Several businesses in downtown Summerland have joined with local wineries and are staying open late for an evening of boutique shopping, fine food and wine on Friday evening.
The Wine Walk will be held Friday from 6 to 9 p.m. and features in-store pourings from many Summerland wineries.
Laurie Weir, owner of Barn Owl Gifts and one of the event organizers, said she hopes to use the Wine Walk as a foundation to build something more, with several other events planned for the downtown this summer.
“It’s a jumping off point for the summer season. There are a lot of new events planned for the downtown this summer, and along with the traditional events like Action Fest, the Ryga Festival and Quilts in the Park, we’re hoping to make the downtown area even more fun and vibrant.”
She also pointed to the rebirth of Summerland’s Fall Fair, planned for Sept. 7 and 8, as a sign of a busy summer planned for the community’s core.
The Wine Walk is designed to celebrate local vineyards and wineries and marks the start of the Okanagan wine tourism season.
Weir said as the event gathers momentum, she sees potential for it to grow. “We’ll have to get through the first year and see. If enough interest is shown, I can see that we might want to add things. There are fantastic vineyard and orchard traditions in this community that deserve to be celebrated,” she said.
