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Shorblu has banded together to bring you a new type of event: BluVino Wine and Music Festival, a sophisticated summer afternoon party, featuring wine and finger foods.

The Gardens on Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn Heights was accessible by public transportation with plenty of parking nearby. The venue was made up of the de Castellane gallery indoors with stark white walls and high sloping ceilings, and an outdoor garden which was lush and green. The gallery artwork was captivating and many people had comments on the pieces.

What a good looking crowd-- it was a dress up event. I definitely spotted a few cocktail dresses, but fancy maxi dresses seemed to be the norm. The men were also dressed to impress. But it was so hot! It felt like 100 degrees in the shade, and it made everyone somewhat listless. It was hard to build the vibes despite all the great music on offer: first a live band playing old school R&B, then Sounds for Life and Back to Basics, rocking all the latest soca hits. I was dying to dance or at least move to the beat, but the heat was everywhere. There was no retreat from the heat inside, because the amount of people made it hotter inside than outside.

“Somebody kitty kat get away”, wait, oh no it was the sleek black gallery cat who darted here and there in an attempt to lime with the patrons and sample the wine! There was a nice selection of reds, sparkling and white wines, including 2 very popular European moscatos and a sweet California reisling. The wine was available to sample or purchase by the bottle, but I do wish there was also an option to purchase by the glass. It would have been nice if the food had been complimentary though it was delicious, including pineapple and meatballs, a very spicy jerk chicken and a sampling of cheese and crackers. Nunu chocolates from Atlantic Avenue was also on hand (www.nunuchocolates.com) with natural handmade dark chocolate for sale.

It was a great idea for a new type of event on the Brooklyn soca scene and the venue was excellent, but the stifling heat and humidity made it difficult to move around without sweating and the cost for items in addition to the price of admission may have been difficult to swallow for some patrons in this recession. We thank Shorblu Events for inviting us along, and we look forward to this event coming around again next year!

*Sorry....is all that we can say....TJJ experienced some technical difficulties which caused some delay but we were soon up and running a photographing folks having a good time.*

-Judes aka Rasta Barbie

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