The Lighthouse Beer & Wine Festival: A Riverfront Tasting Afternoon in Downtown Wilmington

The Lighthouse Beer & Wine Festival is scheduled for October 24, 2026 at Live Oak Bank Pavilion in Wilmington. Ticket choice changes both admission time and what you can sample. General admission starts at 1 p.m., while VIP starts at noon; the event ends at 5 p.m. The earlier guide’s suggestion that every ticket gives five hours was incorrect.

Compare the actual ticket totals

The organizer’s ticket page links to this 2026 Universe listing. Its ticket-selection screen showed these totals on October 5, with the displayed fees including taxes:

The range beginning at $57.64 is the designated-driver tier, not a drinking general-admission ticket. Check the final order total before buying; availability and prices can change.

For one Saturday visitor, VIP costs $24.46 more than general admission and gives one extra scheduled hour. Decide whether that hour fits your arrival and budget. A smaller VIP allocation does not guarantee no queues. For two general-admission visitors and one designated driver, the displayed ticket total is $228.96, before transport, food or optional purchases. This is arithmetic from the checked screen, not a travel-package quote.

Beer and wine tickets have different scope

The festival page describes responsible unlimited samples and a tasting cup. Its FAQ adds an important qualification: beer tickets cover beer and wine tickets cover wine, with separately purchased tokens for trying the other category. Confirm that arrangement for your selected 2026 ticket rather than reading “unlimited” as access to everything on site.

The designated-driver ticket has no drinking privileges. Everyone entering, including drivers, must be 21 or older with valid age ID. Arrange the return before any tasting; a ticket does not make an impaired person a usable driver.

Pack for this festival’s rules

The organizer’s FAQ specifies bags under 12 by 12 inches, encourages clear bags, prohibits pets, coolers, bottles and drink containers, and says there is no re-entry. It provides water stations. Tickets are non-refundable, though the FAQ says another person can use one, and the advertised weather policy is rain or shine.

These are festival rules. Do not substitute the pavilion’s ordinary concert allowances for bottles or chairs. Ask the organizer about chairs, service-animal access, medical items or an accommodation before buying if it affects attendance. A rain-or-shine statement does not establish what happens during every severe-weather emergency; follow any dated cancellation or safety notice.

Resolve the arrival address before traveling

The festival listing uses 11 Harnett Street, while the pavilion’s visitor guidance has used 41 Harnett Street for its entrance. Confirm the festival’s specific gate and accessible drop-off with the organizer rather than presenting those addresses as interchangeable. The FAQ says there is no parking at Riverfront Park.

Choose legal parking through the city’s parking information, then check the walking route and posted event charge. Include the return walk or pickup in the plan, especially for a mobility need. This refresh did not independently confirm the festival’s full accessible-route arrangement.

Choose the Saturday, then the ticket

Wilmington Riverfest’s 2026 edition is canceled; our Riverfest guide is not an alternative October 3-4 event invitation. The Friday event in the weekend-pass listing is separate from a Saturday-only ticket. Do not add it to a plan without checking the purchase covers both.

Start with your group, permitted entry and return transport. Choose general admission if four scheduled hours suit you; compare VIP’s extra hour using the actual difference. Leave food and travel in a separate budget, and contact 910-256-8622 for unresolved ticket-scope or access questions.