Wendy Taylor

President’s Message

By Carolyn Christian

Summers in the OCWS mean one thing: the OC Fair is in full swing where hundreds of volunteers work tirelessly to host The Courtyard during the 23-day run.  August marks the midway point of this incredible undertaking. It is a time to reflect on the organization and the dedication of its current members and to look toward the future with the biggest recruitment time for our organization.

Wine Courtyard

A big thank you to Fred Heinecke, Fran Gitsham and all of those who help make The Courtyard at the OC Fair happen. A special shoutout to Les Hodowanec for overseeing the setup crew. If you are one of the hundreds of volunteers, we thank you in advance for your dedication to the organization. If you are not volunteering this year, we encourage you to support the organization and the wineries by purchasing wine and attending the many activities in the Courtyard.

Featured Winery Program

Several years ago, Liz and Lloyd Corbett developed the Featured Winery Program in The Courtyard. The program has grown in popularity and features award-winning wineries from the OC Fair Commercial Wine Competition on Friday, Saturday and Sunday afternoons. Proceeds from this program go directly to the OCWS Scholarship Fund. Much appreciation to the Corbetts and their team for hosting this program.

Wine Seminars

The Courtyard would not be complete without the seminars held each weekend of the fair at 1 and 3 p.m. As in past years, Sara Yeoman and Ed Reyes head a team of seminar presenters who present amazing food and wine pairings and expand attendees’ wine knowledge. They definitely deserve a round of applause!

Annual Business Meeting

The Annual Business Meeting will be held on Sept. 6 via Zoom. The OCWS board has found that this format works well for this annual review of the organization’s finances and activities. We are aware that many of you miss the days of the in-person Annual Business Meeting, and we are adding a new event in September to replace the social aspect of past business meetings.

Volunteer Recognition Reception

This September 29th, OCWS will be hosting its first Volunteer Recognition Reception. This event will replace the previous volunteer recognition portion of the Annual Business Meeting and will include food and wine to enjoy as we recognize our many volunteers who have dedicated so many hours throughout the year.  Invitations to those who will be receiving a volunteer award will be sent at the beginning of September.

Membership Special

This is a reminder that we have a great membership special that provides a $20/person credit for new memberships during the fair. This includes memberships purchased through the website through the end of August.  Maybe you have a friend or two who needs a gift membership. Now is the time to purchase it!

OC Fair Commercial Wine Competition

Although the competition is over, committee members are hard at work delivering medals to wineries who won the top awards of Best of Class and Double Gold Medals. You will see photos and posts on Facebook and Instagram throughout the next month or so as they make their way around the state.  Please like, share, and comment on the posts to show your support for the winning wineries.

Marketing and Social Media

The Marketing Committee and its Social Media team have stepped up their game this year, adding several new Social Media campaigns. In addition to the OC Fair and medal delivery posting from the past, you will also notice campaigns promoting wineries by county and other related posts. Please engage with the posts to help promote our award-winning wineries. Feel free to post your travels to wineries on your own social media pages and tag us @ocwinesociety and the wineries.  The wineries love to see our people out enjoying their wines!

Thank You All!

We are so lucky to have over 1,000 members who help run this organization and I am truly honored to serve as president. Please join me in thanking all the volunteers who make this organization what it is today. I hope to see you in August at the OC Fair so we can raise a glass to this amazing organization!  Cheers to you all!

July 26, 2024
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President's Message
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CHEF OF THE EVENING

Seafood Paella on the Grill

1 lb. Kielbasa sausage

Salt and pepper

1 lb. jumbo shrimp (16 to 20 per pound), peeled and deveined

1 lb. scallops

6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

7 garlic cloves, minced

1 3/4 teaspoons smoked paprika

3 tablespoons tomato paste

4 cups chicken broth

1 (8-ounce) bottle clam juice

2/3 cup dry sherry

Pinch saffron threads (optional)

1 onion, chopped fine

1/2 cup jarred roasted red peppers, chopped fine

3 cups Spanish Bomba or Valencia rice

1 lb. littleneck clams, scrubbed

1 cup frozen peas, thawed

6 – 8 whole shrimp with heads

6 – 8 stalks asparagus, grilled

Lemon wedges

PREPARATIONS

Clean shrimp of any dark intestinal tract. Toss shrimp with 1 tablespoon oil, 1/2 teaspoon garlic, 1/4 teaspoon paprika, and 1/4 teaspoon salt in bowl until evenly coated. Set aside.

Repeat seasonings with scallops and set aside.

Grill asparagus and set aside.

For the whole shrimp, remove the legs and antennae.

IN SEPARATE SAUCEPAN

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat until shimmering. Add remaining garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until garlic sticks to bottom of saucepan and begins to brown, about 1 minute.

Add tomato paste and the remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons paprika and continue to cook, stirring constantly, until dark brown bits form on bottom of saucepan, about 1 minute.

Add chicken broth, clam juice, sherry and saffron. Increase heat to high and bring to boil. Remove saucepan from heat and set aside.

FOR GAS GRILL (or stovetop burner)

Turn gas burners to high and heat until hot.

Place paella pan on grill (turning burners to medium-high) and add a tablespoon of oil. When hot, add Kielbasa and sauté to render some of the fat. Remove Kielbasa and set aside.

Add 1/4 cup oil, and when it starts to shimmer, add onion, red peppers and 1/2 tsp. salt. Cook, stirring frequently, until onion begins to soften, 4 to 7 minutes.

Add rice (turning burners to medium) and stir until grains are well coated with oil.

Pour broth mixture over rice. Smooth rice into an even layer, making sure nothing sticks to sides of pan. Scatter Kielbasa around the pan.

When liquid reaches gentle simmer, place shrimp in center of pan in single layer.

Arrange clams in center of pan, evenly distributing with shrimp and pushing hinge sides of clams into rice slightly so they stand up.

Place whole shrimp decoratively in pan.

Cook covered, moving and rotating pan to maintain gentle simmer across entire surface of pan, until rice is almost cooked through, 12 to 18 minutes. (adjust heat to maintain simmer.)

Sprinkle peas and arrange asparagus evenly over paella, cover grill and cook until liquid is fully absorbed and rice on bottom of pan sizzles, 5 to 8 minutes.

Continue to cook, uncovered, checking bottom of pan frequently with metal spoon, until uniform golden-brown crust forms, 8 to 15 minutes longer. (Rotate and slide pan around grill as necessary to ensure even crust formation.)

Remove pan from grill, cover with aluminum foil, and let stand for 10 minutes. Serve with lemon wedges.

July 26, 2024
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Recipes
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Support Future of Winemakers

Each year, the OCWS donates thousands of dollars to eight California educational institutions that have enology, viticulture, wine marketing and culinary arts programs. To date, we have donated over $828,000 over the last several decades.

Scholarship funds come from various sources. Since we are in the midst of the OC Fair, I wanted to highlight how our volunteer work in The Courtyard helps the scholarship fund. First, any tips received at The Courtyard counter go directly to the OCWS Scholarship Fund. Additionally, the proceeds from the Featured Winery Program also go to the Scholarship Fund.

The Featured Winery Program was started several years ago by Liz and Lloyd Corbett and has taken off over the past few years, with representatives from numerous award-winning wineries enthusiastically sharing their wines for this worthy cause. In 2023, the program brought in approximately $16,000 for the Scholarship Fund.

In addition to funds from The Courtyard at the OC Fair, we also accept individual donations for the scholarship fund. There is still time to donate to the OCWS Scholarship Fund for 2024, and there are two ways to donate:

Donate Today

  1. Mail a check – Make your check out to OCWS and mail it to the OCWS office at OCWS O. Box 11059  Costa Mesa, CA 92627  Attn: Scholarship Fund  A donation letter will be sent to you.
  2. Donate Online – Log on to your account at ocws.org, and go to the scholarship donation page: ocws.org/product/scholarship-donations/ or click here. You can make your donation online and print a receipt for tax purposes at the same time.

— By Damian J. Christian

July 26, 2024
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Scholarship News
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WINE WISDOM:

“The Fault, Dear Brutus, is not in our stars…”

Although William Shakespeare is not known as an oenophile, he was more prophetic than he imagined in his somewhat famous line from Julius Caesar. Yes, the fault is not in our stars.

The fault can be in our wine as many learned last month during the excellent Fault Workshop put on by OCWS members Don and Mary Ann Mayer. However, the fault can also be in our terroir.

Two articles, one by Natasha Geiling in Smithsonian Magazine (August 2014) titled “Why Earthquakes Make Napa Wine Taste So Good,” and the other by Elin McCoy in Decanter China magazine (July 2017) titled “Seismic shifts: Wines on fault lines,” delve into the effects of our shifting California soils on the vineyards we visit and the wines we drink.

But shifting soils and quaking barrel rooms are not unique to our home state, and neither is planting vineyards and building wineries on fault lines. You can find this in Oregon, and farther afield the same is true in Eastern France, New Zealand, Australia and Italy.

Is there a perceived benefit that overrides the associated risks? Yes, it’s the soil’s diversity—soil composed of limestone, sedimentary rocks, volcanic rocks and pieces of ancient sea floor millions of years old that has resulted from the formation of fault zones and the faults’ subsequent activity.

This mixture of soils is believed to add to a wine’s aroma and taste complexity.  No scientific data corroborates this belief but some winemakers contend that some of the world’s best vineyards are planted near fault zones.

  • Which California wine region, shaped by two monumental geological events, 40 million and 30 million years ago, has soil diversity of over 100 variations (equal to one half of the world’s soil orders)? These soil variations enable the growth of a wide diversity of grape varietals.
    1. Napa
    2. Mendocino
    3. Sonoma
  • How many distinct American Viticultural Areas (AVA) each unique due to its soil and climate does Napa Valley have?
    1. 12
    2. 14
    3. 16
  • In which Rhone Valley region did the Nimes fault push up limestone slabs, which are rare in the Rhone Valley, to high elevations making terraces where the best Grenache wines come from?
    1. Rasteau
    2. Vacqueyras
    3. Gigondas
  • In which Southern Oregon AVA is the Abacela Winery’s The Fault Line Vineyard (named for the fault that runs through it)? This vineyard has rocks that are 20 million years old on one side of the fault and rocks that are over 200 million years old on the other side.
    1. Rogue Valley
    2. Umpqua Valley
    3. Applegate Valley
  • What eastern French wine region lays between two major parallel faults and is crisscrossed by many smaller faults providing a broad soil diversity in a compact area, which may be the reason for the region’s 51 Grand Crus including the well-know Rangen de Thann Grand Cru Vineyard?
    1. Alsace
    2. Jura
    3. Savoie

So don’t get the shakes peering at fault lines, it’s not a tragedy. And remember, it’s no fault of your own if you just find a wine you like and enjoy it. Cheers!

—CL Keedy, Wine Education Committee

Scroll down for answers:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Answers: 1-a; 2-c; 3-c; 4-b; 5-a

 

July 26, 2024
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Wine Education
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Homegrown Varietals

Inspiration comes in many forms but a visit to a winery in Temecula was all Jeff George and Cindy Schult needed to start their venture in home winemaking several years ago

While Cindy thought a vineyard in their newly purchased home near Lake Matthews in Riverside County would be aesthetically pleasing that would replace the eyesore of overgrown weeds in their backyard, Jeff knew that he would have to research what varietals would thrive the best in the area’s searing heat.

Jeff, a former Marine, got to work and discovered that Grenache and Cabernet Sauvignon would suit the 2.5-acre property the best. One hundred vines were planted for each varietal, and after some additional thought, the couple planted Chenin and Grenache Blanc for the burgeoning white fans they were becoming, upping their total amount of vines to 300.

The couple aptly landed on Gavilan Hills Vineyard for the name of their wines based on the area where they live.

Jeff says the Grenache has flourished so much that he’s constantly cutting growth to have the vines mature and bear the best fruit. While the first vintage of Grenache and Cabernet is being readied to bottle in August, Jeff expects to get 1,000 pounds of Grenache this fall and 500 pounds of Cabernet.

“The most challenging part of wine making so far for us is learning about it,” Jeff said. “The biggest issue is you don’t know if it’s going to be any good.”

That’s where the home winemaking group at the Orange County Wine Society has assisted the couple on the first steps of their journey. In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the couple was referred by an OCWS member to the non-profit organization. Since that time, they have not only tapped into the wealth of knowledge among the OCWS winemakers but also have taken courses at Mt. San Jacinto College to learn more about the winemaking process.

“The message from the (OCWS) winemakers has been ‘take your time,’” Jeff said. “’Be patient.’”

Jeff has meticulously charted the vineyard’s progress on an Excel spreadsheet, even labeling each row in alphabetic order. A green thumb at heart, Jeff can often be found monitoring what is happening in the vineyard to ensure the end result is the best result.

The couple also has tastefully redesigned their backyard to also host rustic, intimate weddings. What better way to toast a newly minted marriage than providing wine made from grapes only a few feet away?

The couple also has been experimenting like most newly minted winemakers often do. They have made fruit wine – blackberry and pineapple, respectively – and they plan to pull about 20 percent of the upcoming Grenache yield to make a rose.

Given the amount of grapes they plan to harvest this fall, Jeff and Cindy said they plan to sell half of it, most likely to the OCWS home winemakers group.

“This has been about doing something we enjoy,” Cindy said. “It has opened up a new door for us. It’s very satisfying.”

Jeff and Cindy are eagerly anticipating how their wine will be received. They were encouraged when one of the instructors at Mt. San Jacinto College got a recent preview and was impressed how the wine tasted.

Jeff and Cindy have embraced the process of making wine, enjoying the journey along the way – and chronicling it on a YouTube channel — which is a testament to passion and that aforementioned patience.

“You plan and you build something and get to see the fruits of your labor – literally,” Cindy said.

June 30, 2024
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Members Corner
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President’s Message

By Carolyn Christian

This past month was, like most Junes, an incredibly busy month filled with our two flagship events, the OC Fair Commercial Wine Competition and the OC Fair Home Wine Competition.  As hosts of these competitions, we have hundreds of volunteers working thousands and thousands of hours to make them a success. In an era when other wine competitions are seeing a decline in submissions, our competitions continue to grow.

OC Fair Commercial Wine Competition

This year, the Commercial Competition was held on June 1 and 2, and hosted 88 judges from the wine industry who judged 2,518 California wines (an increase of several hundred over last year). I can’t say enough about the committee members and volunteers, led by Fran Gitsham, who make this incredibly complex event go flawlessly. Results from the competition can be found at WineCompetition.com – this site is a great resource for you to search for your favorite varietals and wine regions at the price point you desire.

OC Fair Home Wine Competition

The Home Wine Competition received 521 entries this year. The judging took place on June 8t and 78 judges enjoyed not only some incredible home wines, but a fantastic breakfast and lunch prepared by our own Cooks’ Caucus. Kevin Donnelly led the Home Wine Competition committee and volunteers in another successful year. Results from this competition can be viewed at hwcr.ocws.org and an article with more details can be found in this issue.

Wine Defect Identification Workshop

While stewarding at the Commercial Competition, OCWS Member Don Mayer came up with an idea to learn more about wine tasting by comparing the bad bottles identified by the judges from the competition with their good bottle counterpart. Nearly 40 OCWS enjoyed the educational experience, and we hope to make it an annual one. A BIG thank you to Don Mayer and his committee, who put on an amazing event. See his article in this issue about the event for more details.

Courtyard at the OC Fair

With the competitions behind us, it is now time to ramp up for the OC Fair. For decades, OCWS has hosted a booth at the annual fair. Our current location, The Courtyard, allows us to serve award-winning wine, wine by the glass, featured wineries, and wine seminars. Fred Heinecke and Fran Gitsham lead the committee that puts together these marvelous events in The Courtyard. More details on The Courtyard activities is available in this month’s newsletter, including information on volunteering to help with the setup. Also check out Jane Goodnight’s article (Part 1) on the history of the OCWS at the OC Fair.

You Can Help!

So now it is your turn!  In addition to volunteering for our events, there are many ways that you can help support the OCWS and its educational mission.

  • Check out WineCompetition.com and use the site to help you purchase wines that won medals at our competition. And share the website with your friends and family as a great resource to find award-winning wines. It is a great way to thank wineries for participating!
  • Visit wineries that have won medals and congratulate them! You will probably see their OC Fair medals proudly displayed.
  • Come to The Courtyard at the OC Fair. Even if you are not signed up to volunteer, coming to The Courtyard for a glass of wine or tasting award-winning wines is a great way to support the organization. Make sure you check out the Featured Wineries on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays and the Wine Seminars on Saturdays and Sundays!

We are so fortunate to have over 1,000 members who help us run so many successful wine events. I hope you will join me in thanking all the committee chairs and members and volunteers who make this organization what it is today. Celebrating 48 amazing years of doing what we do makes us a truly unique organization that I am proud to lead. Thank you for all that you do for the organization. I hope to see you in July and August at the OC Fair so we can raise a toast and share more wine experiences together!

Cheers to you all!

June 30, 2024
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President's Message
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Events at the Fair and Courtyard

Courtyard Feature Winery and Seminars

(Click the chart below to enlarge)

Hanger Concerts

July 19
Start Making Sense
The Talking Heads Tribute
July 20
Hollywood U2
The World’s Greatest U2
Tribute
July 21
One More Night
Phil Collins and Genesis
Tribute
July 24
Dead Man’s Party
The Oingo Boingo Tribute
July 25
Ticket to the Moon
The World’s Best ELO Tribute
July 26
Red Corvette
A Prince Tribute
July 27
Atomic Punks
A Tribute to Early Van Halen
July 28
24K Magic
#1 Bruno Mars Tribute
July 31
Elton – The Early Years
A Tribute to Early Elton John
Aug. 1
Don’t Look Back
The Boston Experience
Aug. 2
Listen to the Music
A Tribute to The Doobie
Brothers
Aug. 3
Live From Earth
Pat Benatar and Beyond
Aug. 4
Mariachi Ambassadors
Sol de Mexico de Jose
Hernandez
Aug. 8
Queen Nation
A Tribute to the Music of
Queen
Aug. 9
No Duh
The World’s Greatest Tribute
to No Doubt
Aug. 10
Which One’s Pink?
Tribute to Pink Floyd
Aug. 11
I Am King
The Michael Jackson
Experience
Aug. 14
The Long Run
Experience The Eagles
Aug. 15
Devotional
The Depeche Mode Experience
Aug. 16
Twisted Gypsy
Fleetwood Mac With A Twist
Aug. 17
Zeppelin Live
America’s #1 Tribute to
Led Zeppelin
Aug. 18
TUPUA
The Spirit of Aloha

June 30, 2024
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Courtyard, Members Corner
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Event Wrapups

Commercial competition wrapup

The 48th annual Commercial Wine Competition was held on June 1-2 at the Hilton Hotel in Costa Mesa. The weekend found 88 professional winemakers and winery principals from throughout California judging 2,518 wines in the largest California-only wine competition in the world.

The high caliber of the wines was clearly evidenced by the awarding of 19 Best of Class designations, 147 Double Gold medals, 439 Gold medals, and a plethora of silver and bronze medals.

The Competition Committee worked tirelessly for nine months prior to the actual event to bring to fruition another unbelievably successful competition. Following are the committee members who put their hearts, sweat and tears into making the competition a reality:

Kevin Coy, Director of Judges

Bill Redding, Facilities Coordinator

Teri and John Lane, Head of Cataloging

Liz and Lloyd Corbett, Cataloging

Robyn and Dean Strom, Volunteer Coordinators

Rochelle Randel, Judges’ Liaison

Dave Stancil, Data Entry Supervisor

Marcy Ott, Scoring Verification Coordinator

George Ott, Move Coordinator

Dave White, Bagging

Greg Hagadorn, Sort Coordinator

George Cravens, Assist Extraordinaire

Carol Frank and Sam Puzzo, Label/Bottle Competition Coordinators

Carolyn Christian, Marketing

And the hundreds of volunteers who stewarded, staffed the kitchen, dried glasses, directed traffic, verified scores, input data entries, coordinated judges’ food, etc.

Each year I seem to marvel yet again at the dedication and cohesiveness of the hard-working committee members and volunteers. The competition is a living testament to what we can, and do, accomplish as a team. My heartfelt gratitude goes out to everyone who played any part in the success of the 2024 competition!

For competition results check out WineCompetition.com and look to enjoy some of the fruits of the labors of the winemakers who enter and support the competition and the OCWS.

—Fran Gitsham, 2024 OC Fair Commercial Wine Competition Chair

 

 Home competition wrapup

The 48th annual Home Wine Competition was held on June 8 at the OC Fairgrounds Huntington Beach Building. Five-hundred and 21 wines were judged and 462 awards were handed out to 183 winemakers.

It is amazing how the overall quality of the wines get better and better every year, since our winemakers founded the OC Wine Society in 1976, and held our first competitions in 1977. Although home winemakers cannot sell their wines, we tell our judges to evaluate each home wine as if it had a retail value of $20.  Many of our wines would sell for far more, with some of them possibly even competing with wines selling for over $100.

This year, I am happy to announce our Best of Show winners in five categories:

Don Sowers, Newport Beach, Best of Show Red Wine, for his 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon
Adam Gomolin, Oakland, Best of Show White Wine, for his 2023 Chardonnay
Thad Rodgers, Auburn, Best of Show Dessert Wine, for his 2022 Merlot Port
Rochelle Randel, Huntington Beach, Best of Show Fruit Wine, for her 2024 Estate Lemon Wine
Chris Miller, Fallbrook, Best of Show Label, for his 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon label.

We had 78 judges taste the entries and were supported by 82 people who worked behind the scenes before, during, and after to support such a complicated event.

As in years past, our OC Wine Society Cooks’ Caucus provided a hot breakfast and lunch for our volunteers. Both were FABULOUS, and we want to thank the 12 people who started weeks ago preparing the menu, purchasing the supplies and starting out early in the morning to make our competition such an enjoyable event!

Thank you to all of you who helped us on competition day and the weeks before and after. And special thanks to our Home Wine Competition leadership group, including Stacey and Wendy Taylor, John and Teresa Lane, Ed Reyes, Cheryl Knapp and Lynda Edwards for their weeks of involvement.

Because of all of your contributions, we were able to, once again, provide the high-quality competition that we are so proud of.

—Kevin Donnelly, OC Fair Home Wine Competition Chair

Wine Defect Identification Workshop Wrap-Up

The first OCWS Wine Defect Identification Workshop was held on June 15 with nearly 40 people attending. This event was designed to compare the Faulted “A” bottle, identified by the OCWS Commercial Wine Competition judges against the Non-Faulted “B” bottle. Attendees had the opportunity to experience 42 different faulted wines and learn about the defects. Working in groups, lively discussion ensued as the blind tasting made the identification of the faulted wine challenging. To make the task more interesting, each group also had to identify the varietal of the wine.

The collective energy of the groups was stimulating for everyone, regardless of the attendee’s experience level. Several members of the Winemakers’ Group attended as did several new and long-time OCWS members, all seeking to improve their wine knowledge. Each group collectively evaluated seven different wines, then all participants were invited to sample any of the 42 wines. The feedback from the participants was very positive, with a strong recommendation to make this an annual event.

Thank you to OCWS members CL & Adrienne Keedy, Mary Ann Mayer, Carolyn and Damian Christian, and Ed Reyes, who helped me make this inaugural event a great success. We hope to see you all at next year’s workshop.

 —Don Mayer

June 30, 2024
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Commercial Competition, Home Wine Competition
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Plan Now For OC Fair Visits, Volunteer Opportunities

The 2024 Orange County Fair is right around the corner. The fair, with the theme “Always a Good Time,” runs from Friday, July 19 through Sunday, August 18, with Monday and Tuesday dark. Just as last year, the daily attendance will be limited, so make your plans early.

The Courtyard is, by far, our largest fundraiser and each year brings in many of our new members. The committee has been making all the preparations for a smooth and fun summer. The set-up team plans to have everything ready to go the week before the opening.

This year, The Courtyard will look much the same as last year, with high top tables and a tasting area near the Featured Winery Bar. There will be plenty of the fabulous award- winning wines to taste.

For members new to The Courtyard and anyone wishing to attend, training for servers is scheduled for Saturday, July 13 at 11 a.m. in The Courtyard. For experienced servers who would like to train as a steward, training is scheduled for the same day at 10 a.m. in the Courtyard. Cashier training will be July 11 at 6 p.m. in The Courtyard. Managers will receive information regarding training and meetings.

Fair credentials, parking passes and information will be mailed to reach everyone during the first part of July. Your credentials are valid for everyday of the fair, including sold out days. However, if you are bringing someone who needs a ticket, it must be purchased in advance.

Check out ocfair.com for up-to-date information on entertainment and ticket purchases. Plan for a fun summer and “Always a Good Time.” See you at the fair!

—Fred Heinecke,
OCWS Director and Co-Chair of The Courtyard Committee

June 30, 2024
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Courtyard
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Help With The Courtyard Set Up, Tear Down, Decorating

Courtyard Set-Up

If you enjoy using power drills and stepladders, and wearing clothes you don’t mind getting grubby, this event is for you. We are already working to get The Courtyard for the OC Fair and you can be a big part of it all too.

Volunteers will be needed to set up over three days to make this special place, which serves award-winning wines, ready for fairgoers. The Courtyard is one of the biggest sources of funds that are used for OCWS scholarships.

Set-up is scheduled each day, from 9 a.m.- 3 p.m. on July 9-11. The scheduled tear-down date is Monday, August 19 from 9 a.m.-3 p.m.

During the shifts, we will not be handling any wines. It is not the same as server shifts and RBS is not required.

Members can sign up for any or all four dates with me at Les@ocws.org, and lunches and parking will be provided. Please contact me with any questions.

Thank you for making 2024 Always a Good Time at The Courtyard!

—Leslie Hodowanec, 2024 Courtyard Set Up/Tear Down Coordinator

June 30, 2024
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Courtyard
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