On Saturday night, around 90 people from Ontario to the Pontiac gathered at the Little Red Wagon Winery in Clarendon for a live acoustic performance courtesy of local singing talents.

With everyone seated in the packed house, eating dinner and various other pleasantries, it was the local acoustic duo Michaela & René, who took to the stage and performed a variety of classic and modern tunes, to the delight of those in attendance.

Audience members cheered loudly as Michaela’s voice hit the high notes, while René jammed on the guitar and provided back-up vocals.

A sold-out event – the show provided people anxious to see talented local artists with an opportunity to finally fill that void, while also lending their support, according to winery owner, Jennifer Dale Judd.

“Michaela just kind of made her public debut recently,” said Dale. “So, everybody wants to come out and see what they’re all about.”

With so much local talent spread throughout the community, Dale feels it’s necessary to host shows like these in order to give home-grown talent exposure and to grow the culture of arts and music in the Pontiac.

“There’s a lot of talent in the area that people don’t know about,” said Dale. “We have outside artists coming in too who wouldn’t usually come to this small community, but it gives them an opportunity for people to experience them too.”

When the winery was being built, Dale said the space was created so artists could come out and use it

Living in a small area like Clarendon, Dale said she wasn’t surprised with the outpouring of support for the event, noting that it’s much easier to advertise when you know who you’re trying to reach.

“If you build it, people will come,” said Dale. “They support it. That’s the nice thing about small towns – everybody kind of knows everybody. They want to find out what’s going on and they support you the best that they can.”

Delighted with the turnout, Dale said it was good reminder that winter is coming to it’s end, which means the introduction of spring, thus the opening of wine season – always a good thing.

“It’s good because it means the snow is going to melt,” said Dale. “We’re about to finally get back into the groove and get outside, open all the patio doors and enjoy it with all kinds of people.”

The food served at the event, consisted of a preview of what will be on the winery’s new menu for the upcoming season, according to Chris Judd.

“It was the start of our summer menu,” said Judd. “We’re going to be running suppers in the summer time.”

Dale said she hopes the winery can become a regular spot for live musicians and artists to come perform.

“We’d like to get to the point where we’d have at least one act per month,” said Dale. “So, we’re working towards that. But it might work out to more than that, as time passes. We’ve got a lot to look forward to in the next few months.”

All the money raised from the event is going back to the artists, according to Judd.

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