Tripster

Tales of the Cocktail Returns to Vancouver

Get sauced north of the border.

Posted by: Allison Williams on Feb 07, 2012 at 05:10PM 0 Comments

Belly up to the bar at the Granville Room, site of one of the festival’s mixology dinners.

Credit: Tourism Vancouver

It’s back. Tales of the Cocktail on Tour, a mobile drinking fest, returns to Vancouver next week. It’s a spinoff of the annual New Orleans event, which celebrates its ten-year mark this summer—but from February 12–15, the Canadian city will host its second annual flurry of shaken and stirred seminars.

Our former Food and Drink editor, Jessica Voelker, toured last year’s Vancouver festival. She discovered what makes good ice and was introduced to something called a whipped cream-charger. Her verdict? Tales of the Cocktail is “entirely too much fun.”

Most of next week’s events take place at the host hotel, the Fairmont Pacific Rim, but the Spirited Dinner series will be in restaurants all around town; each features local chefs and mixologists. Classes will include one on Colonial American Drinks (the brew made from “beer, rum, molasses, and a red-hot iron poker” sounds promising), and a bar tending trio will discuss tequila’s rather classy lineage. Tickets are $195 for the entire event—a deal that includes tasting rooms, opening and closing parties, and a bartender’s brunch.

Check out Voelker’s travel tips from her outing, then pack your own cocktail shaker for a trip north. But remember: Never, ever lie to a border agent about how much booze you’re bringing through customs. Guantanamo just isn’t worth it.

Add a Comment »

Tags: Food Events and Festivals, Festivals, Tales of the Cocktail, Tales Vancouver, Vancouver

Five Things to Do Out of Town This Weekend

Beat cabin fever with a weekend festival.

Posted by: Stephanie Rubesh and Jessie Wiley on Jan 19, 2012 at 04:00PM 0 Comments

Good luck is a little scary sometimes.

-The New Year Beer Festival takes place Sunday at the Kitsap Conference Center in Bremerton. Throw back craft beer samples from Hale’s Ales, Hood Canal Brewery, and Slippery Pig Brewery.

-Pop over to Grays Harbor for the Fifth Annual Elma Chamber Wine and Seafood Festival on Saturday from noon until 9pm. Find specials for festival attendees (including free shuttle service) at The Microtel Inn.

-The PuSh international Performing Arts Festival is dedicated to daring contemporary art, running in Vancouver through February 4. This weekend features dance from Soledad Barrio and Noche Flamenca.

-At the Wenatchee Winter Wine Gala on Saturday, you can wander the halls of the Wenatchee Valley Museum with a glass of vino in hand. Pours are from winners of the inaugural North Central Washington’s Winemakers Invitational, while music comes from the Wenatchee Valley Symphony and classical guitarist Charlie Solbrig.

-Westminster Chapel’s ninth annual Lunar New Year Celebration in Bellevue on Saturday is a different kind of festival: Sip tea in a traditional tea room, cheer on a ping pong tournament, or watch martial arts demonstrations.

Add a Comment »

Tags: Food Events and Festivals, Beer Festivals, Weekend Excursions, Weekend Events

Five Things to Do Out of Town This Weekend

Celebrate the holidays with the sound of a thousand motorcycles or a big old wreath.

Posted by: Stephanie Rubesh on Dec 02, 2011 at 12:00PM 0 Comments

Holiday wreaths: They’re like trees for your wall.

-The Apple Tree Craft Fair runs through Sunday in Snohomish. Participating local artists include those from Willow Creek Pottery and Crafts and Shepherd’s Heart Goat’s Milk Soap. Other highlights are scented soy candles, vintage-style paper crafts, and—it’s the holidays, after all—handmade candy.

-Hop a ferry to celebrate Christmas in the Country on Bainbridge Island, an island-wide holiday tradition since 1993. A free driving tour starting at Lynwood Commons has nine stops at holly-decked houses and farms—look for food, cider, gift shopping, pony rides, and a quick chat with Santa himself.

-At the annual Motorbike Toy Run, in Olympia, it only takes $15 (or a new toy) to participate. Hundreds of motorcyle riders will rev in unision on Saturday, putting on a parade as they collect presents for the Salvation Army.

-It’s Holiday Barrel weekend in Walla Walla—and that means dozens of tastings in cozy wine cellars around the region. More than 70 wineries participate, each offering a different set of treats and events ranging from a "Battle of the Soups” to chocolate spreads.

-Try a Wreath Making Class this weekend; you’ll create something that beats the pants of the Fred Meyer holiday aisle. Instructors are from Bassetti’s Gardens in Woodinville, where they teach a classes Saturday and Sunday in their large barn. You’ll form, press and decorate wreathes while you nosh on a complimentary latte and cider bar, but it’s BYO garden clippers.

Add a Comment »

Tags: Holiday Events, Food Events and Festivals, Holidays,

Five Things to Do Out of Town This Weekend

Run for pie or watch an equestrian ballet.

Posted by: Stephanie Rubesh on Nov 18, 2011 at 03:40PM 0 Comments

You can’t tell, but this Cavalia horse is trying really hard not to sneeze.

Photo courtesy Cavalia

View Slideshow » Illustration:

You can’t tell, but this Cavalia horse is trying really hard not to sneeze.

Photo courtesy Cavalia

-The Great Train Expo chugs into the Puyallup Fairgrounds this weekend, with hundreds model train dealers selling their wares through Sunday. Find inspiration at free workshops and hands-on demonstrations, but know that cash is king here—no credit cards are accepted for admission.

-The Give Thanks Fun Run on Saturday is a five mile jaunt around the wooded Redmond Watershed Preserve (there’s also a 1.7-mile option). Registration requires $10 and two cans of food for the Maltby Food Bank. The top winners go home with one heck of a prize: a pie.

-Cavalia is a horse-based stage spectacle; think of it as an equestrian Cirque du Soileil (it even shares a founder with that famous circus). It opened in Portland today under a big top tent with a cast of 45 horses and 37 acrobats, dancers, aerialists, and riders. Performances in the Pearl District will last through December (and it moves to Redmond in January).

-The Country Village—a shopping area in Bothell—presents Taste The Holidays Wine Walk on Saturday, serving seasonal treats like roasted chestnuts, ice-carving demonstrations, and tastes from local wineries. A $25 ticket gets you ten tasting tokens, limo rides around the village, and appearances by Emerald Ballet Theatre dancers. The village restaurants will waive their corkage fee for the evening.

-The Amnesty International Film Festival runs through Sunday in Vancouver, BC. Movies show off tales of human rights struggles and successes; look for the probing Kimjongilia about North Korea and Amnesty! When They Are All Free, a look at Amnesty International’s 50th anniversary. Tickets are $10, but there are discounts for students, seniors, and underemployed persons.

Add a Comment »

Tags: Wine Tastings, Weekend, Food Events and Festivals, Weekend Events

Mount Rainier Wine Festival is Almost Paradise

Celebrate the mountain’s off-season with a tipple.

Posted by: Allison Williams on Nov 01, 2011 at 12:25PM 0 Comments

Remember, wine makes you warmer.

Photo courtesy Mt. Rainier Visitors Association

Things get quiet in Ashford when summer ends. But now that the mountain town—southeast of Eatonville, slightly off Highway 7—isn’t hosting a stream of mountain climbers and national park visitors, there’s space for the Mount Rainier Wine Festival and Dance.

This second annual festival combines wine tastings with a dance floor. Held in the Mt. Rainier Lions Club this Saturday, the event is free to those staying in Ashford, Mineral, Longmire, or Elbe hotels for the night. Tickets for everyone else are $20 (but only $17 if you buy them today) and are good for 10 tasting tickets, appetizers, and entertainment.

Swing-dance lessons are held before the Swing Soiree “gypsy jazz” band takes the stage at 6:30pm, and the Elbow County Rough Riders, a rockabilly outfit, does a set at 8:30pm. Wineries, on hand to pour tastes and sell bottles, hail from local communities; among them are Scatter Creek Winery from Tenino, Wells Winery from Onalaska, and Bateaux Cellars from Toledo. For beer drinkers, Seattle’s Naked City Brewery will bring small-batch brews. Events run 2–10:30pm.

Once you’ve slept off your hangover, there’s still plenty to do around Ashford in the shoulder season. Mount Rainier National Park’s road to Paradise is a twisty, beautiful drive (and the visitor’s center is open on weekends). There isn’t much snow on the park roads at the moment, but cars are required to carry chains, starting today. There are also fall hikes for great foliage views. Feeling wimpy? It’s quite a bit warmer in the Ashford-area spas.

Add a Comment »

Tags: Wine Tastings, Food Events and Festivals, Weekend Excursions, Weekend Events, Weekend Events, Mount Rainier

Five Things to Do Out of Town This Weekend

Try a seven-course dinner or a run for a good cause.

Posted by: Stephanie Rubesh on Sep 30, 2011 at 11:00AM 0 Comments

After seven courses of dinner, you’re going to need to sit down.

Photo courtesy Friday Harbor House

-Wine and dine at the Winemaker Dinner with Covington Cellars and Two Vintners on Oct 2 at San Juan Island’s Friday Harbor House. After the seven-course meal of Dungeness crab fritters, Shoal Bay oysters, seared duck breast, and paired wines, get 35 percent off the hotel’s best available rate.

-The sixth annual Old Mill Days Festival, running through Sunday at Port Gamble, there are three days of chainsaw speed-carving competitions, car shows, and beer gardens. Saturday kicks off with a loggers breakfast, and Sunday’s highlight is the Toughest Timberman contest.

-At Sunday’s Race for the End 5K/10K, your run will support the end domestic violence. The designated color is purple and it kicks off at Bloedel Donovan Park in Bellingham.

-Roses Gone Wild is a little tamer than it sounds. This weekend’s walking tours at Portland’s International Rose Test Garden feature garden factoids and a special segment for men about roses and romance.

-Pitch in at the Silver Star trail work party Saturday and Sunday to get in another hike while the weather’s good. The Mt. St. Helens Institute hosts the day of trail TLC, and it’s a slumber party—don’t forget overnight gear and a couple of choice snacks.

Add a Comment »

Tags: Food Events and Festivals, Festivals, Weekend Excursions, Day Trip