Eat up! Summer tasty treats, wine on tap, lilies, song and dance . . .

   One-Tank Trip for July 13/13

 

   (c) By Jim Fox

   Tasty summer treats await in St. Thomas and Toronto where there’s also wine on tap along with a visit to fields of lilies and singing and dancing.

A sampling of some of the delicacies at Summerlicious in Toronto

   Get it fresh

   Elgin County’s All New FreshFest Weekend in St. Thomas is for food, fun and music.

   The expanded event from July 19-21includes the launch of Savour Elgin’s Agritourism Adventure Tours, said publicist Debra Bagshaw.

   The restored CASO Railway Station (750 Talbot St.) and its impressive Anderson Dining Hall feature food tastings – the best of the season from area farms.

   FreshFest next Friday from 5:30 p.m. to 11 p.m. features “delectable tasters” and beverages, culinary conversations in the Waiting Room and music.

   Saturday is the popular Horton Farmers’ Market from 8 a.m. to noon on Manitoba Street and at night a Boardwalk Party with a pie bake-off, auction and a barbecue will be held.

   Musical entertainment on Friday night features Aylmer’s Don Durkee on sax and Tom Stark on keyboard followed by Cuff the Duke and Shuug and the Temporary Men.

Watching the chefs at work at Elgin County’s FreshFest Weekend in St. Thomas.

   Saturday night features St. Thomas’ Sheridan Band for “high-energy rock-Celtic music.”

   The Savour Elgin Agritourism Adventure Tour launches next Friday with a tasty trail of 22 restaurants, brewery, wineries and farms.

   Friday night’s events are $40 ($35 in advance) including $10 in sampling coupons; the Saturday Boardwalk Party is $15, with $5 in sampling coupons; and a weekend package is

 $40. freshfest.ca; (519) 633-2535

   Other area happenings:

   -  Rush Creek Wines, near the North shore of Lake Erie, holds Christmas in July on July 20-21.

Thomas the Tank Engine (Mark Girdauskas photo)

   - A Day Out with Thomas (the Tank Engine) runs from July 19-21 (and July 26-28), hosted by the Elgin County Railway Museum at the St. Thomas Elgin Memorial Centre.

   - Saddle up for the Cactus, Cattle and Cowboys Western Festival at Miller Park in West Lorne on July 20-21.

The Cactus, Cattle and Cowboys Western Festival's horse parade.

   There’s a horse parade on Saturday at noon, trying to set a world record for the most horses, and a Trans-Canada Trail ride and cookout, and extreme cowboy racing on Sunday.

   - Port Burwell has the HMCS Ojibwa submarine now open for tours. elgintourist.com; 1-877- GO-ELGIN, Ext. 168

   Delicious!

   It’s Summerlicious, now through July 21, to eat your way through some of the city’s finest restaurants at sampling prices.

More Summerlicious treats

   There are about 200 restaurants participating with three-course prix-fixe lunches for $15, $20 and $25, and dinner at $25, $35 and $45.

   Diners who pay with the sponsoring American Express cards will receive a $10 rebate on their statements. toronto.ca/summerlicious

   Vino on tap

   Wine on tap is said to be the latest trend and it has come to Toronto’s Cosmopolitan hotel.

   Eight Wine Bar, the hotel’s intimate bar and lounge, is “taking the snobbery out of wine,” said Katie Thomas of Skyline Hotels & Resorts.

   “Wine on tap is perfect for those who are hesitant to dive into the world of wines,” said general manager Ragnar Pedersen.

   The bar features Group Versay Gazerra Pinot Grigio, Vineland Pinot Meunier, Vineland Cabernet and Vineland Unoaked Chardonnay from $2 an ounce. cosmotoronto.com

   Tiptoe through the lilies

   Fields of colourful lilies can be seen only this month at Horner Lilies in Thorndale.

   From now through next Thursday, the more than 450 daylilies should be in full bloom at Horner Lilies in Thorndale (23505 Valleyview Rd.).

   Richard and Estelle Horner invite visitors to their blooming fields about 30 minutes north of London this month.

   The lilies are “grown in a very quiet and pleasant setting, making it an enjoyable experience and visit,” they said.

   The family-run business is only open throughout July from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and is a “quite spectacular” place to visit with “so much colour all together in one area. hornerlilies.com; (519) 461-0492

   Come ye for free

   The Canterbury Folk Festival continues today and Sunday in Ingersoll, southwest of Woodstock, featuring many well-known artists including Cape Breton fiddler Natalie MacMaster.

   She takes the stage on Sunday at 3:30 p.m. at Yvonne Holmes Mott Memorial Park.

   Other performers include Lennie Gallant, The Once, Magna Carta, Ritchie-Parrish-Ritchie and dancers.

   There is also breakfast in the park, vendors, crafters, beer garden and children’s area. Free admission. canterburyfolkfestival.on.ca

 -30-

Jim Fox can be reached at onetanktrips@hotmail.com

For more One-Tank Trips: http://1tanktrips.blogspot.ca