Straight from DeHart - July 20, 2016

Kettle River Brewing Co. has opened at 731 Baillie Ave. in the north commercial end of town. Owned and operated by partners Ross Higgs, Brandon Amond and Chris Dedinsky, the Nano brewery focuses on brewing small batches of many different kinds of beer with a big focus on barrel aging. The premises and the all the brewing equipment were handcrafted and constructed by the three partners. Brandon is the brew master who took his apprenticeship in the UK, Russ is an engineer and Chris takes care of the marketing side of the business. The wood in the building is from an old barn on Russ’s father property on the Kettle River, hence the name, along with other attributes of the Kettle River. There are 30 seats and they are hoping to have a food truck on the premises during opening hours, along with light music. Kettle River also collaborates with other wineries, distilleries and breweries. They opened serving 16 different types of beer with Belgium Table being their speciality which is crisp, clean, accentuated by hints of clove and lightly roasted malts. Some of the other brews offered are Pale Ale, Imperial IPA, Spruce-Tip Saison, Cherry Summer Stout, Matcha Saison and Hopped Up Blonde. Hours are Friday 4 to 8 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday Noon to 8 p.m. Call 250-862-5115. www.kettleriverbrewing.ca.

Congratulations to two well-known Okanagan residents who received the Medal of Good Citizenship, the province’s newest honour that was presented by Premier Christy Clark. Marion Sallenbach, a resident of Lake Country was honoured for her many years of volunteerism within the community, her selfless actions having a tremendous impact on countless families in the Okanagan. Troy Becker, a resident of West Kelowna was honoured for contributions making his community a safer place and helping to create life-enhancing opportunities that build confidence for people with disabilities.

Brian Stephenson has joined the firm of Pushor Mitchell Lawyers LLP at 301- 1665 Ellis St. He will be practising primarily in the areas of business law and real estate as well as wills, estate and trusts. Stephenson@pushormitchell.com.

On July 5 the Rotary Club of Kelowna inducted District Governor Vern Nielsen (Past-president of the Rotary Club of Kelowna and now District Governor of District #5060) and installed the new 2016/17 board of directors. They are Rick Potter, (President), John McIntyre (Past-president), James Kay (President-elect), Raghwa Gopal (Vice-president), John Walker (Secretary) and Dick Dumond (Treasurer). Other directors inducted were Kim Dorcas, Kathy Butler, Karyn Schueler, Lyle Isenor, Michael Dorsel, Dave Cullen, Sheldon Paulger and Stuart Dickson.

Summerhill Pyramid Winery has won a gold medal for their Cipes Blanc de Blanc at the Wine Align Notational Wine Awards of Canada. Only 200 cases of this impressive sparkling are available. 250-764-8000 or ryan@summerhill.bc.ca.

Sue Wheeler has joined the City of Kelowna as their new social development manager. Most recently Sue held the position of Director of Community Services with the City of Maple Ridge where she led a diverse set of services including areas such as social planning, volunteer services, youth services and neighbourhood development.

The Artful Hand has opened in Orchard Park near Best Buy and next to Quarks and Le Chateau. Owned and operated by Sharon Page, this unique gift store is filled with handcrafted items made by over 60 gifted local artisans. The artisans could be your friend’s neighbors or family members who are all part of the community. Some artisans include Mal Gagnon, Shelly Ikebuchi, Susan Richards, Sara Gagnon, Brandy Masch, Jolene Mackie, Helen Kovacs, Laurie Belisle, Albina Sabry and Andrea Berger. They offer a vast array of products from jewellery and pottery to photography and gift cards. For yourself or a special gift, drop in and see the boundless expressions of many creative minds and artistic hands. Hadar Kennedy is the assistant manager of the store. Call 236-420-1066.

How time flies! The historical landmark Train Station Pub at 1177 Ellis St. is celebrating their 5^th Anniversary in business. Owned by partners, Steve Stinson, Tanner Dillon, Ron Christman and April Roy, the Train Station is a popular downtown meeting place with a huge patio. They are now hosting Burger War Mondays, which will feature two new burgers every Monday. The burger that sells the most goes onto the new week with a new second burger and the winner from that week goes on to the next week. This goes on until the end of the summer. The burger that wins at the end will be featured on their regular menu. David Lindsay is the manager of the pub. Call 778-484-5558.

Commissioned by The Moose Hotel on Moose Street in downtown Banff, artist and bronze sculptor Tom Hjorleifson of Canmore, Alberta and long-time local Bill Lalonde of Pyramid Bronze Works have finished their spectacular, one of a kind masterpiece; a nine foot, 1,330 pound bronze cast moose. One year in the making, with six months at Tom’s shop and six months at Bill’s shop on Spiers Road, the moose was a cast from 32 large pieces. The moose was loaded onto a low bed trailer by a crane last Saturday and was taken to its final destination in front of the Moose Hotel. Bill and his son Bill Jr., who uses a tiger torch for the patina colour, have worked on many bronze sculptures, including Kenny McLean in Okanagan Falls, Elk, Bull Moose, Mule Deer and a Falcon (Anarchist Mountain) and many works of well-known internationally acclaimed sculptor Geert Maas. Call Bill at 250-763-8239 or visit www.tomhjorleifson.com.

The food bank needs help. The One Bag Challenge is a new campaign that has just started with Mayor Colin Basran leading the challenge through a social media campaign. It’s very simple and can work to fill the shelves at The Central Okanagan Community Food Bank. Here’s how it works. Once you are nominated, you have 48 hours to take a grocery bag full of food to the food bank or make an on-line donation. Take a picture or video of you completing the challenge, post it on Facebook and nominate five people to take the challenge in the next 48 hours. Mayor Basran has nominated the following five people: Maxine DeHart, Andre Blanleil, Darryl Reuter, Renee Wasylyk and Roz Huber. I took up the challenge, delivered by bag of groceries and posted the video on Facebook. I nominated Karen Hill (Kelowna Capital News), Andy and TJ (101-5 EZ ROCK, Bell Media), Nikki Csek (KelownaNow.com), Phil Johnson (AM 1150, Bell Media) and Wayne Moore (Castanet). Donations to the food bank are typically slow during the summer months but the demand remains, putting a strain on supplies. The food bank services over 4,000 persons per month and 33 per cent are children under the age of 15. Nominate your five people today for the One Bag Challenge. For more details call Tammy Jackson at 250-763-7161. www.cofoodbank.com.

Hanna’s on the Waterfront is back as an event venue for private parties, corporate events or weddings. After being leased out for a one-time six-month contract to the Grand Hotel, their team is back and on track, along with well-known chef Stuart Klassen. To book an event contact Barb Douglas, event and catering manager at 250-864-8892 or visit www.hannaswaterfront.com.

The Paisley Notebook, dubbed as “a little food blog, by a little person” is the creation of Aman Dosanj, formerly Poppadoms and Western Living Magazine’s 2015 Foodie of the Year. Currently on an eight-month self-guided edible adventure across the world, Aman is documenting global food based topics and issues. The Paisley Notebook has launched an edible storybook called “Say it Like You Eat It”. Say It Like You Eat It documents the stories of real people using their own words, each told weekly across The Paisley Notebook’s social media platforms. Based on a simple idea that everyone has to eat, the food memory project is an attempt to show how the world is connected through food. www.paisleynotebook.com.

The Kelowna Canadian Italian Club is celebrating its 50^th anniversary this year and you could win a trip to Italy. The club is selling raffle tickets for $10.00 with the first prize being a $3,500 travel voucher from RedTag, 2^nd prize a Taste of Italy prize package valued at $1,500 and the early bird prize of a Nespresso coffee machine valued at $400. The early bird draw will be held on Aug. 8. Tickets available at Rona on Fri., July 22 from (9:00 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the exit door and outside London Drugs on Fri., Aug. 5 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. or by contacting the club at kcic@shaw.ca.

The 27^th Annual Downton Kelowna Block Party presented by Interior Savings is Sat., July 23 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Bernard Avenue will be closed to vehicle traffic beginning at 6 a.m. and will reopen at 6 p.m. Join in the fun with over 140 vendors, food, music, shopping, entertainment, family friendly activities, a kids and fashion show stage.

BrainTrust Canada’s second annual “Phil Law Paddle for Prevention” stand up paddleboard fundraiser is Sun., Aug 7 at Rotary Beach, participating with teams of four. Start with yoga, then team relays and a BBQ lunch. Boards and PFD’s for participants are provided by the Kelowna Paddle Club. Prizes include an inflatable SUP board from Tahoe SUP, Kelowna Rockets package for youth and a trip from Westjet. Bronze sponsors are still needed for $500.00. Contact Magda Kapp at mkapp@braintrustcanada.com or sign up at www.paddleforprevention.com.

Decluttering? Downsizing? Updating? Art from the Attic is a gigantic sale of new and recycled art hosted by the Kelowna Grandmothers for Africa. The free admission sale is Sat., Sept. 10 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Parkinson Rec Centre. All pictures, prints and wall art accepted. Proceeds are going to the Grandmothers to Grandmothers Campaign - Stephen Lewis Foundation. For drop-off locations or pick-up, information email kg4africa@gmail.com or call 250-300-4942.

Birthdays of the week – Trevor Hill (July 18); Al Waters, Kelowna Capital News (July 20); Dave Libbretch (July 20); Garrett Tanner (July 22); Sharon Bulych (July 23); Debbie Andrew (July 23); Jack Taylor (July 23); Robert Letvinchuk (July 24); Lynne Glata (July 24); Jim Skinner (July 24); Don Turri (July 26); Jenifer Schell (July 26); Kevin Rothwell (July 26).

Maxine DeHart is a Kelowna City Councillor and local hotelier. Phone her at 250-979-4546 or 250-862-7662, fax 250-860-3173, E-mail maxdehart@telus.net and web-site www.KelownaNow.com (click on Columns and Maxine DeHart).