PentictonNow has visited District Wine Village, situated just north of Oliver and just south of Gallagher Lake, a couple times this year -- once before and once after its June soft opening. And we like what we see.
A gaggle of small-batch wineries, a brewery and a restaurant, all neatly arranged around a sunken, stylistic 600-person amphitheatre and surrounded on the north and east by imposing walls of rock like McIntyre Bluff. It's a pretty attractive package.
But it's even more attractive when there's something going on in that super-slick amphitheatre. They've had a few concerts thus far and some night markets, but this Saturday District Wine Village gets artsy.
Walk in anytime between 11 am and 6 pm, and not only do you get to sip on some unique wines, you also get to check out the works of ten established Penticton-area artists.
Wine and art -- it's a heck of a pairing.
More than that though, if guests see something they like or even if they'd just like to know a bit more about the creative process, they can chat one on one with the artists themselves.
Noted Penticton painter Deb Tougas told us how this whole art meets wine concept came into being.
"What happened is that Gneiss Winery (pronounced Nice Winery) asked me to do a commission piece. And one of the owners took me on a hike up McIntyre Bluff.
"We collected rocks on our way up. Metamorphic rocks, which is interesting because 'gneiss' is a form of metamorphic rock. And I ended up doing a painting that's three feet by four feet. It's pretty big and it's semi-abstract.
"After I did the painting, she suggested I should come to the Village and just paint. And I said sure, but could I bring a friend? Then I talked to Darcel (Giesbrecht), the Village's marketing person, and it went from there."
This Saturday's show, said Tougas, is a follow-up to the debut on August 15th. And for the artists, the arrangement's been nothing short of awesome.
"To be in a facility like District Wine Village is super exciting for us," she said. "With COVID, a lot of us haven't even been able to show our work. It's amazing. Such a great atmosphere.
"The first show, there was such a good vibe. People were so happy to be outside, tasting wine, talking to artists, looking at local art."
And this isn't just a tiny sampling either. Tougas brought a whopping 40 paintings to the first show and expects to bring as many this time. Same deal with her compatriots (Georgia Krebs, Ron Gladish, George Traicheff, Barb Peeren, Cathy Peeren, Peggy Stel, Diane Bennett-Way, Celia Keilty and Graham McKenzie), all of whom have 10x10 open-air tents and extra space outside the tents.
According to Giesbrecht, the art-plus-wine idea is around for the long term.
"The Wine Village is here to support local artisans and artisan wine and craft beer," she said, "and we want to make sure we give all kinds of artists a showcase.
"We've been working with Deb and her group this year to get it going and explore the opportunity. We'll also look to reach out to other groups in the future and get artists from Oliver and Osoyoos and all over the South Okanagan featured here as well. We'll definitely do it more often."
The Okanagan Art Exhibition runs from 11 am to 6 pm this Saturday, Sept 25 at District Wine Village. For more info on the Village, located at 100 Enterprise Way in Oliver (though it's substantially north of Oliver), go here. For more info on Deb Tougas, go here.
