Participants will race 13 miles through Kelowna's fields, orchards and vineyards before ending at a wine tasting event in Waterfront Park.
(JULIE WHITTET / iNFOnews.ca)
August 12, 2013 - 11:02 AM
KELOWNA - There won't be too much time to savour your wine on an upcoming festival tour.
America's Wine Country Half Marathon is coming to Kelowna this September inviting runners to complete a 13 mile circuit through orchards and vineyards with a rest stop opportunely stationed at a winery. Those tagging off with relay parters can hydrate with a tasting of Riesling wine from the Tantalus Winery before completing the 422 foot descent in elevation.
With the starting point at Vibrant Vines Winery and and finish line at Waterfront Park, the race will showcase the region as runners make their way down the hillside catching a scenic view of Okanagan Lake before turning onto the Mission Creek Greenway and lakefront course.
Up to 2000 people are expected to participate in the event scheduled for Saturday, September 7 and hosted by Destination Races whose past events have toured through California's Napa Valley, Virginia, Santa Barbara and Oregon.
And a gourmet reward awaits those crossing the finish line.
A weekend long wine and music festival stationed at Waterfront Park will feature local foods and tastings of Kelowna wines and brews, along with live music and prize draws.
The City of Kelowna is expected to include the festival in its liquor licensing pilot program, a decision that would permit minors to join their families for the celebration in the same liquor service areas. July's Tennis Futures tournament at the Parkinson Recreation Centre was the first to succesfully test drive the pilot program, allowing adults to purchase and drink alcoholic beverages within the stadium area - rather than having a beer garden.
City councillors meet today to decide if the half-marathon's waterfront wine festival will be granted the license.
To contact the reporter for this story, email Julie Whittet at jwhittet@infotelnews.ca or call (250)718-0428.
News from © iNFOnews, 2013