KENORA – After being nominated for four categories at the Kenora Chamber of Commerce business awards on Feb. 8, Mosswood Adventures and Rentals came out on top by winning in the tourism and hospitality category.
Vic Moss, who is the owner, described her first year as an entrepreneur in Kenora as a “whirlwind.”
“I'm super happy that everything I'm doing in the community has been well received overall. And, four nominations, that was kind of a shock to me in a lot of ways.
“But I had the support of the community and the people around me from the beginning. It was a nice way to wrap up a very fun, but exhausting business year. And then to take home the tourism and hospitality award that evening was wonderful.”
Starting her business at the tail end of the COVID-19 pandemic, Moss capitalized on the public need to get outdoors.
During the winter months, patrons could rent an ice bike to peddle around a few of her pop-up locations around Kenora.
She recalls the most exciting experience during the Kenora Chamber of Commerce Business Awards was being in a room full of more than 200 people.
“I started my business kind of at the end of COVID and I was a new transplant to Kenora. I would say I haven't been in a room full of that many adults since I moved here.
"And then I was looking around and these were all my peers, all my small business friends, and future friends. So that to me was actually the biggest excitement of all - to see that energy and everyone together and celebrating each other for everything that we have accomplished,” she explained.
Moss’s business venture does not end once the snow melts. Her business incorporates transitional programming that is adaptive.
In the summer, Mosswood offers water bike, paddleboard, and kayak rentals at a modest price.
“The winter programming went so well last year. I was probably itching to keep going and the summer programming was definitely a learning lesson. I kind of had to shift quite a few times because the original concept was to almost rinse and repeat in a way from what we had done in the winter,” she said.
She also noted that the market for summer activities is a lot different than the winter.
“It was a lot of learning experiences but successful nonetheless,” Moss said.
However, at the end of her winter season, Moss reflected on the last few months. Although the warmer weather had delayed her winter program by a week, she remained fairly optimistic.
“I'm very fortunate that I'm in the business of ice, not snow. We had cooled enough degrees even with the minimum amount of precipitation that we saw for this season,” she said.
“It's just kind of a learning lesson every year and Mother Nature rules everything in my business no matter the season.”
With the rising popularity of Mosswood Adventures and Rental, Moss is often booked by the city’s tourism department for various events, but she still maintains the time to ensure she is stationed at the places where it all began - on Rabbit Lake where Mosswood Adventures and Rental will be at Kenora Winterfest on Family Day.
“This is kind of where I've come up with the concept of just getting people outdoors and doing various activities. There will be a little bit of food and lots of fun,” she said.
Join Mosswood Adventures and Rental on Family Day (Feb. 19) from 12 to 5 p.m.
