BB&T Wine + Food Festival unveils 2013 poster

Event posters offer essential information — the what, when and where — but they do more than that. They set a tone and provide a visual cue associating a particular image with the event.

Sometimes the image is literal, sometimes it’s abstract, but it always provides an artist or graphic designer with an opportunity to be creative.

Among the area’s big events is the annual BB&T Charleston Wine + Food Festival, scheduled for Feb. 28-March 3. The official 2013 poster for the eighth annual culinary extravaganza was unveiled Wednesday night at a private reception for donors.

The poster features an image produced by local artist and gallery owner Robert Lange, who depicted a goose swimming in a wine glass. “I wanted the piece to embody the feeling of Charleston’s culinary scene,” he said in a statement. “This city oozes charm and has a world-class culinary scene, yet it doesn’t take itself too seriously.”

The image is related to other Lange paintings in which animals are either reduced in size or enlarged in relation to their surroundings.

“In creating this painting, I knew I wanted to combine wine and food in a not-so-obvious way,” Lange said.

Posters and other merchandise featuring the swimming goose will be available for purchase at www.charlestonwineandfood.com or during the festival.