Fair Haven Bayfest: Paella on the Baya 2024 - Sunday, July 21st
Central New York’s Biggest Bash of the Summer!
Central New York’s biggest bash of summer will be held on the 900’ waterfront of Colloca Estate Winery on Sunday, July 21, 2024. It’s Fair Haven BayFest - The 15th Annual Paella on the Baya!
Enjoy authentic Spanish meat, seafood, and vegetarian paellas cooked over open flames in 42" monster pans overlooking the million-dollar views of Little Sodus Bay in Fair Haven, NY. Feast on authentic paellas and sip on Sangria, Colloca Estate's award-winning wines, Cold Craft Beers and enjoy LIVE MUSIC with Syracuse area favorites, Grupo Pagan and Amanda Ashley all afternoon and evening.
Ticket pricing includes admission, free parking, music all day, and one monster plate of deluxe seafood, meat, or vegetarian paella. Additional paella plate tickets will be made available for those wishing to take a plate home or for a second plate (note, many people can’t even finish one-monster plate!). Paella will be sold by the plate served from 1 pm - 5 pm or until gone. Pre-sale tickets are available now and Deluxe Seafood Paella Plates are $65 (garnished with whole lobster), Meat or Vegetarian Plates are $40.
Tickets may be reserved online by clicking the button below. We do expect to sell out, so please purchase your tickets early to avoid disappointment.
This year’s tee design!
Tee’s are on a Bella + Canvas Unisex Jersey Soft Tee, coral colorway. Sizes small through extra-large are $16 and sizes double-extra and triple-extra are $20. Available now when your purchase tickets or at the fest until we sell out.
History of Bayfest at The Winery!
Each year, authentic Spanish paella is cooked on three 42” monster pans that serve over 100 people each on the shores of Little Sodus Bay in Fair Haven. Paella (PIE-A-YA), a traditional Spanish rice dish hailing from Valencia, Spain can be prepared in many ways. Historically considered peasant food, the rice is simply prepared together with chicken and peas or beans or along with the local game, such as rabbit in small villages in Spain. In the many variations of the dish, seafood is added along with the local catch of the day.
When Oswego, NY native Dr. Chris Colloca traveled to Spain and experienced a neighborhood paella party he immediately thought about how much fun it would be to throw a paella feast for friends and family. Thus, the inspiration for the paella party arrived in Central New York. He ordered the huge pans from Spain and commissioned J&A Mechanical in Oswego to build their stands.
The first party was thrown 13 years ago. Over a decade later, the event has been named to celebrate the village the winery calls home - Fair Haven BayFest - Paella on the Bay-a, and draws food fanatics from across Central New York and further at Colloca Estate Winery, a pristine 100-acre property on the west side of Little Sodus Bay in Fair Haven, NY that features a tasting room, outdoor wine bar, wood-fired kitchen restaurant, and weddings and events venue.
Colloca’s iteration of the Paella recipe kicks it up several notches to include meat and seafood paellas that include chicken, andouille sausage, shrimp, mussels, littleneck clams, and a WHOLE LOBSTER garnish on top, and included over literally a ton of ingredients along with imported saffron, smoked and sweet paprika and other spices.
The Breakdown
We’ll start here on Bayfest: Colloca Wines are a perfect pairing for Our World Famous Paella! Or, maybe you’ll prefer a cold craft beer, Colloca cider, or Sangria!
The components: We start with some of the best rice on the planet - Bomba rice sourced all the way from Spain! Add to it delicious spices from around the world and Spanish saffron that is more expensive than GOLD! Not just ANY seafood … the very BEST from Prince Edward Island to the North where Lake Ontario’s St. Lawrence River opens to the Atlantic. Delectable Meats & Sausages headline our meat paella, while fresh vegetables with paella rice on their own comprise our Vegetarian and Gluten Free paellas. The king of them all is our Deluxe Seafood Paella - with chorizo sausage, chicken, all the veg, mussels, littleneck clams, shrimp and garnished with 1/2 lobster. It is truly a sight to see.
For you enjoyment: Grupo Pagan from The Events Center, 1 to 5 & Amanda Ashley on the Lake Effect Vineyard® stage from 4 to 8!
