Tina Jones knows all about 'Harvesting'  .... the intricacies of harvesting grapes that is... which are the best grapes, the most flavourful, how they in turn create the best wines around the world. She's also a keen business woman and a very active part in many Winnipeg events, one of the leaders in our community.

We are thrilled to announce that Tina Jones of BANVILLE AND JONES, is the latest addition to our charity Winnipeg Harvest event on APRIL 29, 2016. She has gone over and above to make an effort to help us out and will be providing the wine selections for the event along with the help of her amazing staff. Tina's expertise in planning events will be so welcomed, we feel very fortunate indeed, in having her on board.  Thanks Tina!

I love success stories. Tina Jones is one of them. If you ever have the chance to say hello to this dynamo, do, she's amazing. She is also the Jones behind everything fabulous in BANVILLE AND JONES.

​"Tina has overseen the growth of Banville and Jones, into the largest private wine store and destination wine school in the province. Tina has created the environment for wine education to meet the highest international standards, making it possible for her staff to pursue studies in wine, including with Banville & Jones Wine Institute, the Wine and Spirit Education Trust, the Canadian Association of Professional Sommeliers, the French Wine Society and Court of Master Sommeliers. She has brought chefs together with wine lovers and food lovers to create exciting private and charity events in the province. Her work has raised the bar in the hospitality industry and for the Sommelier profession."

​​I am always impressed by those that are diverse in their business and Tina is that, she has created a unique business in which she not only has a top notch wine store, but also a magazine called, "The Cellar Door". It's a beautiful publication that focuses on wines from around the world and shares an experience beyond just buying bottle of wine. The ambiance of the wine store is something all in itself, the details of the interior design is spectacular ... it feels like you are inside a winery ... and it's down the street from me. It doesn't really get better than that.

​We look forward to working with Tina on this project and welcome her aboard the "harvesting hope" team.

Excerpt from http://www.banvilleandjones.com/about

We all know how much I love cars ... fast cars ... shiny cars ...

I almost love cars as much as I love fashion and art (and red wine)... almost, actually they all might rank equally.  As a stylist the fashion piece is a given, as an artist, I appreciate other's art as much as I like creating it. It's a great thing that I will get to appreciate all of these in the same space.

How is that possible? Well ... we are creating an event that has all of these aspects as well as celebrating wellness under one roof. The goodness  just keeps coming. What else? Just you wait.

I am so pleased to announce that Amber and Trevor Nott of NOTT Auto Corp are partnering with us to host our "Harvesting Hope" charity event on April 29, 2016. They have kindly offered their beautiful Luxury Car Dealership  and Art Gallery to hold this very unique event. We will fill the car and art gallery with amazing people that are looking to help support each other and our community.

They opened their arms and said, "Let's do this! We would love to support this cause!" Amber has joined us in the organizing and planning along with NOTT staffers. Their space is remarkable. The designer in me is always thrilled when environment plays a role in creating an experience. An experience is definitely what you get, I want to work there just because it's so beautiful! I'm so impressed when people think outside of the box and put in the extra effort.

Together ... we will be ...

HARVESTING HOPE ... HARVESTING FOOD ... HARVESTING GOODWILL

We could not ask for better partners! There will be something for everyone at the event... and I get to drool over the vehicles. It's all good. It's going to be a great event ... lots of fabulous people, lots of fabulous fashion, food and wine.

More than that ...

We all get to work together and support local business and support a charity that we can all get behind. Feeding our hungry ... that seems like a worthy cause to me. Winnipeg Harvest feeds thousands of people a week. If you haven't read our blog piece on our support for Winnipeg Harvest, please go to : I Have Become A Farmer

If you would like to join us in this endeavor, please feel free to contact me and we will welco9me you with open arms. #helpinghands #Winnipegharvest

 
I’m really excited about this project. REALLY excited.

I know. Most of you that know me are going … Charis … farming? No way. She’s just not the farming type… maybe when she was the Stoneboat Queen but since then, not so much. Okay, the truth is, it’s not really farming, it’s HARVESTING. What’s the difference you’re asking. Well, first of all, I’m not hucking bales of hay, I’m not picking rocks or getting dirty playing in the mud. I’m not saying that’s what all farmers do, but it is what I used to do when I was farming, so it’s all in context. Get on with it Charis.

Harvesting.

Harvesting HOPE. Harvesting FOOD. Harvesting GOODWILL.

I came upon David Northcott through a family member just recently and was so impressed by this dynamo. We had a business meeting about a month ago and I was completely blown away by what this man and the organization that he is working with are trying to accomplish. David is the Executive Director of Winnipeg Harvest … working hard every single day to ensure that there is food in the bellies of our poor and homeless.

He took me on a tour of the facility and there were many things that struck me, not only about the facility, but about David. First of all he exudes this kindness to everyone, mixed with a get it done attitude. It amazed me that of all the staff and volunteers that were working that day, he knew each of them by name, he gave a smile and a hello. TO ALL OF THEM. Attention to detail, and I would say, a man that cares about his environment and the people in it. I was introduced to many of the staffers and volunteers and was equally impressed with their zest for their part in this amazing organization.

The sheer volume of food that goes through that facility, was nothing less that astounding, might border on shocking. All brought on by the overwhelming need of OUR community. Let’s define community: I always thought that Winnipeg Harvest had a few locations within the city. My ignorance is astounding, I will admit it. Did you know that Winnipeg Harvest not only sends provisions to all food banks within the city but in locations around the province of Manitoba? Yes, the province. They have a map at the front of the building showing exactly where they send food too. Again…I had no idea.

 40 tons.
 
They go through 40 tons of food per week.  Did you catch that ... 40 TONS?

What struck me were the programs that went far beyond providing food for our hungry. I was amazed and I thought, wow, they are seriously being proactive in trying to also alleviate the issues that surround some of our hungry. How? By providing TRAINING: job experience, job skills, gardening and food handling and preparation. They are even starting a shoe program in conjunction with Canadian Footwear, teaching the skills on shoe repair and in turn providing shoes for the more unfortunate. We will talk about these magnificent and leading edge programs in following blog pieces. I think that we need to know about the great things that they are creating over there at Winnipeg Harvest. They truly are making a BIG difference in our community.

Did you know that they built a community garden? Tucked into the back of the property is a lovely patch of earth where they teach their clients about growing their own food as well as the cycle of actually what it takes to produce the food that they are eating.

From there, they harvest the vegetables and take them into the Winnipeg Harvest kitchen to help prepare food for more clients. Volunteers ... There are volunteers everywhere. The best thing is … many of the clients volunteer themselves, their part of giving back, I think that is utterly amazing. It’s like a pay it forward community.
 
Long story short, I told David that I wanted to write a series of blog pieces showcasing the amazing work they were doing here. That’s how this all started. When I got back to my office I started thinking about how visiting Winnipeg Harvest made me feel. I was overwhelmed by the number of people they are trying to help, and their ingenuity in trying to help their clients become independent. I wanted to help somehow.

Oddly enough, in another part of my life, I was putting together a celebration event with two other team members and friends, Jodian Self and Lori Orchard. We had put together this program for whole life wellness, and had just rolled it out. We had decided that at the end of the program, we wanted to have a celebration to encourage our own clients and to mark their transformations in wellness, in a special way. The team and the company that we work with in this area of my life, is all about family, about looking at the bigger picture, and giving back to your community. We decided that not only were we going to support our clients but wanted to support a home-grown charity at the same time. We considered several, but we also had specific parameters that we wanted to meet. We wanted to see our efforts make a difference immediately in the hands of those that needed it the most.

We chose Winnipeg Harvest. I have included a beautiful document below that will give you the full impact of what this organization is doing. You will be impressed ... you will be amazed.

How does this fit in to what we do? What's the connection? Wellness, food, and transformation. We looked at the fact that most of us are fortunate enough to be able to DECIDE what kind of food we want to eat, to make healthy choices. We looked at the fact that we get to DECIDE how we manage our wellness through eating clean, exercising and including our families in those choices.

WE ARE VERY FORTUNATE ... WE HAVE A CHOICE. 

How can people function properly, learn at school, get a job, when they can't think straight because they are starving. Worrying about when your next meal is going to hit your belly, that becomes paramount in your existence and your survival.

WE ARE FORTUNATE ... WE HAVE A CHOICE.

SO ... we decided that we wanted to help give some of these people a helping hand up. Maybe if their bellies are full, some of the other things will start to fall into place. We are HARVESTING HOPE. We are HARVESTING GOODWILL.

We decided that we would open the event up to the bigger community ... our community. Not just Winnipeg  but Manitoba ... is nothing less than a very caring and generous . Who wouldn't want to get behind feeding the countless of hungry souls in our own backyard? As it turns out, the support that we are getting for the event has been nothing less than amazing. As we garner more support I will feature each one of our amazing partners in this blog, so we all can appreciate just how fabulous these people are. It's growing every day. How incredible is that?

Our event, will take place on Friday, April 29, 2016. Keep posted for all the details and mark it off it your calendar. Fashion Show, Wine and Eats ... all in a very unique setting... let's just say that both the men and women will enjoy the event.

If this event happens to pull at your heart strings, the love of your neighbour and helping the less fortunate ... we would love your help and support.  Please keep posted for more details and contact me if you would like to lend a hand.

Well ... the Vikings have risen again.

I wanted to share with all of the avid M.O.B. followers the newest addition to the Viking wedding from this past July. This week, the movie version came out...

Dancing Vikings. The title, is indicative of the joyous and sometimes raucous behaviour of all Vikings, big and small, Vikings by genealogy or by choice, some were even inducted into the Viking clan that evening. The Induction ceremony was somewhat archaic but none the less, effective and Head gear was donned by the newest of the Vikings.

The tale made me laugh, it made me cry, it made me want to do it all over again.

With air conditioning this time.

There are some movies that you watch and you think ... man I wish my life was like that ... then I realized, hey... that is our life. Right there on the big screen. The best part was ... the movie is indicative of everything that the day was as well as the people that were cast in this feature film. The main characters were brilliantly cast, I couldn't have chosen them better myself. They were witty and they were emotional, they portrayed what a true love that most of us dream about, looks like. The rest of the cast ... outstanding ... they were funny, they danced up a storm, sometimes to the right beat, they delivered their lines with grace and with perfect timing.(A bit of improv never hurt anyone.) I was happy that some of the more REAL moments ... most having to do with Brennevin ... good old Viking spirits, stayed on the cutting room floor.

I want to say thank you to the brilliant director, and executive producer, Sean Philips of A Moving Picture Studios for his exceptional work. He too is now an honorary Viking. (One by one, we will take over the world. Lol.) Seriously talented that man and I hope to do more work with him in the future.

Please take a look at this feature film ... a love story set on the shores of Viking Land. You'll laugh, you'll cry ... and then you're going to call me because you want to hang out with us. :) Enjoy.