UPDATE - 11/21@10:13AM: Attendee Rodrigo Altaf posted his report here.
Grapes for Humanity is an organization that helps to raise funds to benefit humanitarian causes around the world with the assistance of the international wine community, and Geddy Lee is a member of the board of directors. For the past several years he and Alex Lifeson have conducted a number of charity auctions and events to raise money for the organization as part of an initiative that they cleverly call Grapes Under Pressure, which includes a periodic Excellent Harvest Adventure charity outing to the Niagara Wine Region. The pair hosted their 4th such outing this past weekend where they and 150 guests took the train from Toronto to Peller Estate Vineyards in Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON. Over the past few days fans have been posting photos and video from the event to various social media platforms such as the Cygnus-X1.net Facebook group. Rush fan Lyle Dennis wrote up a report for his Medium.com site, including some great photos and a few interesting tidbits he gleaned from chatting with Geddy and Alex:
... We boarded the train in Toronto to the Peller Winery estate for the event. First I head him on the speaker and then in a surreal moment he and Alex walked along the train shaking hands and exchanging words with the approximately 150 attendees. After a few moments of waiting and watching I shook Geddy's hand and looked him in the eyes. It was a surreal moment and I couldn't believe it was true. That first encounter was very brief.
Two hours later we arrived at the estate and upon walking on the grounds there he was right in front of me just standing around chatting with Alex.
In the moment I had truly been waiting for I was able to walk up and tell Geddy firsthand how much he and his music meant to me and my life and how my dream of decades was taking place at that moment. He was genuine and gracious and said it meant a lot to him. I gave him a small gift of a miniature Rickenbacker black and white bass pendant which he thought was nice. We took a selfie together and my life was complete. My number one bucket list item had been checked off.
Afterwards I also had the chance to chat with Alex Lifeson who was equally gracious and forthcoming.
I asked Alex if he still stayed in touch with Neil. He absolutely confirmed that.
Next I inquired if there was any chance Rush may once again make new music. "No," he replied. Zero percent I asked? "Zero" he answered.
Alex did admit he continued to be creative. He said he was playing guitar every day and was working on collaborations with other musicians.
As for Geddy he has been wrapping up the writing of his Big Beautiful Book of Bass. We shook hands one last time as I boarded the train back to Toronto. He confirmed when I asked him that he would be doing a book signing tour. I told him I would see him again at that time. ...
So yet ANOTHER confirmation from Alex that Rush is done. The good news being that Alex continues to play and create music, and that Geddy does plan on doing some kind of book signing tour for his upcoming Big Beautiful Book of Bass. Here are a few notable Facebook postings with photos and video from the event courtesy the Cygnus-X1.net Facebook group:
Facebook photo gallery
Facebook photos (Ged and Al with YYNot's CD)
Facebook photo gallery
Facebook photo gallery
Facebook video (Al chatting with a fan on the train)
Facebook video (Al on the mic)
