The Swiss Wine Festival was the brain-child of a few local business leaders who wanted to give a little something back to the community in which they lived. They also wanted to provide local clubs and organizations with a venue to raise money for their projects. The festival was able to do both. It became an event that not only gave the community a chance to get together and have some fun, but it also provided an opportunity for outsiders to get a better view of what a great community we have in Vevay, In.
The first Swiss Wine Festival was held in 1968. It had a flea market on the Courthouse lawn, grape stomping, and steintossen. Six years and many thousands of people later, the festival was proclaimed “too big” and was discontinued. A local event called “The Patchwork Fair” took its place for five years.
The festival was reborn in 1979 as the “Swiss Alpine Festival” with emphasis on family involvement, a fenced-in festival site, and an admission charge. A clean, safe, and popular new festival was begun. The Alpine theme included a Swiss Costume contest, the blowing of the Alp horn, a parade, arts and crafts exhibits, and polka dancing. A tour of historic homes was also held.