Fiesta Buckhorn

It’s FIESTA Time!

Judi was off on her own and I had a party to go to! FIESTA BUCKHORN! I needed a “date”. I needed someone else who liked good “wine and food”! I called my daughter, Ainsley! I knew she would appreciate both. She quickly accepted my invitation! So, here we were on a beautiful sunny Saturday afternoon, traveling north to Buckhorn. The main parking lots were full (a good sign!), so we drove to the offsite lot a short distance away. We climbed aboard the festival shuttle bus and headed for the Buckhorn Community Centre (Buckhorn Website). The admission line-up wasn’t too bad, but the “wine and food” ticket tasting line was fairly long (another good sign!). We purchased some tickets and turned, the Community Centre was waiting! Inside the whole interior was lined with booths, lots of them! Each was offering a wide selection of food or wine, especially the wine booths! I didn’t realize how many types of wine there were. What an eye opener, and we were only in the first building! We stopped at a nearby wine booth, Flat Rock Cellars (Flat Rock Website) and purchased a “taster glass" of wine with some of our "taster" tickets. We sipped as we walked along. We had so much to explore… and taste! We wanted to leave no bottle left unturned!

Wine and Food Galore!

We continued touring the main Community Centre building. At the east end of the building was the Fiesta Gifts Shop. Close by was the ZEST foods booth. Several wine companies exhibits were scattered around the perimeter of the room, each displaying their different wine products. Some of the names I recognized from our travels throughout southern Ontario, but most I didn’t recognize! I hadn’t realized (or thought about) how many great wineries there were in Ontario! In the centre of the room people were standing in groups sipping their glasses of wine while discussing the qualities of the wine they were tasting. Some of the winery booths we visited included Henry Pelham Winery (Pelham Website), Willow Spring Winery (Willow Spring Website) and Southbrook Vineyards (Southbrook Website ). Across from the Southbrook booth was Loblaws. They were displaying many of their great products. Right next to the Loblaws booth was Buckhorn Tourism booth. On display was a limited edition print by wildlife artist Michael Dumas. Michael had donated a “Blue Heron” print to help with Buckhorn’s Tourism Centre fundraising campaign. From the Community Centre we walked back outside into the bright sunlight! It was time to visit the rest of the buildings. The 11 pavilions were set up with wine and food exhibitors in each. We entered the first building on our right - the “Heron” The building was crowded with other like minded festival enthusiasts! Each of us was carefully inspecting the various wines being offered by each winery. We stopped several times to ask questions and admire the selections. Talking and looking made me realize just how little I knew about wines and Ontario wines in particular! Wineries in this building included Fielding Estate Winery (Fielding Website ), Kacaba Vineyards (Kacaba Website) , Legends Estates Winery (Legends Website ) and Crossroads Cattle Company (Crossroads Website ). The Crossroads Cattle Company was cooking up a storm. In between buildings the sweet smell of barbeque filled the air! The “Otter” pavilion was next. It’s wineries included Downey’s Estate Winery (Downey Website ) and Dan Aykroyd Wines (Aykroyd Website ). Yes, this is the same Canada’s own Dan Aykroyd, who starred in the Blues Brothers and Ghostbusters! However, it was Muddy’s Pit Barbeque that captured our senses! We had smelled there fabulous food when we first entered this building! As in the last building, we stopped at each booth and examine their offerings. Ainsley stopped at the Downey booth to taste their wine while I concentrated on the food exhibits. I was the designated driver and didn’t need too many temptations! Pavilion 3 was the “Maple” and held its share of wineries, Colio Estate Wines (Colio Website ) and Moon Shadow Estate Winery (Moon Shadow Website). Also sharing this building was the Steam Whistle Brewing Co. (Steam Whistle Website) and two food companies, The Simple Gourmet (Simple Gourmet Website) and the Shish-Kabob Hut. With our minds spinning with so much information, we decided to slow down and step outside to enjoy fresh air and people watching!

Fiesta Gardens and Music…

The Buckhorn Community Centre Park is beautifully and functionally set-up. The park’s pavilion buildings are arranged in an oval. In the centre of the oval there are colourful gardens and a permanent gazebo. For Fiesta Buckhorn, temporary tents had been erected so that visitors could sit outside out of the sun (and rain). In the gazebo jazz musicians were playing to an appreciative audience. We sat at a nearby table, watching and listening. Eventually we got up, stretched and then continued our wine and food tasting journey. The “Timberwolf” pavilion housed such exhibitors as Caroline Cellars (Caroline Website ), Cassis Bistro (Cassis Website ), Mexicali Rosa’s (Mexicali Website ) and Lakefield’s The Village Inn (http://www.villageinn.ca/). The “Cardinal” pavilion came next. Church-Key Brewing (Church Key Website) was in this building along with Archibald Orchards and Estate Winery (Archibald Website). Buckhorn Fine Art Festival’s (Click HERE for festival article) manager, Sherry Martin, was manning the festivals booth. We stopped for a few minutes to talk with Sherry. She filled us in on this year’s plans. We left the “Cardinal” and headed for the “Hummingbird” pavilion. An “A-frame” sign located just outside the building told us that the “2007 Canadian Brewery of the Year” was located in this building! The Mill St. Brewery (Mill St. Website) was on our left as we entered. Across from their booth was the Beachwood Resort (Beachwood Website ). Judi and I had fond memories of Sunday brunches at the Beachwood. I asked one of their representatives if the Sunday brunch was still being served. Sadly she told me it had been discontinued some time ago. Other occupants of the “Hummingbird” included Cheese of Canada (Cheese Website) and Muskoka Lakes Winery (Johnson Website ). This is cranberry wine produced at Johnson’s Cranberry Marsh. We had experienced Johnson’s wonderful facility when we visited the Bala Cranberry Festival (Click HERE to view article). Two other pavilions, “Eagle” and “Trillium” followed. These buildings included some of the most decadent chocolate exhibits, The Chocolate Rabbit and the Copper Kettle Chocolate Co. (Copper Kettle Website). We had discovered the Copper Kettle’s shop in Wellington during our visit to the Maple in the County tour (Click HERE to view article) (Prince Edward County). Then there was the Elmhirst Resort (Elmhirst Website). Talk about decadence. They were serving miniature gourmet hamburgers made of fresh lean hamburger and a special homemade bun! (Yum…Yum!!). Ainsley and I had 2 each! It was all so overwhelming! We stopped to catch our breathe and eat our gourmet burgers!

The Final Push

Before we finished touring the final three pavilions, we decided to find a table to sit at under one of the tents. We wanted to eat our burgers and listen to some more Fiesta Buckhorn jazz. It was a wonderful sunny afternoon with gourmet food, delicious wine and great music! The perfect atmosphere for a "FIESTA"! Reluctantly we left our seats and continued to push forward. The final 3 pavilions were “White Pine”, “Pheasant” and “Raccoon”. Inniskillin Wines (Inniskillin Website ) had a large booth in the “White Pine” pavilion. They were featuring their complete line of products. The one product that stood out to most people was the well advertised “Naked Grape” wines (Naked Grape Website). Other exhibitors in this building included Joseph Estate Wines (Joseph Website ), Jackson-Triggs Winery (Jackson-Triggs Website ) and Boston Pizza (Boston Pizza Website). Local winery, Kawartha Country Wines (Kawartha Wines Website), was located in the “Pheasant” building. I remembered this winery because it had participate in the Colours ‘n’ Crows tour (Click HERE to view article) and had a great scarecrow. Also in the “Pheasant” pavilion was La Hacienda (Mexican Food) and Mrs. D’s Delicacies. The final pavilion, “Raccoon”, topped off our day! In addition to two great wineries, Harbour Estates Winery (Harbour Website) and Mountain Road Wine Company (Mountain Road Website), there were two local companies, the Olde Stone Brewing Co., Peterborough (Olde Stone Website) and Kawartha Coffee, Bobcaygeon (Kawartha Coffee Website). After we completed visiting the last pavilion, we leisurely walked towards the gazebo and music. We listen for a moment and then decided to leave Fieata Buckhorn. Rather than take the Shuttle Bus back to the car, we decide a walk in the woods would do us good. We took the well used path through a wooded area that connected the Community Centre Park with their off-site parking area. We had a quiet but companionable ride home.

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