This Is The Fastest Growing Venue In Michigan, But Are Its Residents Trying To Shut It Down?
Warner Vineyards in Paw Paw is one of the fastest-growing venues to see a concert in the entire state. This year, the winery, which is the 2nd oldest in the state, drove in over 1300+ for Buckcherry, and may possibly top that with their Powerman 5000 show. There are also analytics that show that visitors to the winery are visiting other businesses in the village, meaning their shows are generating much local revenue.
But not everybody in the community has been happy with the success of the concert series. Since its expansion, the village has made many requests from the owner, Pat Warner, to ensure the safety of concert-goers, which he has accommodated every time. But there are those who are unhappy with the noise and are starting to band together against it.
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Is Paw Paw Trying To Shut Down Warner Vineyards?
No, nobody is trying to shut them down, but some issues need to be cleared up regarding their concert series.
It's important to note that before the start of the 2024 concert series, Warner had been working diligently with the village of Paw Paw to provide solutions for parking, contingency plans, adding additional entry/exit points, and fencing just to name a few items, to ensure the growth would be sustainable for their land.
Warner provided solutions to all, while also adding an additional wing of the deck and doubling the size of their stage.
Because of all of the changes, Warner Vineyards needed an updated site plan approved. First, they had their property surveyed by Southwest Michigan Survey and Engineering. They then hired Arthur Bates, an architect to provide drawings which were provided to the Village Council.
The next step in the process is getting approval from the Paw Paw Planning Commission on July 18 and August 1 at 7 PM. But this is where the issue comes in. According to select residents, they're worried about Warner Vineyard's increased shows, which they feel will increase other shows happening in the community, thus making the area "louder."
Are Warner Vineyards Concerts Too Loud?
The select residents are worried about the sound levels Warner Vineyards is producing, however, Pat Warner tested decibel levels from across the street during a concert, and they were no higher than heavy traffic on the road. He insisted that levels were at tolerable decibel points throughout the surrounding neighborhood during concerts, just to ease the worries of residents, however, this proved to not be good enough.
Are Residents Trying To Limit The Amount of Concerts Warner Can Host?
Some residents are unhappy with the number of shows Warner Vineyards is running, however, it's important to note that neither Warner Vineyards nor the Village of Paw Paw has any limit to how many shows a venue can book, which makes them within their legal right to book as many as they want, so long as no noise ordinances are being broken.
Pat has obliged concerns and continues to offer to negotiate with the concerned citizens, as he told us regarding the meeting this Thursday:
This meeting provides the opportunity for anyone to show support as well as opposition. So we’ve been asked for anyone supporting our summer concert series to attend. We have received overwhelming support and we are humbled. But we also HEAR the opposition's concerns and have made changes to address them. We want to coexist. We hope to do concerts for years to come.
Those who are interested in expressing their concerns, or showing support for Warner Vineyards are encouraged to attend the meeting on Thursday, July 18th at 7 PM at Paw Paw Township Hall.
Tour Warner Vineyards' New Train Car Airbnb in Paw Paw
The historic 1912 train car sits just outside the winery's front doors!
Gallery Credit: Lauren Gordon