Wine lovers and foodies of Prince George will want to mark these dates on their calendars. The First Annual Northern BC will take place October 28 – November 5 in Prince George.
The event was inspired by the success of Theatre Northwest’s annual wine tasting event. Theatre Northwest will host the closing gala for the festival on November 5.
“We really want to support the local restaurants and the winery that have been so supportive of our event as we’ve grown over the years,” says Marnie Hamagami, Theatre Northwest’s general manager. “I think that the way that this will help our event is that it will attract more people and it will attract more of the winemakers. You’ll be able to access the winemakers at our event. It’s always exciting to talk to the guy who’s making the wine.”
The hope is that at least 30 wineries from around the province will participate. Wine makers, winery owners and chefs are all being invited to attend. Pacific Coastal Airlines is a platinum sponsor and it is hoped that its new Okanagan service will help entice winemakers and enthusiasts up to the festival.
“We think this is a great collaborative effort and we’d like to see as many wineries come up as possible,” says Doug Bell of Northern Lights Estate Winery.
There’s plenty of local collaboration happening as well. The festival society is made up of the Wood Wheaton Group, Northern Lights Winery, Theatre Northwest as well as Tourism Prince George, the Downtown Business Association and the Prince George Chamber of Commerce. Nancy O’s is already on board to participate and Bell hopes many other local restaurants follow suit.
“This is going to be an awesome festival. Momentum is building within the community for events like this. We have such great restaurants surrounding us and now, this is going to be an opportunity to showcase what they’re doing, pairing that with the knowledge and the education that other wineries can bring up to Prince George.”
With multiple events over several days, Bell says the festival will provide opportunities for Prince George residents to enjoy the fruits of their city and to introduce outsiders to all that Prince George has to offer.
“We’re going to have nine days of events and we really want to encourage everyone from both Prince George and outside of the city to come out and support these different events. We’re going to make sure that it’s done in a collaborative way so it’s going to be easy to find the event that you’re most interested in and enjoy that one.”
The Festival Society has issued a call for proposals for companies and individuals interested in being a part of the event. Those interested can contact Erica Hummel at Tourism Prince George.
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