Best of the Bunch 2020
Best Of
Romance in the Valley
Romance in the Valley Justice of the Peace Sarah Anderson of East Coast Pop Up Weddings knows her way around a romantic setting, and she brings a sense of fun and adventure to the weddings she officiates. “The goal of East Coast Pop Up Weddings,” she notes, “is simplicity, low-stress, and sometimes a bit of spontaneity, all while creating a celebration that’s ceremony-focused and real.” Who better to ask about some of the best places for romance in the Annapolis Valley? These are Sarah’s top picks: Snowshoeing at Grand-Pré Park: The perfect quiet and tranquil winter setting. Cooking classes at…
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Local Professor’s Work Twice Celebrated
Local Professor’s Work Twice CelebratedSubmitted Dr. William H. Brackney, an emeritus professor at Acadia University, has recently been recognized twice for his significant work in the areas of Christian thought and ethics. Brackney came to Acadia in 2006 to join the Faculty of Theology and retired in 2018, but continues as an adjunct in the Department of History and Classics. On September 28, Dr. Brackney, the author of over 50 works, was honoured with a festschrift volume, Crossing Baptist Boundaries, published by Mercer University Press. Sixteen scholars from internationally-recognized institutions in Canada, the United States, Europe, and Australia, provided essays…
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Dinner Out: The Bite House
Dinner Out: The Bite HouseBy Scott Campbell Tucked away in a remote part of Cape Breton near the town of Baddeck is a small, unassuming 12-seat restaurant called The Bite House. Please don’t let the unpretentious name or its location deceive you into thinking there is anything even remotely ordinary about this place. One Trip Advisor review claimed this was the hardest reservation to get in North America. We booked our reservation on January 4, 2019, four minutes after reservations opened, and were able to get a table for four on a Saturday on November 9, 2019. Confirming their popularity…
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Retail Boom in Kentville
Retail Boom in KentvilleBy Genevieve Allen Hearn Our Best of the Bunch survey results reflected a trend in the town of Kentville that we’ve been closely following here at The Grapevine. Many of the winners (and runners-up) are Kentville-based businesses, which was not the case a number of years ago. There is a difference in the town, and people are noticing. A promotional video of the town produced by Canopy Creative and commissioned by the Kentville Business Community even got the attention of CTV News, who recently aired a story on the revitalization of retail businesses in Kentville. I grew…
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Give to the Fundy Dental Community Project
Give to the Fundy Dental Community ProjectSubmitted Are you looking for a unique and life-impacting gift to give this holiday season? What about giving someone you don’t know the gift of a smile, with all of its additional benefits! Treatment through the Fundy Dental Community Project (FDCP) has life-impacting results for their clients. This type of opportunity can be an invaluable turning point and catalyst towards a future built on stronger mental, emotional, and physical well-being; overcoming obstacles that they previously felt were insurmountable, and opening doors to more opportunities. One recent FDCP patient says, “this program has been a…
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The Biggest Tiniest Nutcracker Performance of the Season
The Biggest Tiniest Nutcracker Performance of the Season December in the Annapolis Valley is packed with special events. At Wolfville School perhaps one of the sweetest little productions of the season is about to take place. While they are busy learning the basics of reading, writing, mathematics, and everything else on offer in the first year of elementary school, the primary students in Allison Carey’s class are also preparing to showcase their own version of The Nutcracker ballet. The final performance is admittedly a scaled-down approach to the classic ballet (the average age of the performer is five, and the…
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The Grapevine’s Best of the Bunch 2019
It’s that time again! Take a moment to consider the destinations, businesses, and organizations that made your 2019 great. Let us know who/what deserves to be showered with love, attention, and the glory of being: The Best of the Bunch 2019! Click here fill out the survey!
The Spirit of Giving One’s Time
The Spirit of Giving One’s TimeBy Bria Stokesbury Ask any non-profit organization what their volunteers mean to them and you will likely hear similar answers. Without an unpaid workforce it might be hard to operate, if not darn near impossible. It isn’t just non-profits that rely on volunteers. Almost all aspects of Canadian society are impacted by the work of thousands and thousands of hardworking selfless individuals who show up day and night, fair or foul weather, to make sure the work gets done. Volunteers are the lifeblood of our cultural and heritage organizations. I should know, I’ve worked with…
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Polaris Winner Jeremy Dutcher to Perform at Convocation Hall
Polaris Winner Jeremy Dutcher to Perform at Convocation Hall In London, The Guardian’s opera critic, Jordan Darville, writes about Jeremy Dutcher: Jeremy Dutcher’s low voice is filled with reverence as he quotes Buffy Sainte-Marie: “If what you want is not on the menu, go into the kitchen, cook it up, and show them how good it tastes.” Dutcher’s debut album, Wolastoqiyik Lintuwakonawa, certainly wasn’t on the menu: an avant-garde neo-opera that reinterprets century-old wax cylinder recordings of traditional songs by his people, the Wolastoqiyik of the Tobique First Nation in New Brunswick, sung in their language of Wolastoqey. The project…
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