I’ll be at the Fringe Festival all weekend, reviewing plays for Vue Weekly. (8 down, 8 to go.) If you’re interested in discovering what’s good and what sucks, check out their Fringe page – it will be updated constantly over the weekend as new reviews are received and posted.
Inevitably, as I’m waiting for the next play to start and writing about the one I just saw, I find myself hunkered down in one of the beer tents, sipping mediocre Big Rock beer or generic Peller Estates wine. (Last night they served me a glass of red wine at the same temperature as a cold beer. I’m not sure, but this might have actually been a good thing.)
To my delight, this year the Fringe has decided to class things up a notch with their Wine Bar and Internet Café, located on the north end of the grounds on 85 Avenue. The Wine Bar is open noon to midnight throughout the Fringe, and you’ll be able to purchase wine by the glass or bottle (and it’s served in an actual glass wine stem too!) as well as coffee, tea, several liqueurs, and a selection of desserts.
hopefully they'll improve their signage soon
Every night of the Fringe (except Saturday and Sunday), from 6:30 to 8:30 pm, representatives of Andrew Peller Ltd. will host a tasting of Canadian VQA wines. I dropped by the tasting last night, but the tent was pretty dead and I wasn’t really interested in the wine they were serving – hopefully things pick up in the coming days.
As for the “internet café” half of the bar, it’s pretty much restricted to four computers located at the end of the bar. I haven’t been able to ascertain whether or not there’s wifi access; I’ll post an update if I find out.
The Fringe Wine Bar will also feature nightly programming by various Fringe artists. I’m particularly looking forward to the Fringe Forums, which run August 16 to 19 and will delve into a handful of interesting and current Fringe topics. A variety of artists and personalities will attend these forums as panelists and moderators:
Monday, August 16
Is Fringe Theatre Still On the Fringes?
Fringe Theatre Adventures
panelists: Elizabeth Ludwig, Gerald Osborn, Rob Salerno
moderator: Noree Claerhout
Tuesday, August 17
Overlap? The Fringe Festival & The Indie Theatre Threshold
Indie5
panelists: Garett Spelliscy, Amy DeFelice, Chris Bullough
moderator: Krisit Hansen
Wednesday, August 18
Letting it Fly – Playwright & Production
Writers Guild of Alberta
panelists: Kenneth Brown, Marty Chan, Ellen Chorley, Nicole Schafenacker, Mark Stubbings
moderator: Sam Varteniuk
Thursday, August 19
Going it Alone…Writing & Performing a One-Person Show for the Fringe
Alberta Playwrights’ Network
panelists: Chris Craddock, Jeremy Baumung, Keira McDonald
moderator: Tracy Carroll
And here is the wine menu: it’s certainly not the greatest wine list out there, but adequate enough for the purposes of the Fringe – I’ll be enjoying the Red Rooster wines, myself.
Red Rooster
2006 Bantam
2007 Gewurztraminer
2006 Pinot Gris
2006 Meritage
Calona Vineyards
2007 Sovereign Opal
2007 Merlot
Sandhill
2008 Rosé
2006 Gamay Noir
2007 Syrah
Peller Estates (Family Series)
2008 Pinot Blanc
2008 Chardonnay
2007 Shiraz
2007 Merlot
NV White Zinfandel
Copper Moon
Sauvignon Blanc
Malbec