Congratulations to Tressa Lemsky of Winnipeg, Canada!
The much anticipated announcement from Lady Carnarvon was made today on her latest blog post. Please check it out for the pictures of Tressa’s event, and the video of Lady Carnarvon giving Tressa the happy news. Tressa apparently submitted a video, but it’s not on the blog post; however, I imagine we will see more details of Tressa’s dinner party in the coming weeks. Can’t wait! It looks like a beautiful event. Update: here is the link to Tressa’s submission.
“Tressa Lemky from Winnipeg, Canada went above and beyond everything we could possibly expect – hosting an amazing dinner party for family and friends, raising money for PBS, cooking some wonderful food from Lady Carnarvon’s book ‘At Home at Highclere’ and bringing her community together in support of ‘Working Together to End Human Trafficking’ an initiative started by the Joy Smith Foundation.”
There were three runners-up, including Gary La Liberte from Quebec who has been an enthusiastic commenter along the way here on our updates. Gary’s entry was a Titanic themed Murder Mystery dinner, and he clearly did go “above and beyond”. My goodness! From moving the furniture out of their living room, preparing delicious food, designing a murder mystery game around the event, making specialty wine labels and setting up a greenroom for the pictures, it was incredible. Congratulations, Gary.
The absolute best part of this adventure has been chatting with all of you about it, and making new friends like Gary La Liberte and Linda Whittlesey. In case haven’t seen it, Linda’s entry is here. She also did a fabulous job and presented a very imaginative video. I loved the vintage car, especially.
Thank you, everyone, for all your support and enthusiasm. It’s been a lot of fun.
The end of Lady Carnarvon’s video shows a list of honourable mentions. We were very honoured to be included on that list, as was Linda. Congratulations, Linda.
Update: Darcie Leeder did some sleuthing this morning, found Gary’s entry, and he has forwarded her excellent video. Darcie also received honourable mention for her submission which featured the “cast” lined up Downton Abbey style outside her house. Enjoy!
So that’s a wrap, folks!
Im sharing this post with Between Naps on the Porch
Around these parts, you have set the gold standard for themed dinner parties. And being at the top of HM list speaks volumes to me. Here’s to you and Glenn! So what will be the theme of the next one? Cheers, Lynda
Thanks Lynda!
I’m thinking something from Gary’s Murder Mystery collection could be cool. Jane Austen?
A Jane Austen Who Done It. Very cool indeed.
Wouldn’t it be great?
Helen,
Speechless.! Gary’s party photos are a wonder. I can not seem to find his Downton video though. My mind is racing after viewing his website with all the themed parties and games. You are right about meeting new like minded people with passions equal to your own.
I look forward to viewing Tressa’s video and reading about her party.
Ron and I loved taking part in your Come and Dine Downton Weekend. In my mind we are the winners !
Best, and welcome back!
Kathleen
Hi Kathi,
Gary’s was indeed amazing – I didn’t see a video for his, either, just pictures, but they were fantastic and told a great story. And what a selection of potential dinner party themes, yes? We can have a blast.
Thanks again to you and Ron for making the evening so much fun. Looking forward to the next one.
Xo
Hj
Hi Kathleen,
You mentioned that you were having trouble finding our video, We actually ran out of time to finish one. I video taped most of the party but we only had three days afterwards 25,26,27 to get the content edited. Since the entry form for the contest said video and/or photos I had to make the decision to try and go with a strong essay and photos instead of adding a video, because there just wasn’t enough time. Glad you enjoyed our photos though. Have a great afternoon!
Congratulations Helen on your Honorable Mention! It is well-deserved. I look forward to more fabulous travel photos on your site as well. Bravo!
Thanks Linda! And congratulations to you, too for your Honorable Mention. Well done! I think we can all be very pleased with how it turned out.
It was so much fun!
Congratulations on your honorable mention in the Dine at Highclere Castle competition! You find yourself in rareified atmosphere, indeed. Your selections were all thoughtfully and beautifully executed. I enjoyed the entire production. Thanks for including on your journey. Cherry Kay
Thanks Cherry Kay! It was good to get a sense of how many people participated in the contest, and I loved the opportunity to meet like minded people. Thank you for joining me as we worked our way through all the preparation and submissions. It was so nice to have the company along the way!
Congratulations on being top of the list of honourable mentions! We so enjoyed hearing about your preparations and watching your video. Pardon the expression, but congratulations on a dinner party well done!!
Thanks Dyanne! I was very pleased to be among the list of honourable mentions. It looked like an great number of people submitted some excellent entries. Thanks for following along. It was great to have the participation!
Congratulations on your honorable mention. It was well deserved. What an experience. I enjoyed seeing the other entries that you linked to as well. What a talented group.
Thanks, Lorri. It was very nice to get the honourable mention, and yes, what an experience! Everyone worked hard, as you noted from the other entries. They seem like a very fun group 🙂