Nashville’s Top Songwriters to Help Raise Money for Children’s Charities at South Walton Beaches Wine & Food Festival

Media Contact:

Elizabeth Ray
FRLA Communications Director
850.224.2250 x255
[email protected]

(Miramar Beach, Fla.) – The Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association (FRLA) is proud to highlight nationally renowned songwriters at the South Walton Beaches Wine and Food Festival. As a founding partner, FRLA is thrilled to participate in the third annual charity event scheduled for Thursday, April 23 through Sunday, April 26 in Grand Boulevard at Sandestin. During the four days of lively tastings, seminars, winemaker dinners and musical performances, the festival will showcase more than 800 flavors. The FRLA will sponsor the songwriters as a continuation of the Endless Summer Music Series in conjunction with BMI, a leader in music rights management representing more than 8.5 million works of more than 65,000 copyright owners.

“These Nashville songwriters help to create the ideal environment in which to sip and savor some of the world’s finest food and wines in an exceptional beach location while supporting local children in need,” said Carol Dover, President and CEO of the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association. “We are thrilled to continue our participation in this event, and encourage both residents and visitors alike to join us as we enjoy an incredible destination that helps make our state a wonderful place to live, work and play.”

Last year, 4,000 wine and food lovers participated in the event, and raised more than $2.1 million for the Destin Charity Wine Auction Foundation (DCWAF) at an auction held during the festival. Proceeds from this year’s event will be donated to DCWAF, which has affected the lives of over 60,000 youth, including those afflicted by health issues and abuse.

Throughout the day on Saturday and Sunday, the songwriters will perform and tell stories about their biggest hits written for the stars of the music business, including Tim McGraw, George Strait, Kenny Chesney and many others.  The featured songwriters include nationally renowned BMI artists: Sherrié Austin, Aaron Barker, Steve Bogard, Brent Cobb, Jon Mabe, Kendell Marvel, Will Rambeaux and Tyler Reeve. The songs written by the songwriters include the current Love & Theft single, “Whiskey On My Breath,” “Baby Blue” made popular by George Strait, “The Climb” written for Miley Cyrus and Faith Hill’s “Wild One” to name a few.

Please go to www.sowalwine.com for the festival schedule and a full list of songwriters who will be performing.

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About the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association
FRLA is Florida’s premier non-profit hospitality industry trade association. Our mission is to ‘Protect, Educate and Promote’ Florida’s $76.1 billion hospitality industry which represents 23% of Florida’s economy, $4.6 billion in sales tax revenue, and more than one million employees – making it the state’s number one industry. We offer regulatory compliance and food safety training needs (RCS and SafeStaff®); industry developed career-building high school programs (FRLAEF); sponsor the only event in Florida exclusively serving the restaurant and foodservice industry (FR&L Show, October 6-8, 2015 in Orlando); and we safeguard the needs of the hospitality industry by providing legislative advocacy. We represent and serve more than 10,000 independent and household name members, suppliers, and theme parks. For more information, go to www.FRLA.org and find us on Twitter @FRLAnews, Facebook and YouTube. 

About South Walton Beaches Wine & Food Festival
This year’s annual South Walton Beaches Wine & Food Festival will be held April 23-26, 2015 throughout the Town Center of Grand Boulevard at Sandestin. The festival features a stunning showcase of the best wines the world has to offer. Celebrity wine producers and chefs present fine wine and food pairings from the world’s most famous appellations. The Savor South Walton Culinary Village offers a sumptuous array of foods to taste, wines to pair, as well as wine and food tasting seminars and live entertainment. The event is a major fundraiser for Destin Charity Wine Auction Foundation, which benefits children in need in Northwest Florida. For more information, including a list of attending winemakers and to purchase tickets, visit www.SoWalWine.com.