Whew! What a trip!
For those who don't already know, the Rick's Rub team went on the road for the month of June to introduce our awesome product line to our new friends in Alberta! What a great reception!
We started by revisiting our friends in beautiful Nelson, BC at Save on Foods to let everyone know about our Gluten Free status. Next, we spent a lovely evening in Banff, AB to restock the Nester's Market in the village. We will definitely be visiting again after experiencing those gorgeous mountain views!

Once we arrived in Alberta, it was a whirlwind! We met new friends in Red Deer, Calgary, Lethbridge, Edmonton, and Grande Prairie over the next 3 weeks. Our team even got a rare chance to catch up with some family in Calgary and Red Deer. We were very fortunate during this trip since we managed to catch the short period in the Alberta summer that the weather was warm and the bugs had not come out yet!

We crossed back into BC to visit the northern communities of Fort St. John and Prince George, where our team has never traveled before. Coming from the coast, it was amazing to experience how long the northern summer sun actually stays up, even until 12:30am some nights! During our demo in Fort St. John, we ran into a woman who went to school with Chef Rick in Kamloops! We always manage to run into someone who knows Chef Rick, even in Northern BC. Such a small world. While in Prince George, we got some great ideas for new recipes from the Save on Foods employees and customers, including some great new fish ideas from a customer originally from Prince Rupert.

After our stop in Prince George, we had been on the road for almost a month so we were ready to get back to our beloved coast. We stopped at the Save on Foods in Quesnel, Williams Lake and 100 Mile House, and the Buy Low Foods in Lillooet before making the windy drive through the Fraser Canyon back home.

12 new stores, 121 total stores, 245 tins sold during demos, and 5300 kms on the new Rick's Rub-mobile and our first, but not last, road trip to Alberta is complete.

Check out some of the photos that were taken from our adventures!

April 25, 2014: our Rick's Rub demo team of Samantha and Cory had the pleasure to cook and talk to the parents, teachers, and other guests of the first Walton Elementary Sip N' Savour fundraiser. The fundraising goal was to raise money for the Walton Elementary breakfast program run by the schools PAC. The Walton PAC was able to gather an ABUNDANCE of donated products for the silent auction (including a toilet!), showcase the student artwork (also for auction), and feed everyone with the help of local restaurants and producers. Everyone had a great time, especially the parents. They got a nice evening out without the kids....and there was wine!

Rick's Real Foods just received a lovely Thank You card (above) from the Walton PAC for attending and supporting the event. Here's a bit from the inside:

 "The Walton Sip N' Savour Organizing Committee and the Walton Elementary PAC                 would like to thank you for your support and generosity, in being such an integral part of our first ever tasting event. It is with much excitement that we share with you that we exceeded our fundraising goal! It's only with the communities support we are able to raise funds to help the Walton learning community foster and excel. We couldn't have done it without you. Thank you again!"

Here at Rick's Real Foods, we love to support our local community as all of you have been supporting us! We thank Walton Elementary for putting local products on display and for inviting us to join all of the fun! Can't wait for the next one!