City Winery: Harvest Fest

"Bottle of Red?

Bottle of White?"

So goes the indelible Billy Joel tune but at the City Winery you don't have to choose for the winery boasts so many options of wine that any oenophile would feel right at home here.

On October 20th City Winery celebrated the season with its very own Harvest Fest. The festivities featured live music, local artists, tours of the winery, pumpkin painting, food sampling, and of course, wine! 

The winery recently received over 10 tons of grapes and attendees were able to view those grapes first-hand as well as taste freshly pressed grapes. Tour guide and winemaker, Richard, guided participants through the wine making process from the moment the grapes arrive to the time that they are placed in kegs or bottled. Fun fact: only a very small percentage of the wine at City Winery reaches the bottle. Much of their wine remains in stainless steel kegs and is able to be conveniently available on tap at the restaurant. This eliminates the need for packaging, bottling, labeling, and corking thus cutting down on the carbon footprint.   

Below, musicians captivated audiences during City Winery's Harvest Fest with their eclectic musical range including originals as well as covers from Fleetwood Mac and Katy Perry.

City Winery Boston is open daily and located on 80 Beverly Street in Boston.

Big Bounce Boston

Looking to add some BOUNCE to your summer Boston?

Well, you are in the right place at just the right time because the World's Biggest Bounce House has just invaded Boston. Called Big Bounce America and hailed as being the largest bounce house in the world, it has just bounced right into Boston. And what exactly does the World's Biggest Bounce House entail? Funny you should ask, The Big Bounce consists of:

The Giant - America's Largest Inflatable Obstacle Course
airSPACE - contains a 60 foot tall maze, slides, and ball pits

Keep in mind, each of the challenges is child-friendly, so basically you choose your own adventure. Adult-only sessions are also available for all of you kids at heart out there.

The Big Bounce is in Boston, more specifically Revere, on July 5th-7th and July 10-14th. It is conveniently located close to the MBTA Blue line at Beachmont Station.

For more information, visit: https://thebigbounceamerica.com/

Esmeralda: Inside Look

The Red Balloon was recently invited to a special inside look at Esmeralda's in Cambridge. The shop Esmeralda is the hidden gem of Harvard Square. Conveniently located at 54 Church St., the store offers an array of jewelry, accessories, and more.

The talented designer and owner of the Harvard Square shop is Esmeralda Lambert. Esmeralda hails from a family of entrepreneurs and knew that she too wanted to follow in her family's footsteps. Esmeralda grew up in the Dominican Republic. Esmeralda's first step toward entrepreneurship began when she enrolled at Babson College to complete her MBA. It was there that she met her husband, who is also a major part of the business. Esmeralda's business is very family focused and she credits her family for being supportive and enabling her dream to become a reality. However, making her own dream a reality was not enough for Esmeralda, for she also wanted to help women back in her home country of the Dominican Republic.

Esmeralda employs women from the Dominican Republic to create all of her designs. She provides opportunity for these women to be employed from the comfort of their own home and earn an income. See below one design which Esmeralda calls her, "Oscar piece." This beautiful necklace is one that Esmeralda hopes Sofia Vergara may one day wear to an award ceremony.

Esmeralda's store has a wide array of designs, including more casual pieces. Whether looking for jewelry for a glamorous night out of the town or a piece for daytime wear, Esmeralda's is the place to find it. See more of Esmeralda's designs below.

Esmeralda also features artists, some of which are new and others who have been designing jewelry for many years. She showcases many artists and provides them with opportunities within her shop. In addition, she provides new artists with mentoring and knows first hand that starting out in business is not easy. She shares many of the tips and tools that she has learned first-hand, having been there herself. 

Esmeralda's shop is a unique and beautiful store. Below is one more photo from another artist featured in Esmeralda's in Cambridge. See Esmeralda's first-hand for yourself at 54 Church St. in the heart of Harvard Square.