Harvest on the Harbor, Portland’s annual food and spirits festival, has been sold by the Greater Portland Convention and Visitors Bureau for an undisclosed sum.

The buyers are Stefanie Manning and Gabrielle Garofalo, partners in Portland-based S&G LLC.

Manning is the vice president of marketing and circulation at MaineToday Media and Garofalo owns Gabrielle Garofalo Inc. Consulting & Creative Energy in New York City, where she has worked on the 2012 Billboard Music Awards and New York Magazine’s annual Taste of New York culinary event.

Manning worked with Garofalo at Newsweek in the 1990s, then moved to O, The Oprah Magazine, where she led the magazine’s annual multi-day signature events throughout the country during her 13-year tenure. She moved to Maine in 2013 after her husband, Tom Manning, purchased the Miss Portland Diner.

Four companies submitted bids to purchase Harvest on the Harbor, according to the Convention and Visitors Bureau. The new owners are expected to make changes but keep some of the festival’s most popular events, such as the Maine Lobster Chef of the Year competition and the weekend Marketplace, where visitors sample artisanal, mostly Maine-made products.

“This event has helped to solidify Greater Portland’s reputation as a culinary destination.” Lynn Tillotson, president and chief executive of the Convention and Visitors Bureau, said in a news release. “We are delighted to have S&G take this festival to the next level. We are confident they will expand its scope and reach while being true to its focus on highlighting Maine’s exceptional cuisine while driving new visitors to our region.”

The Convention and Visitors Bureau will remain a founding sponsor until at least 2020.

Harvest on the Harbor started in 2008 as a three-day event to extend the traditional tourism season beyond Columbus Day weekend. More than 28,000 people attend the festival.

The 2016 Harvest on the Harbor will be held Oct. 19-23. Tickets go on sale June 1 at Harvestontheharbor.com


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