Organizers of the annual Albany Wine & Dine for the Arts festival are growing increasingly concerned over the ongoing, bitter contract negotiations at the Hilton Albany, which has hosted the festival since its 2010 inception and where it is scheduled to be held again Jan. 11 to 13.

The pressure on the festival to find another location likely will increase now that Gov. Andrew Cuomo has ordered state agencies and personnel, as well as those in the Executive Chamber, not to book events or rooms at the Hilton. A memo from the Governor’s Office of Employee Relations, sent last week, noted picket lines and rallies by the hotel’s front entrance and around the building and said, “Agencies should therefore refrain from booking new events or reserving rooms at the Albany Hilton Hotel until further notice.”

The problem for Wine & Dine for the Arts is that its space and logistical requirements make finding another venue in Albany, especially barely more than two months before the festival, difficult if not impossible. The festival needs a huge room for 800-person wine and food tastings on Friday night and Saturday afternoon, small nearby rooms for seminars and cooking and bartending competitions, and the ability to host a 500-person sit-down dinner with five courses, a kitchen to accommodate a dozen chefs and many assistants, staff to serve the dinner and sufficient glasses, dishes, flatware and more.

According to Wine & Dine organizers, only two Albany venues besides the Hilton can accommodate its needs. The Albany Capital Center is booked for Jan. 14, according to a spokeswoman, and the Empire State Plaza Convention Center is hosting a Martin Luther King Jr. celebration that begins the morning of Jan. 16 and takes several days to set up, according to Wine & Dine’s board president, Donna Purnomo. A spokeswoman for the state Office of General Services, which manages the plaza convention center, said some of its spaces are booked for the weekend, but the agency is “looking at ways that we could potentially accommodate the event here, should the Albany Wine & Dine for the Arts Festival need a venue.”

Purnomo tells me she has not heard directly from past winefest patrons who wouldn’t cross a picket line to attend, but messages of concern have been relayed through others, and she has scheduled a meeting to discuss the matter later this week with representatives of The Hotel and Motel Trades Council, which represents the Hilton employees.

Purnomo says. “Do we have an idea in the back of our heads, should this not be resolved, of what we can do? We are considering other options, but nothing makes sense yet. Of course our first hope is that the dispute gets settled.”

Would picket lines or other protests affect whether you would attend a Wine & Diner for the Arts event? Yes, wouldn't go at all.

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In addition to an opening reception at City Hall, grand tastings on Jan. 12 and 13, Slider Slam, and a Saturday-night gala dinner, other festival components include bartending competitions showcasing Manhattans and bloody Marys, culinary demos, a Rising Star Chefs program and a Signature Chef Invitational. All but two of the events are scheduled to take place at the Hilton.

This past January’s eighth festival attracted more than 3,000 people and raised $109,000 for last year’s 13 beneficiaries, all Albany-based arts organizations. The festival’s donation to the arts totals about $784,000 over eight years.

The current contract for Hilton employees expired in April.

Cuomo is the highest profile elected official to get involved in the contract dispute.

State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli’s office is auditing the Albany City Industrial Development Agency, and is to review, among other IDA business, a tax deal for the Hilton property inked in 2011. DiNapoli previously said that given the controversy, “it’s a good time to ask some questions about what’s going on.”

Also, dozens of state lawmakers, including legislative leadership, have pledged support of the ongoing union picket and boycott of the facility.

Prior to the Cuomo administration directive, one state agency already decided against utilizing the Hilton facilities. The state Office of Mental Health moved a September gathering to the Empire State Plaza as the picket ramped up.

The Hotel and Motel Trades Council is a politically potent union and a generous donor to a number of elected officials, including DiNapoli and numerous legislators. The union gave $145,300 to Cuomo campaigns between 2010 and the end of 2016.

►My colleague Matt Hamilton contributed to parts of this story.