Maple River Winery on the road!!!

We have a very busy road this holiday season. This weekend begins our travels outside of the winery showcasing our wines throughout the state.
This weekend we have booths at 2 different events in Fargo. Friday and Saturday will find us at the Big One Arts and Craft Show at the Fargo Civic Center. Saturday will find us at the Fargodome for the Women's Showcase. Many thanks to our crew covering both of these shows for us so we can focus on getting product ready for the Maple River Distillery which will be open early November. North Dakota fruit everywhere!!

We will post the rest of our schedule here as we get closer. This year we will be attending the most shows ever in our 7 year history. Excited? absolutely!

World Record Fire Truck Parade Update

In 1 week we will know if we had enough entries to break the world record for the most fire trucks ever in a parade. We have been receiving a lot more phone calls than we expected to this date. We were hoping to be around 50% and have 25% of them the week of the parade and then 25% the day of the parade. We are cautiously optimistic since we are sitting at over 120 entries, but know we need more. It would be terrible if a couple had to cancel and we wound up 1 or 2 short. We know there are trucks coming from near Rochester, Minnesota to north and west of Minot, North Dakota. What we don't know is how many are going to show up the day of the parade. One of the magazine writers called them "drive-ups" instead of "walk-ups". Information regarding the fire truck parade can be found on www.casscountysummerfest.com. Information will be posted on there regarding where the best spots will be in Casselton to view this historic event.

Words can't express the appreciation for everyone who has helped so far in the planning process. In 1 week, we will know how great this is. Will there be 160? 200? 300? We hope everyone has a safe trip to and from Casselton and enjoy this historical moment.

Very busy Saturday at the Maple River Winery

We went to Cool Beans today to get the California Burger special for everyone working today. Someone made the comment it was fairly quiet so far on Saturday morning. It didn't last. Before we could finish our burgers several groups came into the winery's tasting room/Pride of Dakota gift shop. Chokecherry Jelly and Lilac Wine were the big winners today. It is surprising how each day of the week a different wine is the most popular. This is fun because we have been guessing each morning as to which will be the most popular wine of the day.

On a side note, strawberries have started coming in. They smell sooooo good and they taste even better. You can't beat locally grown strawberries.

Up next, nanking cherries and apricots. yum.

Fire Truck Parade Time

Growing up, I always enjoyed watching fire trucks in parades. So many different designs, colors, and purposes as well as from so many different communities. In Casselton, we would always see our local communities like Arthur, Leonard, Buffalo to mention a few. In 2004, for our 125th anniversary, fire departments came from Wahpeton, Hillsboro, and Valley City. This year, we have a committee dedicated to putting on the largest fire truck parade in the world. The current record is held in Switzerland with 159 fire trucks that paraded through there. It has been a learning experience finding out all of the different criteria needed to ensure compliance for the world record attempt. On August 15, 2009, we'll attempt to make history in our little community nestled along I-94 just a little west of Fargo. Maybe you'll drop by and visit that day too!!

2009 Penny Sale in the record books

Our annual penny sale wrapped up last week. It was by far the busiest penny sale promotion we have ever had. We always look forward to the penny sale because after the sale we will be spending many hours outside. This year we have many projects. We have some rhubarb growers adding more plants to their farms. We have new fruits being planted in and around Casselton. This fall will be very, very exciting if mother nature cooperates. We have more pears, plums, strawberries, and chokecherries lined up than ever before. Here's to a great 2009 growing season!!

Friday the 13th, 2009

Friday the 13th seems to always scare people. Today is no exception. However, my wife and I are looking at this date today in 2009 and thinking we didn't plan too good 10 years ago. Today is our 10th anniversary. It seems like just yesterday that we were married. So many memories of that day/night and especially the trip to Nebraska to get married. Who would have thought it would take over 3 days to travel 10 hours? We tried to leave early enough on Wednesday morning to make it to our rehearsal on Friday night, but we didn't make it on time. Must have been the high volume traffic in southwest Nebraska or something. Anyways, it is hard to believe 10 years have went by so fast!!! We have a nice house on a quiet street in Casselton, North Dakota, which is a suburb of Fargo, North Dakota. We have 3 wonderful daughters, Katie (7), Sarah (4), and Melody ( 2 1/2 months). We also own Maple River Winery in historic downtown Casselton. If that isn't enough, my wife, Susan, is a Library Media Specialist at Kennedy Elementary School in Fargo. Needless to say, on Friday evenings when the girls go to bed, we crash. Tonight will be no exception.