A trip to Vancouver Island’s Cowichan Valley isn’t complete without heading over to Cobble Hill and visiting Merridale Estate Cidery.
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Back in 2000, Janet Docherty and Rick Pipes purchased Merridale and its 20 acres of cider apples from its founder who started it the cidery in 1990. Today, Merridale is a full-experience cidery with self-guided tours of the orchards, a bistro with patio and outdoor dining, a wedding destination, a distillery, a deli, and even fit for an overnight getaway in a premium yurt.
My group (consisting of travel writers) stopped in for lunch and a quick tour of the property in early May. Even before we arrived, we had recommendations from staff at a winery in the area, suggesting what we try and what we should pick up from the cidery’s bakery.
We sat down on the bistro’s covered patio overlooking part of the orchard and enjoyed a flight of ciders along with some “today’s special” wood-fired pizzas. The ciders were arranged in order of the least sweet to the most sweet. Our selection was the Cidre Normandie, Scrumpy, Somerset, Traditional, Merri Berri, and the Project Q quince cider.
Pairing with crisp, tart, and sweet ciders, pizzas are popular at Merridale and have even prompted special live music “Pizza Nights” which will take place throughout the summer. Other menu items in the bistro include soups, sandwiches, charcuterie plates (with house-cured meats, and local cheeses), and a delicious house salad with local organic greens, toasted pumpkin seeds, daikon radish, fennel, carrot, celery, and apple cider herb dressing.
After lunch, Janet lead us over to the two yurts on site, which are open for bookings from mid-April to mid-October. The smell of fresh-cut grass filled our noses as honeybees buzzed from blossom to blossom.
Rates start at $95 (for the small yurt, mid-week) and go up to $135 (for the large yurt, on a weekend). Yurt stays include a breakfast of coffee or tea and goods from the bakery. The large yurt has a beautiful claw-foot tub for soaking and each has a washroom and a patio deck overlooking the property.
Visitors are welcome every day of the week at Merridale. You can do a free self-guided orchard or cidery tour, a tasting ($5 per person, based on booking for 6 people) or a guided tour and tasting ($6 per person, based on booking for 6 people). The Cider Bar is open 11:00am to 5:30pm, Monday to Sunday and the bistro is open for lunch Monday through Saturday from 12:00pm to 4:00pm and on Sundays for brunch from 10:30am to 3:00pm.
There are often special events with Merridale, either at the cidery or out and about in the community as Janet is very active on the island. As she puts it, it’s important for Islanders to support Islanders. The next big event at Merridale will be their Speakeasy Cocktail Party in the distillery barn on June 18th.
While it can definitely be billed as a couples getaway in the country — I need to find myself in that tub at some point — Merridale is a lovely day-trip destination for the whole family as well. Kids will love exploring the orchard on the easy-to-follow tour, the bistro and bakery treats, and stopping by the Merridale Fearie General Store:
To find out more about Merridale, and where you can get their estate-grown and produced ciders, follow them on Facebook and Twitter.
The BC Children’s Hospital Foundation is hosting their 26th annual Miracle Weekend on Global BC from 7:00pm Saturday, June 1st until 5:30pm on Sunday, June 2nd. This two-day celebration showcases the best of the hospital, including patients, families, caregivers, and supporters while raising much-needed funds.
Last year, Miracle Weekend raised over $17 million for the BC Children’s Hospital, setting a new record. In total, these events have raised over $188 million for the hospital since 1988. Donations are used to support the purchase of life-saving equipment, research into the treatment, prevention and cure of childhood diseases, recruitment and educational programs for caregivers, and programs in communities throughout the province.
How to Get Involved
I have a fundraising campaign as well to contribute to Miracle Weekend and I will also be a guest during the broadcast on Sunday afternoon. While I am not a parent (I am a very proud aunt) I am always happy to help out the BC Children’s Hospital Foundation because of the great work that they do.
Follow BC Children’s Hospital Foundation on Facebook and Twitter for more information and be sure to tune in on June 1st and 2nd.
Nominees for the 31st annual Jessie Richardson Theatre Awards (“The Jessies”) have just been announced and winners will be awarded at a ceremony on Monday, June 24, 2013 at the Commodore Ballroom. The list of nominees reflects a full year of excellence in local theatre, showing appreciation for everything from costume and lighting design to performances on stages large, small, and for young audiences.
In the Large Theatre category, Bard on the Beach’s Merry Wives of Windsor contributed 7 nominations to their total of 14 nominations overall. The Arts Club Theatre Company has 27 nominations (divided among 7 productions), Touchstone Theatre has one nomination as does Theatre Conspiracy.
In the Small Theatre category, there are 20 theatre companies nominated with Pi Theatre’s production of Terminus leading the pack with a total of 8 nominations including nods for all three actors, John Emmet Tracy, Pippa Mackie, and Leanna Brodie. The Virtual Stage received a total of 8 with Broken Sex Doll receiving 7 and The Arts Club also has a Small Theatre nominations for The Santaland Diaries, The Unplugging, and How Has My Love Affected You.
Where the Wild Things Are by Presentation House Theatre leads the nominations in the Theatre for Young Audiences category and Carousel Theatre for Young People is close behind with a total of 7 nominations for Cat in the Hat.
Some of the most touching moments of the Jessie Awards ceremony come with the special awards. These not only honour very deserving, distinguished, and up-and-coming members of the industry, but I have personally learned so much about the history of theatre in Vancouver thanks to the namesakes of these awards and their recipients. The special awards include: The Georgia Straight Patron of the Arts Award, the Mary Phillips Award for Behind the Scenes Achievement, the Ray Michal Prize for Emerging Director, the Sam Payne Award for the Most Promising Newcomer, the John Moffat & Larry Lillo Award, the Colin Campbell Award for Excellence in Technical Theatre, the Critics Choice Innovation Award, and the GVPTA Career Achievement Award.
Tickets for the Jessies are now on sale for $29.75 (plus service charges) through Ticketmaster online or by phone 1-855-985-5000. Doors are at 5:30pm on Monday, June 24th with the ceremony beginning at 6:45pm. Even if you aren’t a member of the industry, it’s a thoroughly entertaining evening and one of my favourite theatre-related events of the year thanks to the Vancouver TheatreSports League who puts on the show.
You can find a complete list of Jessie Awards nominees online (later today) and follow the Jessies on Facebook for more information. Miss604.com is the proud Social Media Sponsor of the Jessie Awards.
Toronto culture club The Society Global is hosting Vancouver’s second annual SMUT Soiree with Lainey Gossip on Monday, June 3, 2013 at Villa Amato. This gala evening includes a red carpet experience, the latest news from Lainey Gossip, sips of delicious moscato from the official wine sponsor, Jacob’s Creek, and more.
Lainey has confirmed three events on her site, starting with Vancouver and then she and Dan Levy will head to Calgary and Toronto to host SMUT Soirees there: “Please note that we’ve sold out every year and pretty quickly and this year, there are at least 30 people coming internationally who’ve already booked their flights etc. We’ll be hanging out with gossips from as far away as Spain and the Netherlands!”
At each event, FLARE and H&M will crown one style-savvy guest as the winner of The SMUT Style Award, rewarding them with a $1,000 shopping spree. Attendees will also receive a 20% H&M discount coupon with their event ticket, ALDO will be on hand with some shoe style tips, and Sally Hansen representatives will be there doing manicures. Tickets are now on sale for $53.53 for the Vancouver SMUT Soiree.
Thanks to Jacob’s Creek, I have a prize pack available that includes two tickets to the SMUT Soiree in Vancouver, Pier 1 stemless chalk-note wine glasses, collapsible lanterns, a tasty sangria recipe, and a West Elm tray. Of course the winner will also receive a bottle of Jacob’s Creek Moscato to take home as well.
Here’s how you can enter to win your way into the SMUT Soiree and claim this prize pack:
- Leave a comment on this post (1 entry)
- Post the following on Twitter (1 entry)
Follow Jacob’s Creek, the official wine sponsor of the SMUT Soiree and partner for this prize pack, on Facebook and Twitter for more information. I will draw one winner at random from all entries at 12:00pm on Tuesday, May 28, 2013. Must be legal drinking age (19 years) to enter and attend this event. Please enjoy responsibly and plan a safe trip home.
Update The winner is Donna!
Rainy days are a part of life in Vancouver. They make our hair frizz up, soak the cuffs of our pants, and steam up the windows on the bus but they also ensure our beautiful lush green scenery continues to grow and thrive. With the weather usually being a hot topic of conversation on any day in this city, I pulled a few “rain” and “umbrella” images from the Vancouver Public Library and City of Vancouver Archives for today’s roundup:
