Since we were in London for the weekend, we figured it would be great to sample our kombucha in the Farm Boy Wellington Street location!

We sure are happy to be in such a great store! It was a pleasure chatting about our product with the Sunday shoppers. Sounds like we converted some hesitant newbie booch drinkers into fans of the fermented tea. ;)

What a great weekend in London, ON for the first annual London Tea and Kombucha Festival!

Such a great group of tea sommeliers, tea totalers, tea enthusiasts, kombucha brewers and fans came out for the event at the Wolf Performance Hall downtown London. We certainly enjoyed meeting new faces, making new friends, and getting to know some of the kombucha brewers in the area. 

So many teas to sip on! We're grateful for the welcome invitation and thankful to Founder, Michelle Pierce Hamilton, fellow RHN, tea sommelier, and owner of The Tea Lounge and Be Teas and her wonderful team for bringing this festival to life. 

​Cheers!

A chilly start to the day didn't deter locals in attending the the 3rd annual Renfrew Craft Beer and Food Truck Festival on Saturday. The beer was flowing, food trucks were sizzling, and by noon the square was a buzz with folks looking to taste the latest in regional craft brews. 

This year saw the biggest turnout with around 2000 attendees, not bad for a small town festival set to showcase the finest in locally produced beverages while creating a fun atmosphere for all ages. With live music throughout the day, free glowsticks passed around for the dance in the square at night, the festival drew in new crowds for the extended hours with an evening band, The Paperboys. 

Full list of businesses there to quench your thirst and fill your belly included Perth Brewery, Orléans Brewing Co., Cartwright Springs Brewery, Laurentian Brew Kombucha, Whitewater Brewing Company, Square Timber Brewing Company, Beau's All Natural Brewing Co., Bancroft Brewing Co., Broadhead Brewing Company Ltd., Brasserie Tuque de Broue Brewery Inc., Needham's Market Garden, Kin Vineyards, Hot Shots Coffee Canada, Big D's Dog House & Poutine Emporium, Bonita's Cantina, Backyard Gourmet BBQ and Mr.Churritos. 

Thanks to a wonderful team committed to bringing a celebration of locally crafted food and drink to the Valley, the Town of Renfrew hosted another successful event of beer sipping, kombucha tasting, food-filled, festival fun.

Looking forward to next year!

Find us in Renfrew this Saturday, October 13th for the 3rd annual Frewtober Craft Beer and Food Truck Festival.  We'll be there from 11:00am until 8:30pm serving up fresh kombucha on tap for your healthy, non-alcoholic alternative beverage needs.

We'll have four flavours on tap plus bottled booch for sale, and samples are always available to all who want to taste, quench their thirst, cleanse their palette, and sip on a different type of ferment. 

Check out the lineup of local craft beer and food trucks! New this year - even more live entertainment and a "dance in the square" with an evening roof-top concert. 

Meet you in the square!

Hey Ottawa Valley! Thanks for coming out to the Valley Inspired Vendor Show.

A great turnout for the event held on Sunday, September 9th at the Best Western Pembroke Inn & Conference Centre and what an awesome lineup of vendors! The show featured a long list of local talent, artists, crafters, bakers, soap-makers, and professional services including:

2 Tarts and A Truffle, Anna’s Lingerie and Swimwear, Bee Savvy Hives and Honey, Blendz Smoothie Shop, CREEations, Carte Blanche Cache, Chahna Fai, Crazy Beautiful Dresses, Dame with a Hook, Das Studio, Engine House Coffee, Fifth Ave Collection Jewellery, Flourish, Gore Line Knit Co, Jacklyn’s Organic Tan, Janalla Photography, Julie Keon - Life Cycle Celebrant, Laurentian Brew Kombucha, Life Pure Simple, Little Things Canning Company, Mellow Home Co., Natural Beauty, Opeongo Soaps, Ottawa Valley Promotions, Pembroke Boxing Club, Pembroke Pole Fitness, Pure Romance, Sugar Society, SweetLegs, Tarwyn Lane Designs, The Alexander Bros. Woodworking, The Ottawa Wedding Planner, The Urban Lounge, Thirty-one Gifts, Valley Soaperie, and Whitewater Brewing Co.

The show also featured swag bags, lots of prizes, and live entertainment provided by Matt Gagne and Ben Rutz. From 11 a.m. until 3 p.m. the room was a buzz with Valley folk who came to scope out the many talented businesses the area has to offer. 

It was great to see several businesses collaborating, sharing tables, and representing other great organizations at their booths. On tap for the day, we sampled two of our favourite locally sourced brews, Engine House Coffee Kombucha and Hugli's Blueberry Kombucha. 

We enjoyed connecting with all the vendors and chatting with everyone who stopped by our booth.
Thanks to Taylor of Ottawa Valley Promotions for organizing such a wonderful event! Check out Ottawa Valley Promotions upcoming events and subscriptions boxes at www.ottawavalleypromotions.ca.

What a day! Muskoka Veg Fest was a huge success!

River Mill Park in Huntsville, Ontario was a buzz on Saturday, August 11th, celebrating conscious living, wellness, and sustainability at the plant-based festival. The first of its kind in the area, Muskoka Veg Fest was host to over 65 vendors, special speakers, and musical entertainment and welcomed a safe environment for vegan and health-conscious festival attendees.  

A morning shower didn't seem to dampen the day as hundreds made their way through the grounds, visiting each booth, trying new products, and learning about living a healthy, vegan lifestyle. Samples were plentiful and there was many a cloth bag full of tasty goods purchased to be enjoyed at home. Warm sun graced the skies by afternoon and by closing time quite a few businesses had sold out of their products. 

A wonderful outcome for the event made successful by a great group of organizers, sponsors, volunteers, vendors, educators, and attendees. 

Thanks to the Muskoka Veg Fest team! Until next year!



"Muskoka Veg Fest is a plant-based, dairy-free, meatless festival that showcases great food, entertainment and cruelty-free products from conscious minded individuals and businesses. 
Bringing a collaborative celebration of animal welfare, health, and environmental education to showcase the benefits of a vegan lifestyle".

We joined a super fun group of vendors at the Crystal Palace in Picton, ON on Saturday, August 4th for the 2nd Annual Ontario Fermentation Festival. Founded by Pyramid Ferments, the festival was created to showcase the fermented food and beverage community in the area. "We aim to celebrate, inspire and educate our provincial community about the many types of food and beverage ferments available in Ontario".

A foodie, locavore, and fermented food enthusiast's heaven, the festival featured everything from beer, wine, mead, hot sauce, sauerkraut, kimchi, miso, pickles, olives, mustards, sourdough, cheese, juices, chocolate, kefir, jun and kombucha plus a ferment competition, workshops demos and yoga. 

We had an awesome time meeting everyone and appreciated the familiar faces who came for a visit! Thanks you to all who stopped by our booth and tried our products.

Festival go-ers were passionate about the healthy and fermented food movement and all samples were delicious. Trading product for product was an exceptional highlight for us as we went home with a big case full of goodies (some of which didn't quite make it home as we snacked along the drive). Tasty, nutritious, locally made food is where it's at!

We want to congratulate the Pyramid Ferments team on a well-organized, entertaining and enjoyable event. We had a great time at the festival and enjoyed getting to know you more at Prince Eddy's Brewing Co. afterwards. Thanks for inviting us along! See you next time!

The International free kombucha festival, BOOCHFEST took place at Landsdowne Park in Ottawa inside the Horticulture Building this past weekend.

We were floored by the absolute success of this festival! Founders and organizers, Drew and Samira took their love of kombucha and poured it into this event. They had a dream to bring an international kombucha festival to the area and boy did they make it happen!

The anticipation was high and we weren't sure what to expect but as the day progressed, it was clear that the event had surpassed expectations. After a brief opening ceremony with a word from the Boochfest Founders and ribbon cutting including Rise Kombucha, the crowds piled in and were given a sample cup to try all sorts of flavours of kombucha.

We were in good company along with brewers Culture Kombucha, Y Kombucha, Quetzal Kombucha, Brew Dr. Kombucha, GT'S Kombucha, Elikxir Kombucha, Cathy's Kombucha, Live Kombucha, Carlington Booch, Rise Kombucha, Bucha Brew, Vox Kombucha, Artizen Kombucha, Lao Kombucha, Pyramid Ferments, and from all the way overseas, Kombucha Iceland!!

"They just kept coming in", fellow brewers said as we re-capped the event. There was barely a moment for us to try other brews as most of us were a two-person crew, working non-stop from 10-4 to serve up samples, offering kombucha on tap and selling our bottles. 

"It was crazy!" our heads are still spinning from the action. With music going, an excited crowd with bellies full of kombucha were mostly in the know about the fermented tea. This isn't the norm for us as we are used to explaining the process and answering numerous questions about the brew. 
"Everyone already knew what kombucha was! We never get that".

It was an event to meet the makers and sip on new flavours. Attendees made the rounds and then decided on their faves or picked up an assortment to bring home. There was also a competition for homebrewers which was judged by a panel of commercial kombucha connoisseurs.

We met so many people, made wonderful new connections, learned about upcoming brewers, saw familiar faces and had visits from friends. 

As a brewer, it was phenomenal. Well organized, nice facility, highlighted the industry, and had cold storage and ice on site. We can't thank Drew and Samira enough!

BOOCHFEST 2018 was a riot!! Can't wait for next year!

The 2nd annual Lemonade Yoga Festival was a success!!

So awesome to have this festival right in the Valley! Lemonade featured a variety of FREE outdoor yoga classes (doesn't get better than that!) for all ages from 11-6, SUP demonstrations and water fun, plus great local vendors. 

We always love meeting up with local business owners, passionate yogis and kombucha newbies and fans. Lemonade did not disappoint.

A big thanks to Maegan, the White Pine Yoga team and instructors, AWE Yoga, and all volunteers and organizers!

 And thanks to all who stopped by our booth. You guys are the reason we love festivals!

The Ottawa Valley Wellness Show happened this past weekend!

We set up shop at the Renfrew Armouries with a pretty amazing group of Wellness specialists and vendors. There was lots to check out at the show including handmade products, jewelry, holistic professional and treatments, healthy eats, along with demos and workshops. 

Timed perfectly with the Renfrew Farmers Market, attendees wandered through the market and inside the hall for a full selection of locally made goods. 

We managed to snap a few shots during a slower time, when we weren't passing out booch samples, meeting new faces, and connecting with other vendors. It's impressive to see how many small businesses and entrepreneurs we have in this area. We were also stoked to meet up with some awesome longtime supporters (thank you!!).

A huge shout out to Ro and her wonderful team who put together this show! 

Cheers to your health! Santé!

A gorgeous Saturday for DandyFest at Dandelion Foods in Almonte. 

We joined several local producers and wellness partners to showcase the goods and products available within the store. Now in its 5th year, DandyFest is an annual event that allows customers and residents to meet the makers, ask questions, and "try-before-you-buy" (who doesn't love free samples!!?).

The event was also a great way for us to connect with local businesses and get to know them on a personal level. At the event this year were Ilias and Sons, Alpenblick Farm, Bee Savvy Honey, Love My Buns, Biemond Upper Canada Creamery, Fluid Solar Roasted Coffee, Sweet Cheeks Kitchen, Neal Brothers, VoxxLife, Natural Wisdom, Almonte Fitness Centre, PureLab Vitamins, AOR Health, Progressive, Lorna Vanderhaeghe, Hummingbird Chocolate, Kricklewood Farm, live music, and a BBQ featuring Seed to Sausage and Gusta Foods.

We enjoyed serving up samples of Strawberry Mint and Mango Lassi to both kombucha veterans and newbies and had a few surprise visits from familiar faces. We were pretty excited to debut our new jockey box which will make dispensing kombucha at events much easier!

Thanks to everyone at Dandelion Foods for putting on a great event and always supporting local!

It was a sunny Sunday so we decided to set up shop outside for the Local Makers Market at Bodhi Wellness Centre. 

Our promo of the day was a choice of 8 flavours to mix and match for a 6-pack on special. :)
Plus we got to show-off our new branded bucket we received as a generous and thoughtful gift. 

We were in good company with our friends at Forest Cove Farm, Valley Girl Naturals, Healing Forest Botanicals, In the Spirit Natural Products, Sage and Stone Wellness, Mix and Mash Art, The Scented Bohemian, Anupaya Quality Goods, Sister Moon Gems and Herbs, and Sigrid Naturals. 

Amazing people. Great products. All local. 

Man, this area sure has everything you could possibly need!

We scored some sweet gifts for our family and joked that the reason we do these markets is to make enough money to spend on the awesome products made by our friends. 

Live local. Shop local. Support local. 

Saturday, October 14th was a busy day in Renfrew with the 2nd Annual Frewtober Craft Beer & Food Truck Festival. Downtown Renfrew was the place to be to sample locally brewed beer (and kombucha!) and eat delicious food while listening to live music.

This year featured even more options with a total of 12 breweries, 3 food trucks, a coffee truck, and a mobile bar and lounge. The weather cooperated with the rain holding off and a balmy temperature for mid-October and attendance was remarkably increased in comparison to last year's rainy day and near freezing temperature. Fireworks ended the night with an exciting display from the rooftop of the Town Hall. 

Festival goers enjoyed an assortment of beer brewed from Whitewater Brewing Co, Beau's All Natural Brewing Co, Perth Brewery, Cartwright Springs Brewery, Broadhead Brewing Co, Square Timber Brewing Co, Dominion City Brewing Co, Tuque de Broue Brewing, Calabogie Brewing Co, Kichesippi Beer Co, and Old Boys Beer. New to the line up this year, Cellar 82 covered all other alcoholic beverages with their spiffy Mobile Bar & Lounge truck. For the second year in a row, Laurentian Brew and Caffeine Fix had you covered for non-alcoholic drinks. Foodies united and dined out with food from Big D's Dog House & Poutine Emporium, Tracie's Hollywood Diner, and Mr. Churritos all of which just about sold out of everything!

Another year reacquainting with fellow brewer friends, catching up with amazing fans and supporters, and meeting new faces, the 2nd Annual Renfrew Craft Beer & Food Truck Festival was a successful event and we are already looking forward to next year. A big thanks to all who made it possible including Jennifer Charkavi, her family, and all the volunteers!

It was a brisk start to a beautiful day as participants in the Kitchissippi Run set out on the course in Chalk River. Spirits were high and competition was friendly with several distances including full marathon, half marathon, 10km, 5km, a family 2km, and a bike race new this year. 

This marked the 6th annual Kitchissippi Run, a fundraising event for the Deep River and District Hospital. Last year participants raised $15,000 for improvements in the health care facility. The race is run by dedicated volunteers who donate their time and efforts for a worthy cause that draws athletes in to compete in the town and around the beautiful Petawawa Research Forest. 

This year, the event was open to vendors and we attended with kombucha for pre and post-race energy and hydration. We had fun cheering on the athletes, dancing to music, chatting with friends and locals, and of course serving up kombucha on tap. Congratulations to all participants and a big thank you to volunteers and sponsors who made this years Kitchissippi Run a success. 

That's all folks! The Deep River Farmer's Market wrapped up it's last market of the season with the extended version for the Taste of the Valley. Smiles were as plentiful as baskets and bags of goods, and local farmers and artisans enjoyed a sunny Saturday in September serving customers from all over the Ottawa Valley. 

The market was a bustlin' by 10 a.m. featuring the finest in local produce, homemade goods, handcrafted pieces, art, and tasty treats. We had kombucha on tap and free samples for both the uninitiated and loyal customers. 

We wish to thank everyone who came around to our booth this year and a HUGE thank you to the Deep River Farmer's Market volunteers who dedicated so much of their time to make the season a success. 

Complete with great live entertainment, dancing, vendors, food, drinks, fun activities, triathlon, races, car show, and a big fireworks display, Summerfest 2017 was a success. A huge thank you to the committee, all volunteers, and sponsors who make the biggest event in Deep River a weekend of fun for all ages. We enjoyed a crazy day of unpredictable weather as we gave out samples of kombucha and 12oz cups alongside some great vendor friends. Local bands floored us with their talent and we certainly enjoyed the evenings of music and mingling. Until next year, Summerfest!

(I regret to not have brought my camera to capture more amazing moments from the weekend, but I was too busy having fun!)

What do you do when life gives you lemons? Make Lemonade of course! And that we did! LEMONADE YOGA FEST was a success and will continue to grow and expand in years to come. That's right, this might have been the first but it certainly won't be the last. The City of Pembroke and White Pine Yoga have decided to make the Pembroke Marina Waterfront home to an annual yoga festival.

With the circumstances that sparked the impromptu yoga fest and market less than ideal, this is something HUGELY positive out of what was heading to be a terrible let down of a long weekend. Emerge Yoga Festival , set to be "Canada's Yoga Festival" was cancelled last minute leaving sponsors, vendors, musicians, ticket holders in the dust.

With the admirable grace and ingenuity of our friends, Pete and Shan of White Pine Yoga who created Lemonade Yoga Fest, we came together as a community and had an awesome day of FREE yoga classes, demos, and a vendor market. 

We can't wait for next year!

We stayed close to home this weekend and enjoyed the Canada Day 150 Celebrations in Deep River. The rain held out for most of the day until the skies opened up and dumped buckets of water on us. We had plenty of time to hand out samples and glasses of kombucha and loved seeing all the familiar faces out to partake in the fun. Check out the slideshow of the day from our perspective! A huge thanks to all the volunteers who made Canada Day in Deep River and awesome celebration. 

We've got a jam-packed weekend of fun lined up for Canada Day weekend! 

With the cancellation of Emerge Yoga Festival, we needed to pull up our socks and get busy trying to recoup our investment. 

Our friends on Deep River's 150th Celebrations committee have invited us to join the vendor area downtown Deep River by the waterfront on Saturday, July 1st. With free yoga, kids activities, a reptile show, photo booth, beer garden, live music, vendors, food, fireworks and more, there is plenty of fun for the whole family!  We will have a booth set up from 11am-4pm and again from 7pm-9:30pm with four flavours of kombucha on tap. Please note that we will only be selling cups not bottles, but you are more than welcome to bring a bottle or mug to be filled. 

Our amazing friends at White Pine Yoga have made lemonade from lemons! With so many of us affected by an abrupt end to the yoga festival that was to take place this weekend, they have created an impromptu yoga festival, Lemonade! The Pembroke Marina Waterfront will be home to a one-of-a-kind FREE yoga festival this Sunday, July 2 from 11am-5pm. Featuring several yoga classes, aerial yoga demos, stand-up paddle board sessions, and a yogi vendor market, this is a festival you don't want to miss! We will be joining local vendors with kombucha on tap to keep you hydrated and refreshed during the classes. Come enjoy an afternoon of yoga and support local businesses!

We were at Hyska's Your Independent Grocer on Monday, May 15th from 4-6 pm giving away samples and answering questions about all things kombucha. Kombucha fans and some brave new-to-the-scene customers stopped and had a sample of The Apple of My Chai and Cranberry Chill while they did their grocery shopping. We are proud to be a part of the growing locally-made selection of products available at the Independent Grocers. The growth in this sector is phenomenal and it's amazing to see local products popping up in larger stores. Thanks to health-conscious customers who make the demand for fresh, local, and healthy, and to Hyska's Independent Grocer for inviting us to share our brew in their store. 

A great afternoon at White Pine Yoga on Saturday for a home brewing workshop.  We enjoyed spreading the booch love, chatting about all things kombucha, demonstrating brewing, answering questions, sharing our brew, and sending participants home with a starter kit and workbook. A big thanks to White Pine Yoga for facilitating the event, and to all who came from near and far. We enjoyed seeing friends, and meeting new faces with some we recognized from their online support over the past year. A very positive bunch, we thank you all for attending and wish you happy brewing! 

We had such a blast at the Emerge + Expand event last weekend. Hosted by White Pine Yoga and Emerge Yoga Festival, over $500 was raised for Peaceful Path Yoga Project, a non-profit organization in the Valley offering free yoga to those in the community who may not otherwise have access to classes. With free delicious food, kombucha, yoga, prizes, and dancing, it was positive vibes all 'round. We encourage you to check out Emerge Yoga Festival, coming up on June 29 - July 2, for a weekend of yoga, meditation, workshops, musicians, camping, organic gourmet food and vendors right here in the Ottawa Valley. We are so thankful to have amazing people like Shannon, Pete, and Chessa who spread such light and positivity. 

Well that was a first! A different venue and a one of a kind event. Kombucha and food pairings to kick off the weekend. 

Maven Catering made 5 delicious courses to go with 5 flavours of our kombucha and we were in heaven. If you've ever had the pleasure of tasting anything Chef Carolyn Arnold makes, you'd know why. From the Pulled Chicken  and Mango Salsa Tacos, to the Blue Cheese Stuffed Apricots with White Balsamic Reduction and Candied Apricots (fave!), each food pairing was carefully selected to bring out the flavours of the booch infusions, or vice versa. Our taste buds were tantilized and our palates pleased. 

Games and conversations brought friends new and old together for some laughs and friendly competition.  Kombucha Kocktails were a hit, blending the best of both worlds while maintaining the beneficial properties of our cultured drink. 

A special thanks to Eric for bringing a wide variety of games, and many thanks to all who came out, helped out, and spread the booch love.  

A beautiful weekend to be outside! Cross-country skiers of all ages competed in the 45th Annual Silver Spoon Ski-Fest in Deep River on Saturday. We were there to boost their energy pre-race and quench their thirst after a good ski. Most of the young skiers enjoyed trying some Beau-Tea-Ful Morning and Cherry Cinnamon kombucha samples and even came back for seconds. We always enjoy getting out in the community, meeting new people in the Valley and beyond, and spreading the booch love.