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Barksdale Cancer Foundation Wine Fest Date Drawing Near

   Written by on August 15, 2019 at 12:17 pm

Submitted by Wendy Lankford

wine afghan chest1PHENIX – Barksdale Cancer Foundation (BCF) is busy finalizing plans for its second annual wine festival, “Miss Janie Sit & Sip,” to be held on Saturday, October 5, at the Gil-Har House in Phenix. Located at 6447 Patrick Henry Hwy., the event will last from 1-7 p.m. House tours will be offered throughout the day.

“We are so excited to be bringing two awesome bands to the event,” says BCF Vice President Kim Cassada. Kicking off the day’s music will be local favorite the Stony Ridge Band from Keysville, making a return engagement from last year due to popular demand. They will play from 1-4 p.m., followed by Public Consumption from neighboring Halifax County, who will finish out the day’s event.

Approximately 20 vendors have expressed interest in participating in the festival, selling everything from handmade jewelry to yard art and flowers to “re-loved” furniture and other items. The Charlotte County Lions Club will once again serve up a variety of food offerings. Anyone who would like to serve as a vendor is urged to email Kim Cassada as soon as possible at kimdavidc@yahoo.com. Deadline for submitting the $25 fee and application is September 15.

New to the event this year will be representatives from Virginia’s Department of the Treasury. “Va$earch” will be set up to help the one in four Virginians who have unclaimed money or assets in the state. “The Unclaimed Property Division receives funds and property turned over to us when they have lost track of the rightful owner,” explains a spokesman for the state treasury. “These items include utility deposits, customer refunds, unpaid wages, money from insurance policies, securities and investments, bank accounts, and more.” There is no cost, no risk, and no obligation to utilize the service. For more information on the service go to www.vamoneysearch.org.

Another new offering this year will be a local brewery, Staunton River Brewing Co. Located just across the Charlotte-Campbell County line in Brookneal, they have been brewing two-to-five-barrel batches of beers using local ingredients since 2006.

The taphouse, which is located on the Anctil family farm on Mt. Calvary Rd., is open every Friday and Saturday from 1-8 p.m. Like his wine-making father, Paul, Sr., the junior Anctil creates two-barrel pilot brews of seasonal and experimental beers, in addition to their standard offering of light to stout beers. Their fall seasonal Pawpaw Chai Cream Ale, made with local foraged Staunton River pawpaw fruit, has garnered some very favorable reviews. Visiting the brewery is a family affair with a game yard, pavilion, terraced area overlooking the vineyard, and an on-site food truck open every weekend. The farm welcomes leashed pets and participates in the national Harvest Host camping program.

Located on the same farm is Sans Soucy Vineyards & Winery, one of four wineries returning from last year. This was the first farm winery in Campbell County, “the heart of Virginia’s garden spot.” Indicative of a family’s love of wine, they grow a variety of vinifera and hybrid vines on five acres and have additional acreage planted with heirloom apple trees.

Wines offered by Sans Soucy included Oak ‘n’ Berry, Rose, Gold Leaf, Blackberry, Cabernet, Franc, Petit Verdot and Sangria.

Nestled in Clarksville’s back yard, Three Sisters of Shiney Rock Winery is owned and operated by the Powell sisters and their supporting families, who take care of all operations, including picking, processing, and bottling. Licensed in 2011, current offerings include muscadine and scuppernong wines.

In 1888, a few miles from Chatham, James Anderson opened his Tomahawk Creek Grist Mill to serve local farmers. One hundred years later, the mill closed and the first grapes were planted on the hill above the mill pond.

Tomahawk Winery started with Chardonnay and Concord varieties and sometime later, Pinot Noir, Johannisberg Riesling, and Cabernet Sauvignon grapes followed; the first Chardonnay vintage was produced in 1990. Other varieties produced now include Vidal Blanc, apple, Earl of Chatham Mead, Cabernet Franc, Sergeant Anderson’s Red and Tobacco Road Blues.

Nestled among the historic hills of Halifax County on the site of a 19th century tobacco planation, sits a small family-owned and operated winery, Bright Meadows Farm. A restored 115-year-old barn offers country wines.

The winery opened its doors to tasters and sales in March of 2007. Their specialty wines are Bright Meadows White, Bright Meadows Red, Burley Red, Halifax Red, apple, blackberry, B.A.G., Bright Leaf White and Dan River Noir.

Barksdale Cancer Foundation would also like to welcome and thank our generous sponsor, B2X Online, for providing internet for this year’s event.

Locally owned and operated, B2X opened its doors in June of 2002 in Salem, Va. B2X Online’s founders wanted to provide high speed internet connection services to the local area. To start this venture the founders reviewed several different wireless products in a pursuit to find the best quality product that would deliver the fastest speed at an affordable cost. After finding the product, Motorola’s Canopy, they went to Chicago for training and background. After attending training, they started testing the product in the local area. The product was tested for many months and found to be everything Motorola claimed.

A beautiful blanket chest handcrafted and donated by popular local craftsman, Lee Hall of Drakes Branch, will be raffled the day of the wine festival. The chest features punched tin inserts and is lined in cedar…it must be seen to be truly appreciated! Also, to be given away that day is a 29” x 55” crocheted throw, made and donated by Miranda Dunn of Red Oak. The throw pictures a bottle of wine and stemmed wine glass.

Tickets for the chest and throw are available for the price of $1 each at the following locations: Keysville Hardware & Farm Supply, Phenix Town Office, Drakes Farm & Home, Wylliesburg Diner, Village Arts & Crafts in Charlotte Court House, and Chase City Florist, or from any board member.

Tasting and non-tasting tickets for the event may be purchased online through Paypal or by credit card by visiting the website, www.barksdalecancerfou.wixsite.com/mysite and clicking on the upcoming events tag. Advance tickets are $20 for tasting and $15 for non-tasting. Tasting tickets will be $25 at the gate or may be purchased by calling the following: in Charlotte Court House, Terri at 434-470-1225; in Drakes Branch, Pixie at 434-391-4726; in Red Oak/Wylliesburg, Wendy at 434-470-1538; in Phenix, Pat at 434-547-2864; or from Keysville Hardware. This is a 21-and-over only event!

Please visit BCF board members at our booth that we will have set up during the Town of Keysville’s End of Summer Festival, August 31, 11 a.m. at the Osborne Street Park. We will have tickets available for sale for the wine fest, blanket chest and the throw. We will also be doing a 50/50 drawing.

Barksdale Cancer Foundation is a grassroots organization founded in 1999. Its sole purpose is to give monetary and services support to Charlotte County cancer patients. The foundation is a 501(c)3 non-profit manned by volunteers, with no ties to any other cancer organizations. If you know of someone in need, please call Wendy Lankford at 434-470-1538. If you would like to make a tax-deductible donation, it may be mailed to Barksdale Cancer Foundation, P.O. Box 225, Charlotte Court House, VA 23923.

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