Only in a vineyard: stunts, yoga and wine

By Renee Rodgers

Professional entertainer Aidan Orange warned audience members to keep their children at a safe distance as he began to perform his signature stunt.

There he stood, clad in black from head to toe, in the center of a helicopter landing pad. Beads of sweat dripped down his forehead as he yanked the pull cord on a hand-operated gas lawnmower. It erupted into a loud roar as the sharp blades on the mower’s underside began to spin.

Around 50 onlookers stared in silence, wondering what would happen next. Suddenly, the stuntman flipped the running lawnmower upside down, lifted it high above his head and balanced the machine by its handle on his chin.

As if that weren’t bizarre enough, he then had volunteers from the audience throw heads of lettuce into the moving blades, while still balancing the mower on his face. The leafy greens were quickly demolished, creating a medley of shredded romaine.

The act would be considered wacky under any circumstances. But, performed against a quaint backdrop of grapevines at a winery in rural Prince Edward County, the image seemed almost surreal.

The show was part of Buskers Over a Barrel, an event at Huff Estates Winery in Bloomfield July 23 and 24.
Professional entertainers from all over the world gave unique and memorable performances. Australian Ernest Magnifico did daredevil stunts like popping a balloon far above his head by jumping on a pogo stick with a large fork sticking straight up out of his helmet.

Dylan Studebaker, a magician from Toronto with an extreme Mohawk hairstyle, did devilishly comedic magic tricks. Children, mesmerized, pleaded with their fathers to volunteer when the performer asked for eight grown males from the audience to hoist him up high above the crowd as he performed his final fire-eating feat.

Admission to the winery was free for the weekend but buskers accepted donations after their performances.
The event was the brainchild of Angela Braun, retail manager of the winery, which is located at 2274 County Road 1. She said the purpose of the festivities was show visitors what Huff Estates and other county wineries have to offer.

“It’s about bringing people to Prince Edward County, not necessarily to Huff Estates,” she said. “It’s about getting people excited about the different things that are going on.”

Braun said most wineries in the county promote one another. Winery owners know people are not going to travel to Prince Edward County to visit just one winery. Tourists usually come to experience many different destinations.

“If I bring people here, they’re not just going to come to go here [Huff Estates],” she said. “They’re going to come for the weekend. They’re going to experience the restaurants. They’re going to experience what we have here, certainly. And we’re going to tell them: you know what, just down the road here is 10 other wineries. So if you have the time, go out and check them out.”

Kathy Kennedy, executive director at Taste the County, a tourism marketing organization for Prince Edward County, said it’s not uncommon for county wineries and tourist destinations to promote one another.

“People come to experience Prince Edward County, not just one single business,” she said. “Everyone here understands that the experience is the county and we all contribute to that.”

Marketing expert Ross Marin, owner of Marin Media Group in Vaughan, said cross-promotion between wineries in the county is actually a smart business move. Winery owners know the key to a successful business is a thriving community, he said.

“We find in smaller communities that businesses do promote others, without a doubt,” he said. “They help each other within. If a business or two doesn’t survive it affects them overall because no one’s going to come there.”

Braun said with the amount of families at the buskers’ event, she didn’t expect wine sales to be much higher during those two days than any other weekend at the winery. She said even if a person didn’t buy wine during the event, he or she would likely remember Huff Estates the next time they were looking for a bottle. Marin agreed.

“It brings awareness to their brand,” he said, adding that wines on liquor store shelves have to compete with countless other brands.

The goal of brand awareness seems to also apply to the yoga classes held outdoors every Sunday morning next to the vineyard at Sandbanks Estate Winery at 17598 Loyalist Parkway in Wellington.

A group of about 30 took a yoga class outdoors at the winery with Indigo Yoga owner and instructor Sacha Clarke-Squair on the morning of July 17. Women and men of all different ages, dressed in colourful workout attire, perfected their downward dog poses while birds sang and a gentle breeze blew.

Sandbanks’ wine store was open but remained empty during and after the class. No one seemed eager to down a bottle of Baco Noir after the yoga session that morning. Marin said the purpose of the event likely wasn’t to sell wine, but to get people to the winery that may not ordinarily go.

“A yoga person may not necessarily be thinking of wine but will come there for the yoga class,” he said. “And when they get there, it’s like, ‘Wow this looks nice’. Now, you’re not going to drink wine at 9 o’clock in the morning but you’re going to look around and say ‘I like what I see. This is calming. This is soothing.

The next time I go to the store I will make an effort, if I do drink wine, to pick up a bottle of theirs’.”

Other winery events, however, are clearly all about the wine.

Sandbanks Estates held Fiesta!, a Latin-themed event on July 16. Latin-Canadian musical performer Mauricio Montecinos sang and played Flamenco guitar while tapas were served and wine flowed. Visitors relaxed in the sun as they lounged at outdoor tables set up around the stage and wine bar. Everyone seemed to have a glass of wine in hand.

Sandbanks Estate owner and winemaker Catherine Langlois said she hosts events like Fiesta! to complement the relaxed, fun feel she wants for her winery.

“It’s not just about selling wine,” she said. “It’s about creating an experience for visitors.”

The same day, the nearby Casa-Dea Estates Winery at 1186 Greer Road in Wellington held a Scottish Festival. Quigley Highlanders’ Pipes & Drums performed Scottish music, marches and dances throughout the day. When those performances weren’t taking place, people sipped wine, ate meals on the winery’s restaurant patio, and mingled with other visitors who came to enjoy the event.

Bill and Elizabeth Bygrave came to the event to sample wine and watch the performers. The couple, originally from Toronto, bought a summerhouse in Prince Edward County in the early 1970s. They have called the county their permanent home for the past 15 years.

Elizabeth said nothing like the Scottish festival would have occurred in the county 40 years ago.
“It was quite provincial then,” she said. “There were no wineries at all, of course. You were lucky to have a little mom and pop restaurant.”

She said a major change has taken place in Prince Edward County, especially in the last 15 years. A flood of artists, restaurants and wineries has literally changed the landscape of the island.

“We’ve really benefitted by watching the development and watching the influx of people,” said Elizabeth. “There are always wonderful things to do in the county now, always some exciting event taking place.”