Kansas vineyard owner hopes Sunday ‘Rootstock’ event will draw people to scenic property
.jpg "Six different live bands will perform during Prairie Hill Vineyard’s inaugural Rootstock event on Sunday.")
Anyone who likes to enjoy a sunny, 70-degree day listening to live music and shopping in an idyllic Kansas setting will want to check out a new event on Sunday at Prairie Hill Vineyard in Colwich.
The event, called Rootstock, is a celebration of “love, peace and potted plants,” says its founder and Prairie Hill Vineyard owner Daniel Stockemer.
It will take over part of his sprawling, scenic farm and vineyard, which will be filled with art, woodwork and plant vendors. Visitors can take hayrack rides and fly kites, and kids can get balloons. Food trucks will dot the grounds.
All the while, attendees will be serenaded by music from a long list of local musical acts, including “American Idol” star Phil Stacey and headliners Pretend Friend and the Haymakers.
Rootstock also will include presentations by plant experts throughout the day, who will speak on topics ranging from “Using Native Plants” to “Growing Grapes in Kansas.”
“It’s really designed to have people bring lawn chairs and a blanket and sit out and enjoy the music,” Stockemer said. “And it’s supposed to be a beautiful afternoon.”
Stockemer has long used his 20-acre property, which sits about 20 miles northwest of Wichita, as a wedding venue, and it’s booked nearly every weekend.
In 2021, he completed construction on a 12,000-square-foot event center, which has bride and groom changing suites and a hall big enough to hold 500. (That’s where the American Institute of Wine and Food put on its Decant ICT wine event last year.) The property has several structures on it, including a cozy cottage Stockemer lists on Airbnb.
Stockemer lived much of his young life on the property but eventually moved to Sonoma County, California, where he lived for 11 years. He came back later in his life and planted a vineyard at the farm “to make it look like Sonoma County,” he said.
He became friends with Dave and Natalie Sollo, the owners of Grace Hill Winery, and now, Stockemer sells his fruit to Grace Hill.
Several years ago, Stockemer started staging events that were open to the public. For the past three Octobers, he’s put on a Fall Harvest Festival with pumpkins, face painting, vendors and more.
He wants to put on more events that will draw the public out to enjoy the grounds, and he hopes Rootstock — whose name was inspired by the famous 1970s concert Woodstock — will become an annual event.
“When people see the property, they always say, ‘It’s such an amazing place. How come I didn’t know about it?’” Stockemer said. “We just have to get the word out.”
Rootstock
When: 1 to 8 p.m. Sunday
Where: Prairie Hill Vineyard, 3660 N. 215th St. West, Colwich
Admission: $10 if tickets are purchased in advance at prairiehillvineyard.com, $15 at the gate. Children 10 and under will be admitted free.
Band lineup:
1:30 p.m., Meads Ghosts
3 p.m. Phil Stacey
3:30 p.m. Sometimes on Sunday
5 p.m. Pretend Friend
6:30 p.m. Haymakers
After-show at 8 p.m.: Three of Us
Rootstock schedule of events
This story was originally published April 27, 2023 at 12:14 PM.
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