Windermere set to host first Art, Wine & Music Stroll

Downtown Windermere will be the site of sweet melodies, live art demonstrations and wine Friday, Sept. 7, for the town’s inaugural Art, Wine & Music Stroll on Main Street.

The stroll takes place from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Tickets cost $10 for food and entertainment or $25 for food, entertainment and wine. Advanced tickets can be purchased at Tranquiliti Wellness Center — 503 Main St., Windermere — or online at Windermerearts.eventbrite.com. Additionally, tickets will be sold the day of the event.

The stroll will promote local businesses, artist and musicians.The stroll brings together eight musicians, 21 businesses and about 20 artists for an evening food, fun and wine. The stroll will also feature various raffle prizes, said Tranquiliti owner Anne McDonough, who also coordinated and organized the event.

“It’s a collaborative,” McDonough said. “The whole concept is about working together as one community — that’s our theme.”

Strollers will be given a “passport” when they arrive. This passport is required to participate in the raffle. Each business or sponsor at the event will have a hole-puncher. Guests must have their passports punched by every business or sponsor at the event to participate in the raffle.

“We want (guests) to be able to see all the businesses.” McDonough said.

McDonough added the musicians will be spread throughout the walk playing live music. Artists will be doing live art demonstrations along the walk and within some of the businesses.

Windermere painter Kim Beltrame is one of the artists who will be featured at the event. Beltrame enjoys

painting landscapes and her surroundings and experimenting with other mediums with her paintings. She’s particularly fond of painting the sceneries around Windermere.

“I’m an outdoors girl,” Beltrame said. “I look around, and I just think the world in general is such a beautiful place.”

Beltrame, a lifelong artist, double-majored in fine art and Italian studies at Rosemont College in Pennsylvania. She studied abroad in Italy moved there after graduating. She met her husband in Italy and lived there for five years. During that time, she learned of what the term “starving artist” meant and began teaching to earn some extra money. 

“There’s a reason why there’s the term, ‘starving artist,’” Beltrame said. “I needed to make money, so I started teaching English.”

Beltrame then discovered her passion for teaching, which she continues to do to this day. She currently teaches part time at Olympia High School. Instead of english — or even art — Beltrame teaches Italian.  

“A lot of people … because I’m an artist, they all assume that I teach art,” Beltrame said. “Everybody — and it doesn’t matter how many times I correct them — they want (to assume I) teach art. And it’s really funny when I’m like, ‘No, I teach Italian. I’ve been teaching Italian for 15 years, almost.’ There’s my (passion for) Italian coming in. I am passionate about both. Like I said, I double-majored — fine art and italian.”