If you have no problem with shedding tears…of laughter…have I got a plan for you!
For those old enough to remember the “I Love Lucy” television show, this event will bring back fond memories. For those too young to remember the program but may have seen re-runs on the tube, this will help you understand why your parents break into laughter whenever “I Love Lucy” comes up in a conversation.
It seems everyone who has seen this early comedy t-v show has a favorite segment. One of the favorites was the “Candy Factory” show. But the most mentioned Lucille Ball scene was from Lucy’s Italian Movie….The Grape Stomp”.
Well scrub your “tootsies” and dress up as Lucy and prepare to re-enact the famous grape stomping scene September 11th through the 13th.
Every fall the Carlos Creek Winery near Alexandria, Minnesota holds it’s Grape Stomp Weekend. The highlight of the weekend is the Lucy look-alike contest capped off with a “grape stomp”. Yup, Lucy Wanna-Be’s kick off their shoes, climb into a vat full of grapes and “squish” away to the encouragement and cheers of hundreds of onlookers. No survey has been officially conducted to determine just how long it takes to get the grape stains off the contestants’ feet, but speculation is the contestants wear “opaque socks” for several weeks.
Entry is free, and contestants are expected to get messy. I have personally witnessed this event on a couple of occasions and recommend you bring a box of tissues with you because you are going to laugh ’till you cry!
But there is more to experience and take in when you attend the Grape Stomp. You can relax and listen to several musical groups playing everything from bluegrass to classic rock and roll. You will enjoy more than 200 food and craft vendors set up on the winery grounds and specializing in all sorts of unique foods and handcrafted items.
Carlos Creek Winery boasts the largest grape vineyard in Minnesota and has an orchard of 8,000 apple trees. Enjoy winery tours anytime of the day. Feel free to walk around the grounds and tour Minnesota’s largest Siberian Elm Maze and Wine Cave.
And, Alexandria, Minnesota has a lot to offer their visitors. This city, surrounded by lakes, has gotten a lot of press as home to the Runestone, a rock with carvings reputed to have been left as a message by Viking explorers six centuries ago. The controversy over the authenticity of the stone continues, and visitors can check it out for themselves at the Runestone Museum in downtown, Alexandria. Now, I’m Norwegian and the only way I could tell if the Rhunestone is real, is if it was made out of Lefse. I know mhy Lefse!
And, Main-street Alexandria offers up even more venues to fill out your day or weekend visit. Several antique shops are conveniently located along the busy main-street…along with several restaurants and a comfortable coffee shop with windows on main-street so you can “people watch” as you relax over a meal or a steaming cup of coffee. There are also plenty of resorts around the numerous lakes in the Alexandria area that offer a wonderful fall escape. You can also keep an eye on the fall colors that are about to erupt about the time of the Grape Stomp.
Oh, and make sure you have film in your camera.
Enjoy!
