Glynn Visual Arts presents the third annual St. Simons Island Wine Festival, October 22 through 24, 2026. The gallery's address is 106 Island Drive, and none of the three ticketed events takes place there. Thursday is at Frederica Golf Club. Friday is at The King and Prince. Saturday is in a hangar at McKinnon–St. Simons Island Airport.
The festival is the gallery's main annual fundraiser, so the money goes back to Island Drive. It pays for the pottery and painting classes, the outreach partnerships and the evening workshops that keep running at the center that same week. If you live mid-island, festival week gives you two calendars. One is ticketed and spread around the island. The other stays close to home, costs far less, and is what the first one is paying for.
Three Nights, Three Venues
This is the first year the festival runs three events over three days. Here is the schedule as the festival lists it, with face prices and the totals shown at checkout on Eventeny, the ticketing site.
| Day | Event | Venue | Time | Face price | With processing fee |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thursday, Oct. 22 | Collectors' Dinner, inaugural | Frederica Golf Club, Skye Terrace | 6–9 p.m. | $300 | $319.14 |
| Friday, Oct. 23 | Enthusiasts' Tasting & Auction | The King and Prince Golf and Beach Resort | 5:30–8 p.m. | $150 | $159.73 |
| Saturday, Oct. 24 | Grand Tasting | McKinnon–St. Simons Island Airport, 130 Gary L. Moore Ct. | 2–5 p.m. | $100 | $106.60 |
Each night has its own focus. At the Thursday dinner, Berry Bros. & Rudd of London, which the festival describes as Britain's oldest wine and spirits merchant, pours Old World French wines with a multi-course meal. GVA executive director Kari Morris told The Brunswick News these are wines "guests would not typically find in a wine shop." She said the goal is an experience like one you'd find in a bigger metro market, without leaving home. That night also has a live auction of work by local artists.
Friday is a walkabout at The King and Prince, with premium and rare wines; The Brunswick News places it on the Atlantic Terrace, an oceanside terrace at the resort. Resort executive chef Dustin Traylor is curating the light bites. There's live entertainment and a silent auction focused on wine, and every ticket includes a commemorative glass. The auction includes collectible bottles plus resort and winery stays.
What Changed From 2025
The first two festivals each had two parts: a VIP tasting at The King and Prince, then the main tasting in an airport hangar. Last year that was Friday and Saturday, October 24 and 25, and the Friday VIP event sold out. The festival started in 2024.
For 2026 the festival keeps both of those events and adds one. The Friday event has a new name, Enthusiasts' Tasting & Auction. The hangar tasting is now called the Grand Tasting. The Thursday dinner is new, and so is Frederica Golf Club as a venue. Morris said organizers "had to get everything working like clockwork" before taking on another big event.
The face prices for Friday and Saturday are the same as last year, at $150 and $100. Only the $300 dinner ticket is new. If you went in 2025, you can go to the same two events this year for the same price.
The Hangar Is the Mid-Island Event
Of the three venues, only the airport is in the middle of the island. The Grand Tasting is still the main event of the weekend, and it's the one most connected to the gallery's own work.
The festival lists more than 25 wine vendors, with labels from California, Oregon, France, Italy, South Africa, Argentina, Austria and Slovenia. There will be non-alcoholic drinks too, and each ticket includes a commemorative glass. The Brunswick News says the event runs indoors and outdoors, rain or shine. Wine vendors will be inside the hangar, and eight local culinary leaders will each serve a bite.
Seven artists will give live demonstrations during the afternoon. GVA program manager Stephanie Conti said the demonstrations let guests "see the creative process firsthand." The band is Hot Banana Coffee, playing covers and originals. Its lead singer, Dakota Allen, is an artist and a member of Glynn Visual Arts.
The published materials don't name the wineries or the eight restaurants. You'll find out on the day.
Where the Money Goes
The festival's impact page says a portion of proceeds also goes to community partners and eligible scholarship funds. For Glynn Visual Arts itself, Morris said the funds pay for community outreach, including partnerships with the Boys & Girls Club and SOAR Golden Isles, and for introductory art classes at the St. Simons center, such as pottery and painting. She said GVA's programming reaches more than 8,000 people a year through classes, festivals, outreach, free events and exhibitions.
The Brunswick News names the Golden Isles College and Career Academy as the educational beneficiary, through its foundation. The GICCA Foundation helps students after graduation as they go into the trades, paying for supplies, materials and tools.
The festival's impact page says GVA runs more than 300 art classes a year for over 1,100 students. It also says five scholarships went to College of Coastal Georgia students in Hospitality, Tourism, and Event Management or Culinary Arts during the festival's first two years. Those 300-plus classes are the clearest picture of what a ticket pays for, and many of them are on the schedule for festival week.
Meanwhile, at 106 Island Drive
The gallery keeps its regular schedule while the festival goes on elsewhere. Here are the dated programs at the center from now through late November, in order:
- "Portraits are Easy!" with Robert Smith, Mondays October 5, 12 and 19, 5:30–7 p.m.
- "Bold and Beautiful: A Celebration of Color and Metal," work by Louise Hooper and Dr. Johnny L. Evans, Jr., on view through October 10.
- Saturday Studio Time for Kids, 9:30–11 a.m. October 10 is Dot Pumpkins, inspired by Yayoi Kusama, and October 17 is Masks.
- "Choosing to Listen," photography by Stephanie Conti and sculpture by Patty Crowl, October 10 through November 20, with an opening reception Thursday, October 15, 5:30–7 p.m.
- "Beginning Watercolor: Autumn Pumpkins" with Lily Oetjen, Saturday, October 17, 10 a.m.–12:30 p.m.
- "Friday Fire, Fun with Clay," 6–8 p.m. Pumpkins on October 23, Angels on November 6, Gnomes on November 20.
- "Decoupage Fall Pumpkins" with Donna MacPherson, Tuesday, October 27, 6–8 p.m.
- "Paint a Christmas Pier" with Emily Taylor-Fendig, Monday, November 2, 6–8 p.m.
One overlap on that list is easy to miss. The Pumpkins clay night on Friday, October 23 starts half an hour after the Enthusiasts' Tasting opens at The King and Prince. Both are GVA events, at two different places on the island, on the same evening.
One of the festival's spokespeople also has a show at the gallery this season. Stephanie Conti, GVA's program manager, spoke for the festival in The Brunswick News. She is one of the two artists in "Choosing to Listen," and its opening reception is a week before the Collectors' Dinner. If you'd like to see the art side of the gallery before the wine weekend, the October 15 reception is the night to go.
A Few Details Before You Buy
Some published details differ from source to source, so here are the ones to know.
- Friday's end time. The "If You Go" box in The Brunswick News says 8:30 p.m. The festival's ticket page and the body of the same news story say 8 p.m. Plan on 8 p.m., the official time.
- The hangar's name. The festival calls it the Toland Hangar, and The Brunswick News calls it the Posh Carts Hangar. Both give the same address, 130 Gary L. Moore Ct., so use the address for directions.
- Sell-out status. As of October 4, tickets for all three events were still on sale. Morris told The Brunswick News, "We anticipate selling out," and last year's Friday event did sell out.
- Fees. The $100, $150 and $300 prices go up at checkout to $106.60, $159.73 and $319.14 with processing fees.
You can buy tickets and find full event details at ssiwinefestival.com. Class registration and exhibition information are at glynnvisualarts.org.
Late October on St. Simons is one of our favorite times of year, and the gallery on Island Drive is a big reason why. If you're having friends or family visit for festival weekend and want help planning around Thursday, Friday and Saturday, or you'd like to know what's around the gallery and the airport on the mid-island, Lori Lynn would love to help. Let's connect.
