International Wine Championships
June 7
Hilton Hotel, Windsor
Armchair sommeliers (wine experts, that is) will get a chance to taste the best of our neighbors to the north with the 23rd annual All Canadian Wine Championships. The Hilton (277 Riverside Drive W., Windsor) will host this year’s public tasting of championship wines from wineries across Canada. The dinner highlights the winners in eight categories selected from more than 600 wines and is Canada’s premier wine event. Tickets for the event are $20 in advance and $25 at the door (Canadian funds). For information phone 519-258-7666 or visit www.canadianwinetrail.com.
International Freedom Festival
June 26–July 7
Downtown Windsor
As Windsor’s biggest summer happening, the International Freedom Festival offers an enormous variety of events over a whopping 13 days. The first public events start on June 26, when power-balladeers Kansas perform as part of the “Freedom to Rock Concert Series.” The series will host a number of international acts; it’s likely to have something for everyone, whether it be the classic rock of the Guess Who, punk-pop idols Sum 41 or the piano-based musings of Chantal Kreviazuk. The festival will also feature tugboat races on the Detroit River, loads of events for kids and seniors, parades, fireworks and a go-kart race of gargantuan proportions. But the first Dodge Freedom Grand Prix is nothing for the kiddies; the three-day event will pit 250 dead-serious go-kart teams from around the continent who will be running mini-cars that can boast speeds of almost 90 mph. They’ll be competing for $10,000. Check out www.windsorsummerfun.com for complete details.
Windsor Theatre Festival
July 24–Aug. 3
Capitol Theatre, Windsor
Since it began three years ago, the Windsor Theatre Festival has provided the area with top-quality professional theater for adults and children. This year’s series of plays will highlight Canadian Actors Equity professionals as well as new members and seasoned veterans of Windsor Community Theatre. The festival will feature children’s presentations of Beauty and the Beast and Rumplestiltskin. The children’s shows happen daily at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. The evening series features the well-known musical comedy Forever Plaid and the classic dramatic telling of John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men. All evening shows begin at 8 p.m. Performances are in a tent on the waterfront near Windsor’s Civic Terrace. Call 519-564-0971 or visit www.windsortheatrefestival.com for complete information.
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