Cornucopia-After Party-Painted Ladies!

Remember that old, old Ian Thomas song, “Painted Ladies”? The line in the chorus that runs, ‘painted ladies and a bottle of wine, mama’… That’s what came to mind when I walked into Whistler’s Bearfoot Bistro right after the Cornucopia Crush event last Friday night. The restaurant and surrounding lobby and banquet areas of the Listel Hotel were full of painted ladies…and a couple of painted men. Many of the women were nude except for their paint, and were tastefully decorated to represent many of the brands of libations they were helping to pour. In the photo gallery you’ll see what I mean, especially the de Venoge Champagne and Granville Island Lager ladies. (viewer discretion advised)

The director-general of de Venoge Champagne, Gilles de la Bassetiere was in town from New York City, and was pouring his product from a huge bottle, I believe this size is called a jeroboam.

Bearfoot Bistro owner Andre St. Jacques always knows how to throw a good party, and this was no exception. The after-party is designed to give a place for people to let their hair down after Crush, mingle with some winemakers, and have just a little (or a lot) more to eat and drink. This year the kitchen pumped out dozens of bite-sized hamburgers made with rich Kobe beef, and ‘porno cones’, small servings of popcorn shrimp and fries with mayonnaise, all wrapped up in a paper cone torn from the pages of adult magazines.

Several uniformed RCMP officers made the rounds of the club after midnight, but didn’t seem to find anything illegal going on, which must have made Tourism Whistler/Cornucopia organizers Lynn Chappel, Danielle Saindon and Catherine Adams very happy.

After a few glasses of champagne and a ‘consumed-on-the-dance-floor’ Mike’s Hard Lemonade, it was time to call it a night. We were probably some of the first people to leave, after 1am, and many others were there until 3:30 or 4am. That’s why the ‘Recovery Room’, a new feature of Cornucopia, came in handy the next morning. In a room of the Conference Centre, you could ease your hangover with free supplies of Pepto-Bismol, French fries, ginger ale and chicken noodle soup. More about day two activities at Cornucopia later, but first for the photo gallery from the After Party, click here.