Media releases

• Tickets selling fast for Ontario’s biggest VQA celebration

  Thursday, March 21, 2019 | By Brock University

  MEDIA RELEASE: 19 March 2019 – R00046

  The wines have been selected and Ontario’s top winemakers are ready to pour their favourites at the 31st annual Cuvée Grand Tasting in Niagara Falls this Saturday, March 23.

  Organized by Brock University’s Cool Climate Oenology and Viticulture Institute (CCOVI), the Cuvée Grand Tasting takes place at Scotiabank Convention Centre and is expected to be another sold-out affair. The event is the largest celebration of VQA wine of its kind and highlights the $4.4-billion Ontario wine industry.

  “We’ll have 48 Ontario VQA wineries on hand this year pouring two of their winemakers’ favourite wines, plus local chefs preparing their signature dishes at live cooking stations,” said Cuvée manager Barb Tatarnic. “New this year, guests can experience Cuvée using augmented reality with the LifeAR mobile application, developed by students from Brock, allowing them to view which wineries are represented, what they’re pouring and even purchase wine online at the Grand Tasting.”

  Cuvée provides future grape growers and winemakers the chance to interact directly with key industry players.

  Proceeds from the event support the Cuvée Legacy Fund, which was established to fund industry-driven research initiatives and scholarships for students. More than $122,000 has been generated since CCOVI took the lead in organizing the event four years ago.

  “Winning that scholarship meant all my hard work for the past three-and-a-half years came together,” said Nick Pappas (BSc’18), who won the Cuvée Award for Academic Excellence in 2018. “It is great to win a scholarship, but to win one in the industry you are entering is amazing. That money helped me finish off the last couple of courses at Brock and having that award on a resumé is just amazing.”

  “Student scholarship winners talk about how proceeds from the Cuvée wine weekend support grape and wine scholarships and research initiatives”

  Champions in the province’s grape and wine industry will also be showcased at the event, including the Cuvée Vineyard of Excellence and Winemaker of Excellence awards, along with the Tony Aspler Award of Excellence.

  The Grand Tasting is followed by the Après Cuvée after party, which features live music from the Associates, Icewine, sparkling wine, cider and local craft beer.

  The Cuvée en Route passport program will extend the wine celebration all weekend long running from March 22 to 24 at participating wineries across Niagara. A complete list of participating wineries at the Grand Tasting and en Route can be found at cuvee.ca

  Tickets, which include both the Saturday night Grand Tasting and the en Route passport, are available online at cuvee.ca/tickets for $200 per person. Tickets for the en Route passport only are $30.

  For more information or for assistance arranging interviews:

  * Britt Dixon, Communications Officer, Cool Climate Oenology and Viticulture Institute, Brock University [email protected], 905-688-5550 x4471

  * Dan Dakin, Manager Communications and Media Relations, Brock University [email protected], 905-688-5550 x5353 or 905-347-1970

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  Categories: Media releases

• Black Freemasonry and its Niagara connection topic of Sankey Lecture

  Tuesday, March 19, 2019 | By Brock University

  MEDIA RELEASE: 19 March 2019 – R00045

  Little is known about the local history of black Freemasonry, but it’s hoped this year’s Sankey Lecture will encourage new research on the topic.

  Brock University’s 10th annual lecture, held Sunday, March 24, will be delivered by Chernoh M. Sesay, Jr., Associate Professor of Religious Studies at DePaul University in Chicago. Sesay will share his research on the origins of African American Freemasonry.

  The first recognized black lodge in the world, African Lodge No. 459, was founded by Prince Hall, a former slave who led black abolitionists in Massachusetts in the 18th century.

  Sesay’s lecture will explore how the origins of black Freemasonry reveal the complexities of African American leadership, identity and community.

  This year’s topic has a local connection, notes event organizer and Associate Professor of History Mike Driedger.

  “There was a Prince Hall Lodge or Lodges in the Niagara region, although not much is known about them,” says Driedger. “We hope this year’s lecture, although focused on American subjects, will spark research on local history.”

  To help encourage local research, third-year History student Naythan Poulin will give a brief presentation on local resources for Masonic history, including Brock’s Archives and Special Collections, at the Sankey Lecture event. Brock’s Archives and Special Collections is home to the Masonic Book Collection, which consists of more than 1,200 works, and is one of largest collection of books on Freemasonry at any Canadian university. Its holdings include the papers of Charles A. Sankey, former Chancellor of Brock University.

  The Sankey Lecture Series also hopes to encourage History graduate student researchers interested in studying freemasonry and fraternalism.

  The Grand Lodge of Canada in the Province of Ontario, based in Hamilton, has endowed a new award for incoming History Master of Arts students, which will be given out for the first time this September.

  The Grand Lodge has collaborated with the Department of History to present the annual Sankey Lectures since 2010.

  This year’s lecture will be held Sunday, March 24 at 3 p.m. in Sean O’Sullivan Theatre.

  The annual lecture attracts several hundred people from across Ontario and New York state each year to hear researchers speak on the impact of Freemasonry on history and society. Tickets to the event are free but should be reserved in advance.

  What: 10th Annual Sankey Lecture and reception

  When: Sunday, March 24, 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.

  Where: Sean O’Sullivan Theatre, Brock University

  For more information or for assistance arranging interviews:

  * Dan Dakin, Manager Communications and Media Relations, Brock University [email protected], 905-688-5550 x5353 or 905-347-1970

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  Categories: Media releases