Forks & Corks sells out in eight minutes

Justin Bieber has nothing on Forks & Corks. Why? Because his world tour took 45 minutes to sell out, and Sarasota’s 7th annual Forks & Corks The Grand Tasting sold out in only eight minutes.

The event features dishes from SMO members and wines from more than 70 wineries, including 40 individual winemakers that represent the international and national winemaking industry. It will take place at the courtyard of The Ringling Museum Sunday, Jan. 26, 2014.

A press release prior to the Nov. 11 start of ticket sales gave the warning: “Since these are tickets are the most sought-after in town, we recommend that people buy their tickets early,” Kate Atkin, executive director of Sarasota-Manatee Originals stated.

Even though Atkin was prepared for a sell out — last year’s event sold out in three hours — she was still blown away by the results. By 5:08 p.m. all 1,200 tickets were spoken for.“We were able to log on to the ticketing system, and by the time we refreshed our page, another 200 tickets were sold,” she says. “It was crazy!”

And, unlike Justin Bieber, the event is popular among both males and females — 54% of ticket buyers were male and 45.85% were females. The majority, nearly 61% of tickets sold, were to ages 21 to 34. Tickets were sold in six countries, 32 states, among 80 cities — and 54% of them were new visitors to SMO’s website. Also interesting, was to learn that most ticket buyers live an active lifestyle. See all of the stats by viewing the rest of the images attached to this article.

Tickets are still available for Forks & Corks University food and wine seminars Saturday, Jan. 25 and the various winemaker events at area restaurants and retail shops Friday, Jan. 24 and Saturday, Jan. 25. For more information, visit dineoriginal.com/forksandcorks.