Carnival comes to Old Town Newhall 

Lauren Harris with the Newhall Press Room pours wine for Theresa Wright, a dancer with the D’Wilfri Dance Studio, for The Wine Affair event on Main Street in Old Town Newhall, Calif., on Sunday, April 16, 2023. Chris Torres/The Signal
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The Wine Affair returned to Old Town Newhall in dazzling fashion on Sunday — this year being Brazilian Carnival-themed. 

Dancers wearing eccentric outfits decorated with colorful feathers entertained guests as they wined and dined along Main Street.    

The event was once again hosted by Soroptimist International, an organization that promotes economic opportunity and social mobility to women and girls. This year’s event was also done in coordination with ZOE, which received a large portion of the proceeds from the event. ZOE is an organization dedicated to combating human trafficking across the globe.   

Josh Rivas, event chair, said ZOE’s involvement really helped make the event happen.  

Linda Kingsley, left, and Theresa Wright, dancers with the D’Wilfri Dance Studio, get themselves some artisanal cheeses and meats from the Newhall Press Room for The Wine Affair event on Main Street in Old Town Newhall, Calif., on Sunday, April 16, 2023. Chris Torres/The Signal

“That just opened up the floodgates of people wanting to support. We’ve never had more sponsors,” said Rivas. “They focus on human trafficking and so their goal, they start with prevention, rescue and rehabilitation through our local ZOE. They just opened a safe house in Acton and it houses six girls at a time that they’ve rescued from human trafficking.”   

Although the event was designed to raise money for the organizations involved, it also was meant to draw crowds to the many local businesses along Main Street — many of which have been economically impacted since the pandemic.    

City Councilwoman Marsha McLean said she really liked that particular aspect of the event.  

Laura Uribe, Josh Rivas, Leah Johnson and John Blizzard do a toast for The Wine Affair event on Main Street in Old Town Newhall, Calif., on Sunday, April 16, 2023. Chris Torres/The Signal

“My favorite part about this event is that as you see businesses along the main street here, even though it’s a Soroptimist event, it’s really good for all the businesses along here,” said McLean. “People who’ve never been down here can come and they can see what we have to offer and be very surprised and amazed at it … so it’s doing a couple of things and it’s raising money for Soroptimists’ charity, and it’s helping the businesses in my opinion down here as well.” 

Patrons were able to walk down Main Street where the event had “stops” at certain businesses,  where booths were set up so guests could sample some of their food and even free signature wine, beer and cocktails. 

Businesses that participated in the event were: Board and Brush, Brewery Draconum, Rocket Fizz, Soapish, Closet on Main, The Old Town Junction, Mixed by Design, Maison on Main, Pulchella Winery, Newhall Press Room, Smokehouse on Main, Newhall Refinery, Zushingazo Sushi bar, Fresh XRO Bar, Eat Real, Spruce N Oak and Wide Eye Optometry.   

Event attendees take photos with dancers dressed in Carnival attire from the D’Wilfri Dance Studio for The Wine Affair event on Main Street in Old Town Newhall, Calif., on Sunday, April 16, 2023. Chris Torres/The Signal

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