Downtown Geneseo will come alive with a new event on Saturday, May 30 from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m., with the first-ever Geneseo Wine Walk, a collaborative activity bringing together local retailers, restaurants, and small businesses for an afternoon of wine, shopping, and live entertainment.
The day will feature 11+ stops (nine with wine samples and two with food) throughout downtown (representing 27 businesses), where guests can enjoy wine tastings inside participating businesses, along with exclusive in-store promotions, pop-ups, and local experiences. State Street will be closed from Central Bank Pavilion to North Street, creating a safe, walkable environment with outdoor seating, gathering spaces, and a vibrant community atmosphere.
“This event is all about collaboration,” said Amy DeFauw, owner of Katsch Boutique and chair of the Wine Walk Committee. “You’ll see retailers opening their doors to restaurants, pop-up businesses sharing space, and the entire downtown working together to create something new and exciting for Geneseo.”
The event has been in the works for a few months, since DeFauw was at a Chamber of Commerce networking event and “I brought up the idea to a few other business owners in the room and they loved it,” she said Tuesday, April 28. “And so then we talked to some of the chamber board members. They loved the idea. There were some city representatives in the room as well. So we talked to them and you know, everybody loved the idea. So I put together a proposal and then pitched it to the chamber executive team as well as the city leadership.”
“Everybody was really on board about getting a new and event to Geneseo to bring some life back into the downtown and get people re-engaged, bring people from out of town as well,” DeFauw said. “So it just kind of formed from there. And we hope that it's an annual event, but this will definitely be the first year for it.”
The event will feature a lot of partnerships among businesses – including Katsch Boutique, 113 N. State St., which will serve wine from Sugar Maple Golf Course in Geneseo. “There's different businesses partnering together and then there are some pop-ups that are coming to town as well,” DeFauw said.
“So for example, Gaslight Grocer and Wine Bar will be a stop on the map. They'll be pouring wine samples or wine tastings.
“But there will be four pop-ups within that business. So there's five just in that one building that customers will be able to shop and enjoy and experience, while also experiencing a glass of wine,” she said.
And Geneseo Brewing Co. will have a pop-up inside of Four Seasons, where guests can try two different wines.
“If you have a ticket to the wine walk, you'll be able to walk into Four Seasons and you can try either the red or the white. If you like that wine, you could go to Geneseo Brewery and get a full glass of it as well as food -- they'll have food and drink specials inside of their business as well,” she said. “So while they're not an actual wine stop, they will be participating in the event and we wanted to highlight them as community members that are participating.”
“Habanero's will have sangria inside of Pegasus. And Stumpy's, which is the new pop-up restaurant out at Sugar Maple Golf Club, will also be popping up downtown,” DeFauw said. “So we're really getting full community involvement with this event.”
The Village of East Davenport has an annual Wine Walk, and while she hasn’t attended that one, DeFauw has a friend with a boutique in the Chicago suburb of Libertyville, and she says they do a wine walk each February and this year they sold 800 tickets. Geneseo is aiming for 400 tickets sold.
Participants can expect a variety of unique pairings throughout the event, including:
- Local restaurants serving wine and specialty drinks inside retail spaces
- Pop-up vendors featured within established downtown businesses
- A mix of shopping, food, and beverage experiences at every stop
- Live music from street performers
Live music (from local country/rock band Lacy’s Ditch) will continue at Central Bank Pavilion from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., extending the evening and encouraging guests to stay and enjoy downtown beyond the Wine Walk.
Tickets are $30, available online only (not on the day of) and will close on May 10th. You must be 21+ to participate in wine tastings. On the day of the event, bring your digital ticket to the Chamber check-in booth, they will scan your code, check your ID and give you a commemorative wine glass, wristband and passport for the event.
Early interest in the event has been strong, with 150 tickets already sold ahead of the full event map release. Organizers anticipate continued momentum leading up to the event.
The Geneseo Wine Walk builds on the success of other downtown events, such as State Street Market in October and Geneseo Art Walk (this past April 25), and aims to become a new annual tradition that supports local businesses and brings both residents and visitors into the heart of the community.
“We’ll have picnic tables lining State Street because the street will be shut down, so people can walk freely through the street and get a drink from Geneseo Brewery or Leaman’s, maybe some food, come outside and enjoy the weather and pop in and out of different businesses,” DeFauw said.
Small, independent businesses are still trying to recover from the pandemic, she said.
“I think we've seen a lot of ups and downs during the pandemic. There was a huge focus on small business and really supporting local business, and you just don't hear that message as much anymore,” DeFauw said. “We wanted to do something that highlights the great businesses that we have in our community. But also, it's fun for our community.
“We don't want people just feeling like they always have to shop small because it's a charity assignment,” she added. “We want them to realize, like, we're community players. We're members of your community, and we'd love to spend the day with you. So I think Geneseo is a really unique downtown. It's. It's beautiful. We hear all the time that we live in a Hallmark town. And so having events like this is just a really special way for people to enjoy that.”
DeFauw opened her Katsch Boutique downtown (named for her maiden name, Katschnig) in 2015, and later opened Iowa locations in Davenport (2019) and Coralville (2023).
“But we love Geneseo. It's such a great community,” she said. “This is where I live with my family, and it's just a really special city. So I'm excited to re-energize, bring more people downtown. I'm a member of the State Street Market Committee as well. And that's just a really, really special day. We get 5,000 people coming to town on that day (the first Saturday in October), so we kind of want to mimic that energy.”
Wine Walk tickets can be purchased online HERE.
