Press Release 2026: Fuyu Fest Returns on February 22, 2026 with Music Pairing Program, Visiting Artists from Japan

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Fuyu Fest Returns on February 22, 2026 with Music Pairing Program, Visiting Artists from Japan

February 22, 2026 | 1:00–5:00 PM

Fuyu Fest, Sunflower Sake’s annual winter sake festival, is entering its fourth year on Sunday, February 22, 2026. Fuyu Fest centers on thoughtful, educational tasting, producer-led storytelling, and the cultural context around sake. This grassroots festival promises an immersive afternoon focused on craft, seasonality, and cultural exchange.

At the heart of the fest is sake tasting: over 100 bottles from familiar benchmarks to limited, small-production releases. Every bottle is curated by the Sunflower team to represent a wide range of styles, price points, and regions, emphasizing quality over quantity. Purchase stations will be available for guests to order favorites for pick-up at Sunflower Sake the following week. Sake purchases under $150 total will be discounted 10%; above $150, 15%. (2025 booklet)

This year’s program highlights how sake interacts with other art forms, including live improvisational music pairings designed to evolve alongside the tasting experience. Portland musicians Patricia Wolf and Maddi Baird, along with Los Angeles musicians Nicholas Deyoe and Nicki Chen, will be led by Seattle composer and wine professional Sid Samberg. Samberg will introduce the sake for musicians and attendees to taste together, then the musicians will interpret their reactions in real time.

A dedicated hot sake bar returns with familiar Tokyo duo Okan Lover, now in their third year at Fuyu Fest. Led by Jo Takasaki of Tokyo’s Takasaki no Okan and Yamagata guide and Niida Honke brand ambassador “Akai” Kohei, the bar will present multiple expressions of warmed sake at different temperatures, including mixology techniques such as infusions and blends. Guests can explore how aroma, texture, and flavor shift with heat and technique.

Fuyu Fest 2026 also welcomes Team Fukuoka, traveling from Fukuoka Prefecture. The group includes Kyushu guide Futoshi Miyawaki (Team FAT), Librom Craft Sake, calligraphy artist Fuku Nakamura, and Ryokan Ohana, a traditional inn that also brews beer. Librom—an experimental brewery not currently exported—works with local Fukuoka fruits and spices and will bring a special spring release. Ryokan Ohana will pour its Hakushaku Mikan Ale made with local mikan. In the festival’s micro-classroom, calligraphy artist Fuku Nakamura will present live shodo (calligraphy), offering guests a hands-on cultural counterpoint to tasting.

Additional prefectural tables include our sister state Toyama, featuring exclusive Toyama sake and shiroebi (white shrimp) chips, and Kobe via the Kobe International Club, sharing hand-carried historic and eco-friendly sake from Hyogo. The Kobe table will also serve kasujiru, a traditional soup flavored with sake kasu (lees) from Kobe. With many travelers heading to Japan, these tables can offer personal recommendations for lesser-known destinations.

Food and drink offerings include yaki onigiri and kenchinjiru from Obon Shokudo, preorder-only chirashi bento from Ippai PDX, Japanese sandos from Reggie’s Manga Cafe, and coffee and matcha from Slow Bar 間 (ma). For dessert, visit Hey Day Mochi Donuts or sample Pinolo’s sake kasu gelato featuring Seattle's Tahoma Fuji sake kasu.

Since its founding, Fuyu Fest has aimed to be educational without being didactic, festive without excess, and rooted in respect for producers and their work. The 2026 edition expands the program while maintaining the inclusive community atmosphere and intimacy that have defined the festival since 2023.

The festival's artistic elements showcase Pacific Northwest talent, featuring:

Hand-crafted original neon art piece crafted by Portland artist The Tiny Spoon (Instagram) inspired by the peaceful enjoyment of sake in winter
Limited-edition commemorative glass sakazuki (sake cups) crafted by local artist Maria Enomoto (Instagram)
Portland improvisational musicians Maddi Baird (website) and Patricia Wolf (Instagram)
A festival discovery stamp rally coordinated by NE community center, Reggie's Manga Shop
Various local artists and craftspeople, with particular attention to past festivals’ artists, displaying their work

Demonstrating its commitment to community support, Fuyu Fest donates 20% of ticket revenues to Ikoi no Kai, a lunch program serving Portland's Japanese American elder community. The festival maintains a no-table-fee policy for artists, sake vendors, and food vendors, ensuring the event benefits all participants.

Ticket Information:

General Admission: $89
Commemorative hand-blown glass sakazuki (artist: Maria enomoto): $55 and $65 versions, limited editions of 50 each available for preorder, delivery at Fuyu Fest.
All attendees must be 21+ with valid ID

Tickets can be purchased here. The festival runs from 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM, with food, art and DJ from 1:00 PM and sake tasting from 1:45 to 5:00 PM.

For more information and updates about Fuyu Fest 2026, visit fuyufest.org or follow @fuyufest and @sunflowersake on Instagram.

About Fuyu Fest
Fuyu Fest is an annual sake festival celebrating winter drinking culture, producer craft, and the broader artistic and cultural contexts of sake. The event is produced by Sunflower Sake and brings together brewers, artists, and educators from Japan and the United States.

About Sunflower Sake
Sunflower Sake is a sake-focused bar, bottle shop, and educational platform dedicated to thoughtful service, direct producer relationships, and expanding understanding of sake through events, classes, and cultural programming.

Media inquiries and press access available upon request.

Media contact: Nina Murphy, organizer | nina@sunflowersake.com

Poster: Neon version