NEWS PENTICTON WESTERN
www.pentictonwesternnews.com
VOL. 47 ISSUE 45
Touching celebration for soldier killed in Afghanistan
12 page
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 5, 2013
9 3 WINE BLOGGERS POUR INTO THE CITY PENTICTON WESTERN news
Hundreds turnout to rally around Penticton family
entertainment Alan Jackson opener gets chance of a lifetime
14
sports Hockey Canada boot camp helps women’s team build bonds
NEWS Steve Kidd
Western News Staff
Allison Markin is usually a busy person, but she’s reaching new heights this week. “Everything is ready to go. I have some wine shipments I am praying will get here but the conference itself is shaping up very nicely,” said Markin, who is organizing the Penticton end of the 2013 wine bloggers conference. Markin said they are expecting nearly 250 wine bloggers from across Canada and the U.S. “I was hoping we would have a few more, but the majority that are coming are very engaged wine bloggers. They are very keen to learn about a new region,” said Markin. “There are some very prolific wine bloggers coming.” Among those bloggers are people like Frank Morgan (drinkwhatyoulike. wordpress.com) and Thea Dwelle (lusciouslushes.com). Morgan, according to Markin, is an aerospace engineer by day and a prolific and popular wine blogger by night, while Dwelle makes her living blogging about wine. “She is quirky and has a different style of writing. She has been posting probably more than I have about the conference,” said Markin. “She has built a pretty good niche for herself.” Markin expects the conference attendees will be “blown away” by both the conference content and the location. “They’ve never been to any location like Penticton. Last year was in Portland, they were in the middle of a big city. We had to drive and hour to go out to the wine country,” said Markin. “And the ones that are engaging in the Facebook group right now are posting pictures and are super excited to get here and try B.C. wine. Most of them have never been to Canada, let alone B.C.” Attendees will spend June 6-8 learning
There are some very prolific wine bloggers coming. — Allison Markin
about social media and blogging, while at the same time experiencing wine country and “live Tweeting” as they go. The Penticton Lakeside Resort will be the hub of the conference as the host hotel, with a packed schedule of seminars, wine tastings and menus overseen by the resort’s award-winning chef, Chris Remington. “They are all getting exposed to 60 different wines at our live blogging on Friday and Saturday,” said Markin, adding that the bloggers will also be getting out and about in the region, with five different excursions. “They don’t get to pick a region, but they pick a theme. Bottleneck Drive, Naramata, Oliver, Osoyoos and the Similkameen are hosting those excursions,” said Markin. “So the bloggers will go on a bus, and they won’t know where they are going, but they will be exposed to one of our micro regions.” Along with B.C. wines, the conference attendees will also be exposed to some wines from a little farther away. Wines of Uruguay is a sponsor, as is Rueda, a region in Spain, and Greece. “While a lot of the wine and food tasting is going to be B.C. focused, there are also a few international groups,” said Markin. “That happens every year at the conference; the focus really is on the host region, but then there are little pockets of “here is a new region to try.”
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COLOURFUL KARMA — Sita McKiblin of Get Bent Arts and Recreation Centre performs on stage at Gyro Park on the weekend during the stage show portion of the three-day BC Bellyfest 2013. The event attracted some of the top dancers in Western Canada for a series of workshops and performances. About 125 participants took part.