Valentine's Day in Elgin County

Local Valentine's Events 

Valentine's Day Chocolate Tour - Quai Du Vin Estate Winery 

Feb 15 & 16 @ 11:00 am, 1:00 pm & 3:00pm
$40/couple 
45811 Fruit Ridge Line, St. Thomas
www.quaiduvin.com

Join Winemaker Jamie Quai as he takes you on a guided tour of the winery along with tastings and pairings of wines and some unusual chocolate dishes. 

Visit www.quaiduvin.com/index.php/Events/20140215 to book your tour. 


Aylmer Community Theatre Presents - The Man With the Plastic Sandwich
Feb 13 - 22
Tickets $15, Students $10
Old Town Hall Theatre, Aylmer
www.aylmertheatre.ca 

"The Man With the Plastic Sandwich" by Roger Karshner was originally performed in 1981. The story of a man who, after 20 years at his job, is fired, resonates today as it did in the early '80s. Encounters in the park with three engaging and provocative characters help Walter on the journey on which he has embarked. This show, directed by Barbara Warnock, will be entered in the Western Ontario Drama League Festival as an in-festival production.

* The Valentine's Day performance is followed by light refreshments and a meet and greet with the cast.*

Sparta House Tearoom Valentine's Day Lunch/Dinner
Feb 14 -16 
46342 Sparta Line, Sparta
www.spartahouse.com

A free gift awaits each lady with the purchase of a meal.

Heritage Line Herbs Valentine's Weekend Events 
Feb 14 & 15
53443 Heritage Line, Aylmer
www.heritagelineherbs.com

Pick-up your pre-ordered heart-shaped pizza. Heirloom seeds on sale. Pizza samples. Introduction of new dried herb blend - Roasted Potato Seasoning. Fair trade chocolate sampling. Valentine tea sampling. 

Sale on Heart-Shaped Potpourri and In-store Draws - Sparta Candles
Feb 14                                                                  

46361 Sparta Line, Sparta
www.spartacandles.com 

For one-day only heart-shaped potpourri wax is 20%. Sparta Candles will also be holding in-store draws. 




Local Valentine's Gift Ideas


Rockin' Raspberry and Strawberry Chocolate Decadence Wines - Rush Creek Wines

48995 Jamestown Line, Aylmer
www.rushcreekwines.com 

These sweet dessert wines are perfect to sip with your sweetie on Valentine's Day! Stop by the winery or order online at www.rushcreekwines.com/store.htm#dessertwines 







Heart-Shaped Pizza and Pizza De Brigadeiro (Brazilian Chocolate Pizza) - Heritage Line Herbs
53443 Heritage Line, Aylmer
www.heritagelineherbs.com 

Heritage Line Herbs is now taking orders for heart-shaped pizzas and Pizza De Brigadeiro (Brazilian Chocolate Pizza) for pick-up on Valentine's Day weekend or the weekend before. Please visit http://www.heritagelineherbs.com/pages/gourmet-pizza to place your orders in advance. 

Harbourtown Fudge 
288 Bridge St., St. Thomas

www.harbourtownfudge.com

It will be love at first bite when your sweetheart tastes these sweet treats from Harbourtown Fudge. Unique flavours include: Pink Champagne, Cran-Raspberry, Chocolate Peanut Butter and more! Check out all the flavours online www.harbourtownfudge.com/collections/all?page=1


Valentine's Day Spa Specials - Holistic Awakenings Day Spa
Feb 8 - 22
46349 Sparta Line, Sparta
www.holisticawakeningsdayspa.com 

Treat that special someone to a day of pampering. Specials for couples, women & men. 

Aylmer Performing Arts Council Tickets
Aylmer Old Town Hall Theatre
www.artsinaylmer.com 

Tickets to a musical performance at the historic Aylmer Old Town Hall Theatre or seasons tickets to several performances are a perfect way to make Valentine's Day last all year. Visit www.artsinaylmer.com to check out upcoming performances and to purchase tickets.

Sweet Magnolia House Bed & Breakfast - Aylmer

236 Talbot St. E., Aylmer
www.sweetmagnoliahouse.com 

Whether exploring the area or enjoying a quiet night away, this exquisitely restored heritage home is perfect for a romantic getaway. 



The Kettle Creek Inn - Port Stanley
216 Joseph St., Port Stanley
www.kettlecreekinn.com 

Spend an evening at one of Ontario's finest inns enjoying a cozy and congenial atmosphere and a delicious selection of local dishes. 

The Windjammer Inn - Port Stanley
324 Smith St., Port Stanley
www.thewindjammerinn.com 


A night at this quiet and romantic inn is sure to delight. In the restaurant, enjoy a special Valentine's menu prepared by a first class chef.

From the Meadow - Natural Skin Care Products
3881 Avon Dr., Belmont
www.fromthemeadow.com 

Treat your skin this Valentine's Day with sweet smelling lotions and soaps, body butters and sugar scrubs all made with natural products. Visit http://www.fromthemeadow.com/specials_valentine2014.htm to check out some great Valentine's deals. 

Clovermead Honey 
Imperial Rd., Aylmer
www.clovermead.com

Get some honey for your honey at the Clovermead Honey Gift Shop. Open year-round, gift baskets, treats and farm-fresh honey are available. http://clovermead.com/shop.htm

Picards Peanuts
Corner of Hwy #3 & #4, Talbotville
www.picardspeanuts.com

Freshly roasted Ontario peanuts, crispy potato chip covered peanuts, toffees, chocolates, caramels and more make the perfect gift for your Valentine! 

The 5 C's of Credit

One good business practice is to put yourself in the shoes of the person you are dealing with, whether that is a customer, a supplier of an employee. This same approach is also true when approaching a lender for a business loan. The lender is about to hand over a sum of money to a virtual stranger, and this action will not come without the lender conducting some scrutiny and asking some hard questions.

Every lender is interested in minimizing risk and fraud and they are most interested in ensuring they get their money back. The initial review by the lender will focus on some fundamentals that are quite standard across the industry and often referred to as the 5 C’s of credit.

The first factor that the lender is interested in is your Credit worthiness. The lender will review your credit score to determine your history of borrowing and credit management. The amount of debt, payment history, timeliness of payments, balances and number of credit facilities will all weigh on the lenders decision. The lender’s decision is heavily influenced by prior credit history so it is a very good idea to know and understand your credit history and to ensure that the credit report is an accurate reflection of your information.

The second criteria is your Capacity, what income is available to repay the loan as it becomes due. Is the business generating income in excess of expenses, are there other sources of income. Is the net income stable and predictable – often a problem for many small businesses. Lenders will consider savings and investments as a fallback to cover short term income fluctuations.

Even if there is adequate capacity lenders understand that market conditions are continually changing and so the next criteria seeks to address the risk if you can’t make the loan payments – Collateral. This is the security the lender will liquidate to recover the loan if the business fails to make payments.
What resources have you committed to the business is the next fundamental lenders review – what is your invested Capital. You cannot assume that any lender will accept the downside risk if you have not invested adequately in the business.

The final criteria is Capabilities. The lender will want to know that you are qualified to operate the business both on a technical skill level but also an understanding of the skills and responsibilities as a business owner. One of the key documents that assist the lender in this criteria is the business plan. The business plan will outline the qualifications of the business owner, list their professional advisors and more importantly describe the marketing, operational and financial activities planned.

Understanding the 5 C’s of credit will help you prepare to meet with potential lenders and understand the process from the other side of the table.

For more business advice contact the Elgin Business Resource Centre. EBRC offices are located in Aylmer, Dutton and St. Thomas.



This article was written by Glenn Thorel and first appeared in Elgin This Month.

Visit Elgin County at the 2014 London Wine & Food Show

In 2014, Elgin County will once again showcase its culinary program Savour Elgin at the London Wine and Food Show. For the past 6 years, Elgin County has brought together a group of the area’s best food and beverage providers to show Londoners the wealth of culinary delights available south of Hwy 401.
This year the show will be bigger and tastier than ever. The show has expanded its floor space allowing for increased capacity and will have more ticket booths and even more delicious food to sample. New areas featuring craft beers, spirits and liquors have been added and tasting seminars, cooking demonstrations, a fashion show, a man cave lounge area and special guest celebrity chef Bob Blumer are sure to keep attendees entertained.
The show runs from Thursday January 16th to Saturday January 18th, 2014 at the Western Fair Progress Building and Canada Building. For more information visit the Western Fair website, like them on Facebook or Follow them on Twitter. Elgin County Economic Development, Savour Elgin and the Western Fair District will be using the hashtag #LDNWineFood leading up to and during the event so check it out for updates! 

Love is Always in the Air at Wish Designs Event Planning and Decorating

Love is always in the air at Wish Designs Event Planning and Decorating in Springfield, where owner Tricia VanGorp has been making bridal dreams come true for seven years.

VanGorp was the first of her friends to get married and she put her formal training in interior design to work planning the wedding. With help from her sister Tara Gavey (trained in hotel and restaurant management), she was able to plan an unforgettable event. VanGorp and Gavey continued helping family and friends with their weddings and soon the two of them were decorating the weddings of friends-of-friends and thus Wish Designs was born.

“We jumped in with both feet,” says VanGorp.

Word of their quality services spread in their tight-knit Elgin County community and the business continued to grow. In 2010 VanGorp gave up her full-time job and took over the company on her own as Gavey stepped back to focus on her young family.

Now in its seventh year of operation Wish Designs’ season runs from January to November and VanGorp decorates anywhere from 20 to 35 weddings a year. In addition to weddings, Wish Designs is also available for corporate, charity and family events. The company works within a 40 minute radius of Springfield catering to clients as far as Aylmer, Shedden, St. Thomas, Delhi and Woodstock.

Wish Designs’ number one service is decorating. It has a collection of linens, backdrops, ceiling features, chairs and centre pieces available for rent. The company works with brides and grooms to create a vision of what they want their wedding day to look like and then it handles all set-up and dismantling as required by the event venue. Examples of the company’s past work can be found on its website http://www.wishdesigns.ca/index.htm.

Four years ago Wish Designs expanded into on-site coordinating and bartending.  VanGorp found that many clients were looking for help on the day of their wedding and that many of the venues she worked with did not provide this service. If required, Wish Designs will now stay on-site during the wedding and reception ensuring that everything runs smoothly and that every last detail is taken care of. 

"Whatever the client wants we try to make it happen,” says VanGorp. “Working with local brides and using local talent to make their dreams come true is what Wish Designs is all about.”

VanGorp is passionate about promoting local business and believes that Springfield is a perfect location for her business to thrive. Over the past several years a cluster of wedding-related businesses have sprung up in the area and Wish Designs works in conjunction with all of them. Two caterers, a photographer, three churches, a cake decorator and a brand new event venue, the Malahide Community Place, are all located within the small village.

When VanGorp started her business she was able to take advantage of family name recognition in the community and surrounding areas (her father-in-law is a well known local business owner) but now she is being recognized in her own right for the work that Wish Designs does in the community. It is important to VanGorp to give back in any way that she can. She is a great supporter of Pearce Williams Christian Retreat Centre in Fingal, Springfield Brewers Fastball Association, and other local charities where she can use her decorating talents for their events when needed.

“I started my life in East Elgin, moved away and came back. I really feel like this is home and I am very proud of it,” she says.