Spring in Historic Missouri Wine Country

This spring promises to offer a lot to do in Historic Missouri Wine Country!

Here's what's happening around the region -- don't miss out!

APRIL 2017

Barrel Tasting and Wine Country Market at The Yellow Farmhouse Winery, Saturday April 8th, including the Rack & Clutch Fashion Truck, Food trucks, music and more!

The Wine Country Market has their season "Sneek Preview" at the Yellow Farmhouse Winery on Saturday, April 8th from noon to 5 pm.  Check out items from local artisans including food, jewelry, and more.

The Augusta Brewing Company Spring Thaw Fest on Saturday, April 22nd including a Chili Cookoff, some folks from the Brewer's Association with tasty beer, live music and lots more!

The Augusta Plein Air Art Festival runs April 19th to April 30th throughout Historic Missouri Wine Country.  There are so many things to watch and participate in!  Artists come from all over the country to paint the beauty of the region at various daily events, most which are open to the public.  Don't miss out - go to https://www.facebook.com/AugustaPleinAirArtEvent/
to see the event schedule.

MAY 2017

The Daniel Boone Home is hosting their first Brew Fest on Saturday, May 20th, noon to 5pm.  Tickets must be purchased in advance.
For more info go to:  https://www.facebook.com/events/1933974853490844

JUNE 2017

The Wine Country Fest will be celebrated in and around the Defiance area over Father's Day weekend, June 16, 17, and 18.  Friday night June 16th will be the "kick off" event, "Dancing In Defiance" at the Yellow Farmhouse Winery.  Saturday, June 17th will feature a BBQ competition at the Trail Smokehouse, and Sunday will feature a car show at Wine Country Gardens, along with a Truck Show and Motorcycle show in town.  In addition, there will be live music at the Wine Country Market that will be "Festival Central" and housed in the Mason's Park next to the Defiance Post Office.  For more information, keep checking at:  https://www.facebook.com/WineCountryFest/

Spring is finally Here and so is the Plein Air Art Festival

It doesn't seem possible, but the first time we learned of the Augusta Plein Air Art Festival was three years ago.  We were getting ready to open up the Inn, and Nick and I stopped in Augusta to grab some breakfast. There were scores of people milling around and we found that they were all artists, here in the region to paint outside.  Who knew?  Apparently we had a lot to learn.

That same day one of the artists, Spencer Meagher, met us at our yet-to-be-opened bed & breakfast to paint some landscapes.  From that day on we were hooked on Plein Air!

Augusta will be hosting their 2016 Plein Air Art Festival from April 21st through May 1st.  Award-winning artists from across the country will be flocking to the Historic Missouri Wine Country to paint throughout the countryside.

Want to be part of something fun?  Come on out to one of the events to watch these beautiful creations.  You can get more information about the daily events below at:

http://www.augustapleinair.com/about-plein-air/

We are helping to co-sponsor one of the daily events with our friends at Sugar Creek Winery on Tuesday, April 26th from 9 am until 2 pm.

We currently feature several Plein Air artists in our Gallery at Defiance:

Teddy Jackson, Tammie Dickerson, Spencer Meagher, Tatyana Robberts, and Mike Phelps

If you're looking for a fun way to spend a day, come on out to one of the open events or come to the final sale on May 1st.

 

The Gallery at Defiance Grand Opening - December 6th

The Inn at Defiance opens a Fine Art Gallery in Lower Level

 We've always loved art.  Our children were taught to appreciate art when they were young.  When Chris was a Cub Scout Den Leader, she had all of her scouts earn their Art badge.  Both of our sons were student aides for their high school art teacher.  Our oldest son had an art gallery in Kansas City.  So, it just made sense that we would open an art gallery in the lower level of the Inn.

The Gallery at Defiance will have its grand opening on Saturday, December 6th in conjunction with the Defiance Holiday Festival and parade.  The Gallery will be open from noon to 4:00 p.m. during the grand opening, featuring fine art paintings from three artists on consignment.

Tammie Dickerson, who lives in western Missouri, is an award-winning artist from the Augusta Plein Air Arts Festival.  Five of Tammie's pieces are display, all featuring local settings.

 



Spencer Meagher, an artist from southern Illinois, is also an award-winning artist from the Augusta Plein Air Arts Festival.  Four of Spencer's art works are on display, featuring local settings.



Mike Phelps, a local artist from O'Fallon, Missouri, is the third award-winning artist from the Augusta Plein Air Arts Festival.  Mike has five pieces on display that highlight local settings.







The Gallery at Defiance will be open on select weekends and by appointment.  The Gallery space is also available for rent for small gatherings and meetings.  The space seats a maximum of 30. We have hosted two meetings and two dinners in the space.  Information regarding renting the space for private events or to make an appointment to visit the gallery can be through calling the main Inn number:  636-987-2002.

We think this will be a great addition to the community of Defiance and we look forward to showcasing other artists with exhibitions through the year.

A full house with plenty of surprises!

Our first full house of guests and a surprise visit

What a wonderful weekend we had at the Inn!  It was our first full house of guests.  It was nice meeting everyone and we had one really great day of weather (Saturday).  The Defiance Car Show on Sunday was cut short due to weather, but other than that all went well.  Many of the Plein Air Artists were painting in and around Defiance that day prior to the storm, and there were beautiful paintings!

Our big surprise....
During breakfast as I was getting the coffee and Jeff was pouring water, a HUGE dog came running through the kitchen!!!  Seriously!  My first thought was, "did someone check in and bring in a dog later??  We're a Pet-Free Facility!"  The guests thought, "Oh, the owners have a dog!" 

Apparently one of the guests didn't close their exterior door all of the way and had also left their interior door open.  The delicious smell of Chef John's breakfast wafting out in the air brought this Saint Bernard mix following its nose right into the kitchen!  After everyone recovered from the "what the heck is going on" minute, we were able to coax the dog out of the Inn and back outside.  At least it was a friendly dog!  Ha!

Full House at Breakfast

 

 

Needless to say, the dog wasn't invited back....