So many Christmas trees, so many twinkling lights, so many festivities and so much wine.
The 9th annual Festival of Trees is back and bigger and better than ever with dual locations at Mission Hill Winery in West Kelowna and the Delta Grand hotel in downtown Kelowna.
Spread throughout the winery's boutique, gallery and barrel cellar there are 17 elaborately decorated Christmas trees sponsored by local businesses and organizations.
The number of trees at the Delta Grand is 15 -- up and down the lobby.
And it doesn't stop there.
Mission Hill has lit up numerous trees on its dramatic mountain-top property and the Delta Grand's main entrance is a winter scene extraordinaire.
Both Mission Hill and the Delta Grand also have special season activities and dining built around the Festival of Trees to keep the Christmas vibes going for weeks.
And you're invited.
Guided tours of the Festival of Trees at Mission Hill are $65 and include a glass of mulled wine as you wander around and admire and then you sit down for samples of wine and some small bites.
Festival of Trees is a fundraiser, so partial proceeds from the tours go to BC Children's Hospital's Excellence in Childhood Health fund.
Mission Hill also has a new The Barrel & The Bell bar experience with cocktails made of Dillon's gin and Bearface whisky, lunches and dinners, culinary classes (Holiday Entertaining is tonight and tomorrow and Traditional Canadian Christmas is Dec. 5 and 6) and Sip and Wrap days Dec. 5, 6 and 7 and 12,13 and 14 to sample four wines while you wrap Christmas presents with materials the winery provides.
Check out the full schedule here: https://www.
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It's free to do your own self-guided tour of the Festival of Trees at the Delta Grand.
And then the hotel hopes you'll stick around for eats and drinks at the Apres Fire Lounge, Oak+Cru restaurant, Lagoonside Dome Dining or Santa's Cellar Private Dining.
All the details are here:
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Fire & Ice
The South Okanagan Fire & Ice Festival kicks off tonight until 9 pm with Oliver Light Up & Fireworks.
Saturday it continues with the signature Fire & Ice Celebration at Spirit Ridge Resort in Osoyoos where participants can dress up in fire-and-ice-inspired attire to enjoy live music and performances, canapes and samples from South Okanagan wineries, breweries and distilleries.
There may be some last-minute $89 tickets available at Eventbrite.
For the rest of the fest, there's Osoyoos Lite Up on Dec. 5, dinners and s'mores at wineries, Christmas Artisan Markets and skating at District Wine Village.
Get all the details here: South Okanagan Fire & Ice Festival
Light Up the Vines
Yes, grape vines are festooned with Christmas lights for Bottleneck Drive's Light Up the Vines evenings, 5 to 9 pm, tonight and tomorrow night and Friday and Saturday, Dec. 5 and 6.
Participating wineries, breweries, cideries and distilleries invited you to stroll through illuminated vineyards to tasting stations and warm yourself at fire pits.
Full schedule and locations here: bottleneckdrive.com/
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Curt Garland
Entrepreneur and philanthropist Curt Garland, who also owned Hester Creek Estate Winery in Oliver, passed away last week at the age of 88.
Garland lived in Prince George where he owned forestry trucking company Lomak Bulk Carriers.
But, he had a soft spot for Oliver and wine, thus his purchase of Hester Creek in 2004 and turning it into a Tuscan-style showpiece with 88 acres of vineyard, wine production facilities, tasting room, Terrafina restaurant and villa accommodations.
Hester Creek makes all kinds of wine, but its signature red is Garland ($65), a Bordeaux-style blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot and Malbec.
Steve MacNaull is a NowMedia Group reporter, Okanagan wine lover and Canadian Wine Scholar. Reach him at [email protected]. His wine column appears every Friday afternoon in this space.
