CANMORE – Canmore Uncorked’s philosophy, as told by its founder, is establishing the lively mountain town as a culinary destination.
And as today (May 3) marks the beginning of the food and bevy festival, which runs until May 13, the award-winning event offers its highly imaginative and creative charm for a fifth year in Canmore, while organizers continue to iron out a sustainable model going forward.
“I love the support of the community and how they’ve embraced Canmore Uncorked and gotten behind it,” said Andrew Nickerson, founder and director of Uncorked Experiences.
“For me it’s always the same thing, a chance to show off the celebration of the Canmore food and beverage industry; to be able to show the world what we are capable of doing here in the town and then also show off the creativity side of it.”
Hungry souls from locals to visitors alike who are looking to fill their tummies with mountain dining can take in two sides of Canmore Uncorked – the set-price menus/experience and special attractions throughout the 11 days it runs.
“I look forward to this fun series of events every year,” said Sharon Hawkins, a Canmore local who’s attended Uncorked every year since its inception in 2014. “Our biggest problem every year is choosing which event to go to as you simply can’t do them all.”
Hawkins isn’t kidding, as 12 local restaurants are set to partake in the three-course, set price menu ($25, $37, and $49) side of Uncorked. There are 16 local beverage and food joints offering experiences for free, $6, or $12, and cooking lessons at Paintbox Lodge.
The special attractions are once more anchored by the ultra popular (and sold out) Long Table Dinner (May 3), and featured dining outings include the music-led Bistro Tour (May 10-13) and The Grande Brunch (May 6).
Canmore Uncorked also places a call-out to all lovers of wine, craft beer and spirits with its Wine Festival (May 5), Whisky & Spirits Festival (May 11), and Craft Beer Festival (May 12).
Nickerson is amazed by the evolution of the beverage aspect, from struggling to find vendors to participate to having 30 different breweries on-board in its fifth year.
“It’s crazy how it’s morphed,” he said. “There are people still knocking on the door trying to participate, and it’s great to see the amount of Alberta breweries involved.”
For the second straight year, the festival has its downloadable and interactive mobile app called Canmore Uncorked.
“We are doing a discount during the course of the festival so guests can use the Uncorked discount code and they can book it that way,” Nickerson said.
The app shows which businesses are participating this year, plus it gives patrons the opportunity to grade service, value and overall quality of their different experiences, which in turn adds an entry into a grand prize competition – gift cards to every participating business in addition to a VIP pass for next year’s festival.
“There is a little quiz (on the app) this year where you have to be in the restaurant to answer the questions,” Nickerson said. “The correct answers add an entry in the overall grand prize.”
In 2016, Uncorked’s founding entity Canmore Business and Tourism ceased operations, after which Nickerson and one other picked up the ball and pushed forward in organizing roles for the culinary festival.
It has had its challenges, Nickerson explains, though, he sees “a huge amount of opportunity” in Uncorked being tied to Canmore’s world-class culinary scene.
“We believe there is a long-term model because of it,” he said. “We have a remarkable scene here (in Canmore) because we have so many restaurants in relation to the size of the population and the quality of the restaurants and quality of chefs attracted to be here. Very few places in the country can compare to this.
“Originally, this was to showcase the restaurants and now what we’re trying to do is continue in that same vein, but be sustainable going forward so we have to find a revenue model that will keep that happening.”
For a list of participating businesses and to purchase tickets, visit www.canmoreuncorked.com.
