Riverhead - Continuing to be an ardent supporter of community programs promoting local tourism and business in Suffolk, County Executive Steve Levy joined with several East End community and business groups to announce the coming of Long Island Winterfest 2009.

Following the success of the 2008 Jazz on the Vine program, the 2009 Long Island Winterfest will feature free jazz performances at East End wineries on weekend afternoons. In addition, this year's program will include East End restaurants that feature Long Island wines. Participating restaurants will offer jazz brunches, lunches and dinners during the program period, deepening the Winterfest experience.

The calendar for "Jazz on the Vine - 2009" has been extended to six weekends, running through Sunday, March 22. In addition to the free jazz concerts, the program is further supplemented by special offers from area hotels, restaurants, limo/tour companies, cultural and family attractions, and other businesses participating this year.

Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy met with organizers of the 2009 Winterfest at Roanoke Vineyards – one of the participating vineyards – to provide those in attendance with a sneak peak of what this year's program has in store for tourists. Joining him were representatives for organizers of Winterfest including the Long Island Wine Council, the East End Arts Council, Suffolk County Department of Economic Development and Workforce Housing, the Long Island Convention and Visitors Bureau (LICVB), with support from American Express, WLIU Radio and LI Pulse magazine.

The 2009 promotion also benefits from significant additional funding from an Agri-Tourism grant from New York's Department of Agriculture and Markets and an Explore New York grant from the State's Tourism Division.

The Winterfest program was conceived in 2006 to generate increased business and tourism on the East End during the slowest part of the year by promoting a calendar of activities and specific offers. The 2008 program was the first time that the promotion adopted a particular musical theme, generating welcomed results. Seventy-five percent of participating businesses surveyed last year reported they saw an increase in business during the 2008 Winterfest program, with the majority saying that business was up between 10 and 30 percent during the period.

"This year's Winterfest program promises to be the best one yet," Levy said. "Suffolk County is such a unique and diverse area that there is something for everyone at any time of the year. Our great county is often thought of as a hotspot only in the summer, when, in reality, this couldn't be further from the truth. Winterfest 2009 and the Jazz on the Vine events are terrific representations of this."