held Saturday, April 18.
Members of the Geneva Lakes Whiskey Club are set to host their third annual Wee Whiskey Fest, April 17-19 in the Lake Geneva area.
SPIRITED AFFAIR
Grant funding has been awarded to help promote a returning, spirited event.
Members of the Lake Geneva Tourism Commission unanimously approved on March 9 to award a $25,000 grant to members of the Geneva Lakes Whiskey Club to help them promote and market the third annual Wee Whiskey Fest, which will be held April 17-19.
The highlight of Wee Whiskey Fest is the Grand Tasting which is scheduled to be held from 2 to 6 p.m. Saturday, April 18, at the Grand Geneva Resort & Spa, 7036 Grand Geneva Way, town of Lyons.
As part of the Grand Tasting, attendees will be able to sample about 150 brands of bourbons and whiskeys from 50 distilleries.
Another Wee Whiskey Fest-related event is the Bourbon & Burlesque Variety Show, which will be at 9:30 p.m. Friday, April 17, at Celebration on Wells, 422 Wells St., Lake Geneva.
"It's a little bit unique, kind of like Cirque du Solei," said Sherman Lindsey, co-founder of the Geneva Lakes Whiskey Club. "It's a variety show which has some comedy aspects to it as well."
Other activities and events will be held at several downtown Lake Geneva businesses including Maxwell Mansion Hotel, 304 S. Wells St.; Topsy Turvy Brewery, 727 Geneva St.; Oakfire, 831 Wrigley Drive; and The Bottle Shop, 617 W. Main St.
Shuttle transportation will be available to and from the Grand Geneva Resort and the Lake Geneva hotels.
"We want Lake Geneva to be the host of this. That's never going to change," Lindsey said. "We have one spot for the Grand Tasting, but this is to be a city event. We explained that to the Grand Geneva, and they completely understand that."
Grant funding use
Geneva Lakes Whiskey Club members plan to use the grant funding to help promote the event in Lake Geneva, Madison, Milwaukee and Chicagoland.
"This event is something we're really hoping to grow into somewhat of a national event, not just a Midwest event, with whiskey-based, enthusiastic clientele coming to Lake Geneva," Lindsey said.
Geneva Lakes Whiskey Club members estimate that about 600 people will attend the event, attracting about 240 overnight stays in the city of Lake Geneva.
"I think that's a very low estimate," Lindsey said. "Now that it's based on Friday, we're getting a lot of Friday and Saturday carry over that we did not have in year one and year two."
VISIT Lake Geneva President and CEO Stephanie Klett said she is pleased that Wee Whiskey Fest is held around the same time as VISIT Lake Geneva's Restaurant Week, April 18-26; and the Geneva Lake Women's Association's Women's Weekend, April 24-26.
Klett said it will help attract more people to the area.
"What I appreciate is during Restaurant Week, we're now bookended between Wee Whiskey Fest and Women's Weekend," Klett said. "So, last year, tourism numbers exploded with everything going on at the same time."
For more information about Wee Whiskey Fest, visit www.weewhiskeyfest.com.
"Now that it's based on Friday, we're getting a lot of Friday and Saturday carry over that we did not have in year one and year two."
Sherman Lindsey, cofounder of the Geneva Lakes Whiskey Club
