For 72 years people have come from all over for the Nauvoo Grape Festival to celebrate the town's rich history.

Long before California was thinking of gold, Nauvoo was making rapid progress on grape culture.

But some are more interested in splashing in the mud than stomping grapes.

The mud volleyball and archery competitions are the most popular events.

The Labor Day tradition began in 1938.

Grapes were the staple crop in Nauvoo at the time, so they decided to develop a festival around their harvest and the town's booming wine industry.

We asked organizers what makes this a one of kind event. 

"The grapes and when we had the cheese factory here we could claim the cheese industry here. Those two industries were rather unique because France and Nauvo, IL were I think supposedly the only two places that really celebrated a festival involving grapes and cheese of course we have our famous wedding of the wine and cheese celebration," said Allen Barry, Grape Festival Chairman.

The wedding of the wine and cheese portrays the history of Nauvoo.

At one point there was nearly *100* grape varieties and several *thousand* acres of vineyards in Nauvoo.

And hundreds of thousands of barrels of wine were being shipped all over the world.

The vineyard in Nauvoo's State park is what's left of the Rheinberg vineyard planted in 1851.

It's the oldest vineyard in Illinois.

And don't miss out on tomorrow's fun.

More than 500 custom and restored classic automobiles will roll into town for the 33rd Annual Festival on Wheels.