Garrett County Maryland Deep Creek Lake Art & Wine Festival
McHenry in western Maryland gives the Deep Creek Lake country a September weekend where handcrafted art and regional wine share the same fairgrounds. The organiser’s own layer and a regional magazine layer print the event as the Deep Creek Lake Art, Wine & Spirits Festival, while the sheet title, Garrett County Maryland Deep Creek Lake Art & Wine Festival, is never printed exactly in the layers read. The latest dated edition is the twenty-second annual gathering of Friday 11 and Saturday 12 September 2026, at the Garrett County Fairgrounds in McHenry. McHenry is not the county seat — Oakland holds that place, per a Maryland State Archives reference layer. Tickets are required, and every ticket for the 2026 edition includes a voucher for the on-site wine and spirits store, though no 2026 price is stated in the layers read. The organiser’s own layer names HART for Animals as the beneficiary.
About
The organiser’s own layer and a regional magazine layer print “Deep Creek Lake Art, Wine & Spirits Festival”, and that form governs the body of this article. An older magazine layer prints “Deep Creek Lake Art, Wine & Beer Festival”, a form from an earlier telling of the same event, kept separate rather than folded into the current name. A lodging-guide layer prints “Deep Creek Art, Wine, & Spirits Festival”, dropping the word Lake from the first element. The sheet title is never printed exactly, and this article uses it only where the format requires it — on the first line, in the outlook heading and its first two questions, and in the Quick Facts row that reproduces the sheet title.
The gathering sits at the Garrett County Fairgrounds in McHenry, a town in the Deep Creek Lake area of Garrett County. Oakland, not McHenry, is the county seat. The organiser’s own layer names HART for Animals as the beneficiary, and a magazine layer names an event chair, who is referred to here by role only. A ticketing layer names a ticket vendor as organiser, but that form is left unmerged and is not treated as a festival organiser form, since selling tickets is a vendor role rather than the work of putting the weekend together. A contact page and a ticketing page exist, and their existence is all that is recorded here.
The weekend blends handcrafted art and drink. Local and regional artisans show handcrafted works, and the tasting side lists more than two hundred regional, national and international wines. Craft bourbon, whiskey and tequila join the wine, and the grounds also hold a football lounge, a cigar bar, live entertainment, food, a wine and spirits store, and lodging packages. Friday is a premium tasting, while Saturday runs longer and carries the fuller spread.
Quick Facts
| Item | Detail |
| Sheet title | Garrett County Maryland Deep Creek Lake Art & Wine Festival |
| Published name | Deep Creek Lake Art, Wine & Spirits Festival |
| Host town | McHenry, Maryland |
| County seat | Oakland, Maryland — McHenry is not the seat |
| Venue | Garrett County Fairgrounds, McHenry |
| Latest dated edition | Friday 11 and Saturday 12 September 2026 |
| Edition billing | Twenty-second annual, per the organiser’s own layer |
| Programme | Handcrafted art, wine tasting, spirits, food, live entertainment |
| Admission | Ticketed; no 2026 price stated in the layers read |
| Beneficiary | HART for Animals, per the organiser’s own layer |
History
No founding account for this festival appears in the layers read, and no founding year is derived from any billing. The organiser’s own layer says the festival is “now in its twenty-second year”, a statement belonging to the 2026 layer that bills the Friday 11 and Saturday 12 September 2026 edition as the twenty-second annual. The wording is recorded as printed, and the arithmetic that would turn a twenty-second annual billing into a starting year is not performed here.
For a useful comparison, see the Garrett County Maryland Autumn Glory Festival for another county festival.
The layers read do not agree on the numbering of earlier editions, and the disagreement is left standing. A lodging-guide layer bills the event’s twentieth anniversary with dates of Saturday 6 and Sunday 7 September, without a year stated in the layer as read, so that edition cannot be placed on a calendar with confidence. An older magazine layer documents a Saturday 8 September edition with a Friday 7 September pre-fix dinner, and that edition carried advance tickets of thirty dollars and thirty-five dollars at the gate. Those figures belong to that older edition only. The three billings are recorded as printed, each fenced to the layer that states it. The absence of a founding account means the story of how the weekend began is not told here.
What to Expect
The 2026 edition is a two-day fairgrounds weekend with different hours on each day. Friday 11 September 2026 is a premium tasting running five to eight in the evening, a shorter evening built around tasting rather than the full daytime spread. Saturday 12 September 2026 runs noon to six in the evening and carries the fuller programme: handcrafted works by local and regional artisans, more than two hundred regional, national and international wines to taste, craft bourbon, whiskey and tequila, a football lounge, a cigar bar, live entertainment and food. A wine and spirits store stands on site, and every ticket for the 2026 edition includes a voucher for that store.
The artisan side gives the gathering its first name element, and the tasting side gives it the second and third, with wine in the lead and spirits alongside it. The football lounge and the cigar bar give the grounds two settled places to pause between tastings, and live entertainment runs through the day. Lodging packages are part of the offer, which suits a weekend that draws visitors from beyond Garrett County.
Tickets are required, and the 2026 layers state that tickets are on sale. No 2026 price is stated in the layers read, so no figure is given for that edition. The older magazine layer’s figures of thirty dollars in advance and thirty-five dollars at the gate belong to the older Saturday 8 September edition and are fenced to it. The event chair is referred to by role only.
Planning Your Visit
Plan around McHenry rather than Oakland, since the fairgrounds sit in McHenry and Oakland, the county seat, is a separate town. A visitor booking lodging should look to the Deep Creek Lake area and to the event’s lodging packages. The 2026 edition’s two days have different hours, so the day chosen shapes the visit: Friday evening is a premium tasting from five to eight, while Saturday runs noon to six with the fuller programme.
Tickets deserve attention before the weekend, because the 2026 layers state that tickets are on sale and every ticket includes a voucher for the on-site wine and spirits store. No 2026 price is stated in the layers read, so check the current ticketing page before travelling. The older edition’s thirty-dollar advance and thirty-five-dollar gate figures are not a guide to the 2026 price.
A Sample Itinerary
A Friday arrival suits a visitor who wants the tasting first and the fuller fairgrounds day second. Arrive in McHenry in the late afternoon, settle into lodging near Deep Creek Lake, and spend the Friday evening at the premium tasting from five to eight, sampling the wines and spirits and looking over the artisan works on display. The voucher that comes with a ticket can be kept for the on-site wine and spirits store.
Saturday is the longer day, running noon to six, and it suits a slower walk through the fairgrounds. Begin with the artisan stalls, then move through the wine tasting and the craft bourbon, whiskey and tequila on offer. The football lounge and the cigar bar give the afternoon two places to rest, live entertainment runs through the day, and food is available on the grounds. Finish at the wine and spirits store, where the ticket voucher applies.
How It Compares
The Garrett County Celtic Festival and Art in the Park are both listed in a lodging-guide layer as separate Deep Creek Lake events, and neither of them rescues or merges with this title. A visitor who finds those names in a lodging guide should treat them as distinct weekends with their own dates and programmes, not as other names for the fairgrounds gathering described here.
An older magazine layer names the Garrett Lakes Arts Festival as a beneficiary alongside HART for Animals, but it is a separate arts organisation, not this festival, and its name should not be read as another form of the Deep Creek Lake Art, Wine & Spirits Festival. The beneficiary named by the organiser’s own layer for this weekend is HART for Animals. The three published name forms for this event — the current spirits form, the older beer form and the lodging-guide form without Lake — are all forms of the same McHenry gathering, while the Celtic Festival, Art in the Park and the Garrett Lakes Arts Festival are separate things entirely.
Checklist
- Confirm the current edition’s dates and hours before travelling.
- Buy tickets in advance where the current ticketing page allows it, and keep the voucher that comes with a ticket for the on-site wine and spirits store.
- Plan lodging in the Deep Creek Lake area or through the event’s lodging packages, and remember the fairgrounds sit in McHenry, not in Oakland, the county seat.
- Bring identification for the tasting areas, since the weekend centres on wine and spirits.
- Set aside time for the artisan stalls as well as the tastings, because handcrafted works are half of the programme.
- Check the current price before budgeting, since no 2026 price is stated in the layers read.
- Do not budget from the older edition’s thirty-dollar advance and thirty-five-dollar gate figures.
Beyond the Festival
McHenry sits in the Deep Creek Lake area of Garrett County, and the fairgrounds weekend is one of the September gatherings that bring visitors to that part of western Maryland. Oakland, the county seat, is the town to know for county business, while McHenry is the town to know for the fairgrounds. The Deep Creek Lake area’s general autumn tourism is not this festival: the lake draws visitors through the season, while the fairgrounds gathering is a dated weekend with its own tickets, hours and programme.
A visitor with extra time can look at the wider Garrett County calendar, but the Celtic Festival and Art in the Park, both named in a lodging-guide layer, are separate events with their own standing, and neither should be folded into a plan for this weekend. The fairgrounds themselves are the centre of the visit, and the lodging packages the event offers are built around staying near McHenry rather than ranging across the county.
Why It Matters
A fairgrounds weekend that pairs handcrafted art with wine and spirits tasting gives Garrett County a September gathering with two audiences at once: people who come for the artisan works and people who come for the tasting. The organiser’s own layer presents the 2026 edition as the twenty-second annual, which puts the gathering among the longer-running September fixtures in the Deep Creek Lake area, even though no founding account is recorded in the layers read. The beneficiary, HART for Animals, ties the weekend to animal welfare in the county, so the ticket money supports more than the day itself.
The conflicting anniversary billings — twenty-second annual in the organiser’s own 2026 layer, twentieth anniversary in a lodging-guide layer, and the older magazine layer’s Saturday 8 September edition — show a gathering whose record has been kept in more than one place, with each layer preserving its own count. That untidiness is honest. The weekend matters because it has lasted, because it supports a named beneficiary, and because it brings artisans, winemakers and visitors together on the same fairgrounds in McHenry.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does a ticket include at the Deep Creek Lake Art, Wine & Spirits Festival?
Every ticket for the 2026 edition includes a voucher for the on-site wine and spirits store, and the 2026 layers state that tickets are on sale. No 2026 price is stated in the layers read. The older magazine layer’s thirty-dollar advance and thirty-five-dollar gate figures belong to an older edition.
Why do the layers print more than one name for this McHenry gathering?
Three forms appear in the layers read and are kept unmerged. The organiser’s own layer and a regional magazine layer print “Deep Creek Lake Art, Wine & Spirits Festival”. An older magazine layer prints “Deep Creek Lake Art, Wine & Beer Festival”. A lodging-guide layer prints “Deep Creek Art, Wine, & Spirits Festival”. The sheet title is never printed exactly.
Which Deep Creek Lake events are not this festival?
The Garrett County Celtic Festival and Art in the Park are separate Deep Creek Lake events listed in a lodging-guide layer, and the Garrett Lakes Arts Festival is a separate arts organisation named in an older magazine layer as a beneficiary alongside HART for Animals. None of them is the fairgrounds gathering described here.
What should a visitor know about the Friday and Saturday hours?
The two days of the 2026 edition run on different schedules. Friday 11 September 2026 is a premium tasting from five to eight in the evening. Saturday 12 September 2026 runs noon to six in the evening with the fuller programme of artisans, tastings, entertainment and food.
What to Expect From the Next Garrett County Maryland Deep Creek Lake Art & Wine Festival
How often is Garrett County Maryland Deep Creek Lake Art & Wine Festival held?
The organiser’s own layer bills the 2026 gathering as the twenty-second annual edition, and the dated editions in the layers read all fall in September.
When is the next Garrett County Maryland Deep Creek Lake Art & Wine Festival?
The latest dated edition in the layers read is Friday 11 and Saturday 12 September 2026, and the layers read give no dated edition after it. Check the current ticketing page for the next edition’s dates.
Will the dates change?
The layers read give different September weekends for different editions. The 2026 edition ran Friday 11 and Saturday 12 September, while the lodging-guide layer gives Saturday 6 and Sunday 7 September for the twentieth-anniversary edition and an older magazine layer gives Saturday 8 September, so the current edition’s dates should be checked before travelling.
The Garrett County Fairgrounds in McHenry hold a September weekend where artisan work and wine tasting share the same grounds, and the 2026 edition, the twenty-second annual in the organiser’s own layer, shows a gathering with a long record behind it and a named beneficiary in HART for Animals. The dated editions, the hours, the programme and the ticket voucher are all recorded as the layers state them.
