An Open House at Wooldridge Creek Vineyard will inspire and support Applegate vacation rental hosts.
by Christina Ammon
Close your eyes and imagine one of your favorite travel memories. Was it unwrapping an Egg McMuffin at McDonalds in Anytown, USA? Scrimmaging for a Frappuccino at Starbucks? Bedding down at a Motel 6 along Interstate 5?
I doubt it.
Chances are, it was a time when you felt the distinct sense of place—or, to borrow a French wine term—a sense of “terroir.”
Terroir: All of the variables that imbue an experience or product with a distinct sense of place. Loosely applied, it’s the way a poblano pepper might invoke the heat of Mexico. Or the way Peruvian flute music seems to contain in its very sound, the mountainous acoustics of the Andes.
On April 24th, Destination Applegate will be celebrating our own valley’s terroir at The Place-Inspired Space event at Wooldridge Creek Vineyard’s vacation rental from 5:30 pm-8 pm. The rental will be staged with Applegate-made products of all kinds. Destination Applegate is a working group of A Greater Applegate.
The goal of the event? To inspire our local vacation rental hosts to feature local goods in their accommodations.
Imagine the kitchen staged with local wines and Oshala Farm bedtime tea. On the pillow: A “Mighty Mint” chocolate truffle from our local Supernatural Chocolate Company. In the morning? A Pennington Farms Tayberry turnover at the breakfast table.
There will be all kinds of Applegate-made items on display, including books by local authors.
It doesn’t stop with food and drink: Maybe a suggested setlist, or CDs from one of our local musicians, like Fyah Harp, and walls adorned with the work of local metal artist, Kris Albro, or one of Corbin Brashear’s Wild and Wooly whimsical fiber pieces.
And the bookshelf? A collection featuring local authors, like the Applegate Poets’ anthology, one of Diana Coogle’s books, and Tomi Hazel Vaarde’s Social Forestry book. And, of course, the place should be stocked with maps of our local hiking trails and history sites!
The accommodation at Wooldridge Creek is the perfect setting for the A Place-Inspired Space event. The cabin-style dwelling is very “Oregon” and situated in woods just behind the tasting room. The owners of the winery, Ted and Mary Warrick, arrived on the land in the late 1970s in a Volkswagen van and lived in it while they built the spacious log cabin.
There will be live acoustic music on the cabin porch by local musician, Conrad Rogue.
This A Place-Inspired Space event speaks to the Applegate Valley Vision, an 89-page document that outlines the goals and needs expressed during the listening sessions A Greater Applegate conducted throughout the Valley in 2019-2021.
During those meetings, residents expressed a desire to support our local economy by managing tourism in a way that is low-impact, sustainable, community-led, and attractive to diverse visitors. The Destination Applegate working group has been meeting to brainstorm strategies to carry out this Vision. A Place-Inspired Space is one of those ideas, and Travel Southern Oregon awarded the group a grant to support the event.
By featuring local products, like Oshala Farm’s tea, in their vacation rentals, hosts can support our local economy and enhance the visitor experience of the Applegate.
Not only does showcasing local products in our vacation rentals highlight our local businesses, but it will also provide visitors with an experience that they will remember and inspire them to return!
The April 24th event at Wooldridge Creek’s cabin will last from 5:30-8:00 pm and feature sips and nibbles.
Stay tuned for details!
If you are a vacation rental host or local business and would like to attend, please RSVP at [email protected].
