Poplar Grove Opens Spectacular New Winery In Penticton

Thankyou Travlin' Pat for this post

After raining most of the afternoon, the early evening sky turned out to be one of the finest so far this summer.  Seems like an auspicious start to a new era for Poplar Grove. 

Its new look is one of sophistication and elegance, which of course which pairs nicely with the fine vintages that Poplar Grove consistently produces.

Right off you are struck (if not awestruck) by the magnificent setting.  Both Okanagan and Skaha lakes shimmer in the distance and one can see the whole of Penticton nestled cozily in between.  

The winery is situated to take advantage of the marvelous summer sunsets that the Okanagan is so famous for.

The fortunate ones to receive a much-coveted invitation poured into the winery around 7 pm.  Locals, out of towners and possibly a few celebs made up the festive, cheerful and tipsy (oh that was later!) crowd.  Right off the bat every one was given a glass and it was your job to run around tasting all your favorite vintages.  

The wine flowed freely all night long. My personal favorite was the syrah but my husband stayed steadfast and claimed the famous legacy was the supreme ruler of the night.

At one point we were all ushered outside to witness the barrel dropping.  A wine barrel is hosted onto a forklift and ceremoniously dropped, smashing on the ground and I think spreading good luck for the winery.  Don’t quote me.

The food was terrific.  Wonderful appetizers kept appearing just at the perfect time and there was the scent of meat in the air as a pig roasted in an outdoor spit.  yumlicous!

 

I could go on and on …about the harp music and the terrific band and the dancing etc, but point is …it was a classy delightful experience.

Best wishes to Poplar Grove Winery!

Why not explore all the wineries Penticton and surrounding areas have to offer, and make your base an Okanagan Vacation Rental.

Penticton and Friends Celebrity Golf Classic - Gran Fondo in Penticton

PENTICTON DOES IT AGAIN !
This weekend was chocko block with activity in our city.

The Penticton and Friends Celebrity Golf Classic held the 10th annual charity golf tournament on Friday and Saturday. Some people may remember it used to be the Andy Moog and friends celebrity Golf Classic. This year was dedicated to a local restaunture Rob Wylie the former owner of Salty’s Beach House. Over the years they have raised lots of money and seen celebrities, pro hockey players, retired pro hockey players, politicians, and fathers and sons hitting the links with a vengeance (and then some!) Although as far as I know there was no clubs tossed into the way to numerous water hazards.

They have pretty impressive prizes for the skilled or lets just say “lucky” players. The big one is $50,000 for the main hole in one prize and 2 $20,000 and 1 $10,000 prizes.  It doesn’t get much better than that!

On the first day I dropped by to have a look. There were men everywhere all dressed in their golf finery diligently working on their putting strokes and all the carts were lined up loaded and ready to go for the 11:00 shotgun start. That seems like an odd thing to call that.  Maybe it’s because sometimes during the game you kind of feel like you could use something to put you out of your misery…… The weather was fine and some good and bad shots played but you can bet everyone had a great time and supported a worthwhile cause.

On top of that;

The first annual GranFondo was held on Sunday. For those of you who haven’t the vaguest idea what that is, it is a horribly long bike race that people actually are happy to go in. There was some serious mileage happening as the ride is 160 Kilometers long! The winner did it in 3hrs and 57 min. Wow I thought I did well when I did my 30 minute run to Starbucks!
Everywhere you looked cyclists were zooming along looking all very professional in their brightly colored (not to mention tight fitting!) outfits.  But I digress….. The weather was perfect for a long ride such as this, warm but not zoiling hot.  Congratulations to all the participants.  Well done.
To see some great photos of the race go to My Penticton Photography.

While this was going on people who were looking for a more sedentary way to spend the day were drifting down the channel parkway doing their summer thing.  Ah, bliss……

Penticton is such a happening place!

Thankyou Travlin' Pat for covering these two weekend sports events.

Here On The Flight Path - Many Hats Theatre Company - Penticton

'Here On The Flight Path’ is the name of the play, Norm Foster is the author, Ed Schneider the director, Ross Arnot and Ben Amos the producers, and The Cannery Stage in Penticton, the place where we attended a packed opening night last Thursday. 

Eric Hanston plays the part of John Cummings, a recently divorced newspaper columnist, who lives on the fourth floor of a big city apartment which happens to be on the flight path of the nearby airport. 
The whole play unravels on his deck and the deck of the apartment beside him, which over the course of the story is occupied by three different women, each role hilariously portrayed by Megan Kimberley.   John calmly relates the story in a flashback kind of way,  so we can get to know the struggles of each of his neighbors over the course of 3 or 4 years. We gradually become endeared to him as the friendships with these women help him mature as a person.





First there was Faye, who is revealed to be in the sex trade and inevitably gets thrown out of each place she lives, when the landlord discovers her profession. 







Then a saucy young woman named Angel moves in with aspirations to make it in show business. After she gives up and heads back to Alberta, Gwen, the recently separated driving instructor, is John’s final neighbor in his story.

Laughter was contagious in the audience as Norm Foster’s unsurpassed wit and humor offered funny one liners and comedy.

A favourite line was when Faye stated “Men are like kitchen tiles, if you lay them right the first time you can walk over them for the rest of your life” or something like that. I loved it when Angel belted out a pretty good rendition of “Don’t Rain on My Parade” from “Funny Girl” and when the prim and proper Gwen ends up being not quite as she appeared at first glance.

After the play we attended the opening night reception with yummy nibblies and complimentary local wine.  We also met Eric and Megan in person and thanked them for a marvelous performance.

On the way home we both agreed that the well worn phrase “Laughter is the best Medicine” still reigned.  Thankyou, Many Hats Theatre Company for making our day.  We’ll be back for your next show.

If you are in Penticton on vacation this month be sure to take in 'Here on the Flight Path' You won't be disappointed. 

If you have seen this play we would love to hear your comments.

Canada Day Celebrations in Penticton BC

The Penticton Herald had a list of events happening July 1 for Canada Day and it seemed the central location was Gyro Park.  Camera at the ready, I sauntered down to the park to take in some of the festivities.

Entertainment was in full swing judging by the music filtering through the trees and as I entered the park, I was in the middle of throngs of people moving around and stopping at the various tents selling everything from palm readings to popcorn.

Many young families were there and a giant person decked out in maple leaves and a Canada flag for a cape, was handing out flags to eager children.

I was in time to see the end of a show by the Bahiti Belly Dancers and after that Michael Musclow on guitar. 

Quite a few people got into the spirit by wearing red and white, and sporting Canadian flags in many wild and wonderful ways.  I met a couple of women named Jo and Phyl who were obviously having fun and enjoying the day.

There were special fun things for the kids, including a climbing wall from Loco Landing, face painting and a toy store.

I wandered around for a while enjoying the festive ambiance and chatting to friends.  The day ended with a colorful fireworks display over Okanagan Lake.

Happy 144th Birthday Canada!

Cirque du Soleil Dralion at the South Okanagan Events Centre in Penticton

Fantastic! Incredible! Unbelievable!  Just a few words to describe the production of the Cirque du Soleil ‘Dralion’ held at the South Okanagan Events Centre in Penticton June 29 to July 3.

We sat open mouthed as a continuous succession of marvelous acts appeared on stage right in front of us.  Aerialists flying through the air, ‘with the greatest of ease’, a woman balancing on one hand, while she contorted her body like a pretzel, a marvelous performance of diving and rolling through various sized hoops, amazing acrobatics performed within Chinese skipping ropes, which I couldn’t even master as a kid, by just plain skipping.  This one ending with an incredible human pyramid of acrobats skipping in unison.  A beautiful woman floating down from the ceiling on colourful scarves which became the medium for her exhilarating  routine. Not to mention other awe-inspiring acts within the hoops that also floated from above.  Lorant Markocsany  thrilled the crowd as he flew across the stage suspended only by a wrist strap.
One of my favourite acts featured colorful dragon costumes that came alive as the people inside danced, pranced and played while a few brave souls balanced on their backs and performed other daring antics.  
The surreal wall to the right featured trampoline artists who literally walked up the wall to the top ledge after various summersaults and bouncing manoevures. The high energy level of the performers was boundless, sets were out of this world and the costumes were brilliant.    

Three clowns speaking a gibberish cross of Italian and French, provided comic relief during set and costume changes.
I think it is obvious that we enjoyed this show, and would definitely recommend it to anyone who loves live entertainment at its best.

Tickets can still be purchased, at the Penticton Wine Country Visitor Centre, by telephone at 1-877-763-2849, or online.