More than 45 riders gathered at Jackson-Triggs Niagara Estate Saturday morning to participate in the annual Tour d’Epicure in support of Campfire Circle.
Begun in 2016 by Areterra Wines’ vice president of corporate affairs Del Rollo and Andrew Howard, CEO, president and director of Diamond Estates Wines and Spirits, Tour d’Epicure has been a key fundraiser for the the charity since then.
The former Camp Ooch and Camp Trillium merged in 2020 to become Campfire Circle, a privately funded, nonprofit oncology camp supporting kids and families in Ontario affected by childhood cancer or serious illness. They also provide year-round social supports, including programs designed to meet a wide array of the social, emotional, and developmental needs of campers.
Campfire Circle’s Muskoka site is the only oncology camp in Canada that can provide intravenous chemotherapy and blood transfusions on-site. A team of doctors and up to four nurses run the Med Shed medical facility there, where medications are stored, treatments take place, and respite is provided for kids who may need a break. Last summer more than 500 kids were welcomed there.
“This ride has been supporting Campfire Circle since its inception,” Caley Bornbaum, the organization’s chief development officer, told The Local. “It has helped us build some infrastructure at camp. Right now we’re raising funds to build a new canoe and kayak dock that is fully accessible to all campers.”
Past efforts of Tour d’Epicure participants funded a ropes course at Campfire Circle Rainbow Lake and also supported the Body Shop, where campers receive medical care while at camp. Bornbaum said $75,000 had already been raised this year before the day of the ride.
Howard previously told The Local that the new dock system had a $200,000 price tag.
Twenty riders embarked on a 100-kilometre ride at 8 a.m. The group made stops at Inniskillin Wines, Creekside Estate Winery for lunch, the Jordan Conservation Area and Shiny Apple Cider before returning to Jackson-Triggs.
The 50-kilometre riders paused for hydration at Inniskillin and ate lunch at Shiny Apple Cider before meeting the others back at the estate at around 2:30 p.m.
Rollo and Howard were out for the ride, along with a number of people from Niagara and elsewhere.
“Andrew and Del are amazing champions who have really united a variety of wineries for this ride,” said Bornbaum of the local support. “It’s fantastic to have them all on board.”
Before taking off for the 50k ride, Bornbaum read a letter sent to camp staff from the mother of a boy named Oscar. Oscar underwent four years of chemotherapy treatment for his cancer, and his mother’s letter laid bare why the camp experience was a major factor in helping him and his family get through it.
“The cancer journey can be dark,” wrote Oscar’s mother to the staff, “and then there’s you, always a bright ray of sunshine. No matter how sick, how scared, how nervous or how isolated Oscar felt, you gave him something to look forward to each and every day. Time spent with you was the only time Oscar was able to be just a kid, not a kid with cancer.”
Of course, an event called Tour d’Epicure has to have a dinner as part of the day’s event.
Following dinner, the participants were entertained that evening with a private concert in the amphitheatre by singer-songwriter Kim Stockwood. The one-time member of Shaye (with fellow Canadians Damhnait Doyle and Tara MacLean) had solo hits in the late 1990s with the songs Jerk and 12 Years Old. Her husband Alan Reid is a regular participant in the charity ride.