From Behind The Scenes To Grand Marshal: Suzanne Rayles

She Helped Build the Swiss Wine Festival - Now Vevay Celebrates Her

Suzanne Rayles

(Vevay, Ind.) - When you consider the scope of the 2026 Swiss Wine Festival in Vevay, which draws between 20,000 and 50,000 visitors over four days, imagine being the person responsible for coordinating it all: carnival rides, musical acts — country, rock, and bluegrass — on multiple stages, food trucks with food from around the world, craft vendors, kids’ activities, contests, three days of grape-stomping competitions, a laser light show, a beer garden, polka dancers, stage shows, a wine pavilion representing Indiana wineries, parking, restrooms, camping, security, volunteer assignments, set-up, electric and water hook-ups, equipment rentals, take-down, and cleanup.

The lists of duties start months in advance and continue until the next festival is on the horizon.

Few people would do that job twice, much less for twenty years in a row. But few people bring Suzanne Rayles’ combination of no-fear determination and deep community pride.

You will have a chance to see her — yes, she’s still standing! — as she waves from a place of honor in the 2026 Swiss Wine Festival Grand Parade in Vevay, Indiana, on Saturday, August 29, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. She has been named Grand Marshal as a way to congratulate her on her retirement from the coordinator position.

She was hired as festival coordinator in 2006, even though she had no experience in that area. Few people did. Kirk Works had stepped down after 23 years in the position, and Suzanne was working mornings at a local radio station and lunches at a Vevay restaurant owned by a friend.

She had been a company supervisor previously, but she admits that her computer skills at the time consisted of Facebook and email. If you met Suzanne, you wouldn’t question why she was offered the job.

She describes herself as a fast learner, organized, and unafraid to ask friends for assistance and advice. She learned how to create her first Excel spreadsheets over the phone, with welcome support from Kirk Works and Swiss Wine Festival Board President Joe Parham.

Recognized now as a cornerstone of the Vevay community, Suzanne was born in Aurora near the river. She grew up enjoying visits to Vevay with her family. After high school she went to Spain with her Air Force husband.

After 4 years she returned home with her little daughter, became a farmer’s wife and moved to Vevay. She says proudly that she is comfortable being a city girl and a country girl.

She has fond festival memories, including 2016, when Charlie Daniels performed. Unfortunately, Suzanne spent much of the show responding to calls from volunteers and missed all but the final song, “The Devil Went Down to Georgia.” However, she did get a photo with the singer after the show, and she treasures it.

A difficult time came a few years later when the 49th annual Swiss Wine Festival was canceled in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The festival was less than three months away from its scheduled date when the Board of Directors announced the decision in May, stating that the community’s health and safety were their top priorities.

The Board followed with the announcement that the next festival on August 26–29, 2021, would be “the Best Swiss Wine Festival to-date.”

However, the financial burden of funding such a large event made 2021 a stressful year. Businesses, individuals, and organizations had been hit hard by the economic slowdown caused by COVID-19, making support more difficult to secure even from longtime backers.

The board, volunteers, and Suzanne understood how important the festival is to the community. And they stretched their resources and their creativity to assemble a 4-day celebration worthy of the history of Vevay and Switzerland County.

To help the tight budget go further, Suzanne stepped away from the coordinator position she was hired for in 2006. Instead, she continued doing her job and kept the same duties but as a volunteer.

When the festival did return, the crowds came back and they continue coming back.

They come for a unique festival in a unique town, Vevay, where the town mascot is a hornless goat named Fred.

There’s also a Giant Rubber Duckie on Main Street that is perfect for selfies, a field of black tulips that blooms in the spring, and some very special people who volunteer their time to make visitors feel so much at home that they kick off their shoes and jump in a vat of grapes!

The 2026 Swiss Wine Festival takes place August 27-30 in Vevay, Indiana. For more information, visit the festival website at https://swisswinefestival.org/.