Month: June 2024

WEDNESDAY, JULY 24  •  6:00pm

Celebrate the Paris Olympics in grand Aiken fashion! The Willcox is kicking-off opening night by featuring two of Aiken’s very own Olympians, Dacre Stoker and Michel Vaillancourt, who will discuss their experiences participating in the Olympics and share behind the scenes insights while guests enjoy a five-course French dinner paired with French wines selected by Sommelier Matthew Sayer.

$135 per person. Seating is limited, so please make your reservations in advance. Tax and gratuity not included.

MENU:

FIRST COURSE
Diver scallop in a caviar beurre blanc, fresh chives, served in shell
Wine: Chateau Carbonnieux, Pessac-Leognan Grand Cru 2022

SECOND COURSE
Terrine of Pork Liver
pork liver, truffles, pistachios
Wine: Guy Breton, Beaujolais Villages ‘Cuvee Marylou’ 2013

THIRD COURSE
Wild berry sorbet

FOURTH COURSE
Beef Bourguignon, tender beef, potato fondant, local mushrooms, heirloom carrots, pea tendrils
Wine: Domaine De La Vougeraie, Savigny-les-Beaune, Les Marconnets Premier Cru 2002

FIFTH COURSE
Apple & Cinnamon Crème Brûlé
Wine: Domaine Huet Clos du Bourg Moelleux Premier Trie 2020 Chenin Blanc 2020

 

About the Speakers:

Dacre Stoker an Aiken resident since 1992 has an interesting Olympic history. A native of Montreal Canada he remembers watching the Munich Olympics on TV at the age of 14, his mother, father and sister attended in person as his father was on the Canadian Equestrian team committee. When the games came to his hometown of Montreal in 1976 he worked as a drug technician for all of the Equestrian events. This is where he first became aware of Modern Pentathlon an Olympic event since 1912, consisting of cross country running, swimming, fencing, equestrian jumping and pistol shooting. Over the next 12 years Dacre competed for Canada at three World Championships, was a victim of the 1980 Olympic boycott, then became a coach of the Canadian Ladies team which won an individual gold medal at the World Championship in 1983. He later led the Canadian Mens team to their best ever finish at the Seoul Olympic Games in 1988.

Michel Vaillancourt an Aiken resident, is a Canadian show jumper who won an individual silver medal at the 1976 Olympics. He tied for second place with Debbie Johnsey and François Mathy, but won the silver in a jump-off. Vaillancourt finished in fifth place with Canada in the Olympic team event.  Vaillancourt started training in horse riding aged 12, encouraged by his father, an equestrian coach who died in a horse riding accident in 1971. At his first international competition, Vaillancourt won a team bronze medal at the 1975 Pan American Games. He won a silver team medal at the next Games in 1979. Vaillancourt missed the 1980 Olympics in Moscow that were boycotted by Canada, and competed at the Alternate Olympics, winning a team gold medal. After retiring from competitions he worked as a course designer and coach, supervising the Canadian equestrian team at the 1994 and 1998 Olympics. He was inducted into the Jump Canada Hall of Fame in 2009.

Sitting in her private garden, among the flowers and lush palms she has spent years cultivating, Gail King tells us she didn’t always enjoy gardening. Her mother and grandmother both had their own private gardens in England, where Gail spent her childhood. She, however, preferred to spend time riding her pony than pulling out weeds.

This distaste faded over the years. When Gail and her husband bought their house in the early 1980s, it came with a layout for a garden. “It was a really nice layout, but there were no beds,” Gail explains. “So I have spent the last thirty years putting in flower beds and just softening it.”

Today, her garden is brimming with hydrangeas, daylilies, roses, and camellias. Verbena bonariensis, a towering purple flower topped with a cloud of petals, dots the backyard. Tea olive trees, which Gail says may be the biggest in South Carolina, line the garden wall. In every corner, there is something precious to find: a bird’s nest that fits in the palm of her hand, a young Japanese maple, a sculpture of a songbird perched high above the flowerbed.

Trailed by her English Springer Spaniels, Gail King walks through her private garden each night, past the goldfish pond and the flowers climbing high, blooming in every color. She sits in a chair at the edge of her pool and looks up. “I look at the tree, and I look at the night sky,” Gail says. “And I just — every night, I enjoy the garden for myself.”

In this video, Gail reveals how she brought this magnificent private garden to life.