OSOYOOS TIMES-June 17, 2009
If you thought you saw someone famous in town last weekend, you were probably right.
Actor Jason Priestley was only one of the celebrities who came to Osoyoos to take part in the inaugural Celebrity Wine Festival, put on by the Black Hills Estate Winery and Destination Osoyoos.
“It was a wonderful invitation from my old friend, Jason Priestley,” said Tiffani Amber Thiessen, an actress from Saved by the Bell and Beverly Hills 90210.
Priestley – also an actor from the show Beverly Hills 90210 – is part owner of Oliver’s Black Hills Estate Winery, and co-hosted the weekend’s events with producer Chad Oakes.
Chef Ned Bell (the Food Network), Terry David Mulligan (the Tasting Room), the Medium’s David Cubitt, Cameron Daddo (who has appeared on CSI: Miami and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation), and the Canadian Tenors all took part in the festival.
The main event took place on the evening of June 12 at Osoyoos’s Walnut Beach Resort. Admission was $99 per person – but it didn’t only get you food, wine and hobnobbing with the stars.
There was a silent auction, as well as a live auction, run by Penticton MLA Bill Barisoff.
Proceeds from the auctions go the Osoyoos Child Care Centre and Alberta’s Providence Children’s Centre, a school for children with disabilities.
Six items were auctioned off, including a private dinner hosted by Bell, a helicopter ride and winery tour, a spot in Nomadic Pictures’ next film and a Miracle Hydrate Spa Package in Los Angeles.
Canadian Olympic gold-medal winning athlete Michelle Cameron was at the auction too and helped auction off the last item.
More than $32,500 was raised during the auction and along with items auctioned off during the weekend— including a 12-litre bottle of 2001 Nota Bene wine which sold for $8,500— the final tally of cash raised for charity from the weekend was $45,740.
The Osoyoos Child Care Centre will see more than $4,000 of that cash.
Other weekend events included a winemakers’ dinner at Osoyoos’s Burrowing Owl Estate Winery ($125 per person), a barbecue at the Spirit Ridge Resort ($49 per person) and a Nota Bene release party featuring Priestley, Bell and Black Hills Estate winemaker Graham Pierce ($149 per person).
Global TV’s ET Canada was on site to catch the festivities.
Host Erin Cebula interviewed the celebrities and the entertainment-focused show is planning to broadcast a special series of coverage from the region all this week.
“The Okanagan is becoming a very hot celebrity destination and ET Canada is looking forward to bringing all the highlights to our viewers,” said the show’s senior executive producer, Tamara Simoneau.
