Straight From DeHart - April 2, 2025

Urban Distilleries has opened their new Distillery, retail space, tasting room, private tasting room, speak easy lounge, distillery tours, restaurant and patio in downtown Kelowna at 327 Bernard Avenue. Owned and operated by President Mark Spurgeon, Urban originally opened on Bay Avenue 15 years ago. The new facility has been completely renovated from top to bottom spanning over two large floors making their small batch, hand-crafted spirits right at the new premises. Urban makes the product, serves the product and sells the product. Their most popular items are the North Calls Dill Pickle Vodka, along with Paul's Tomb Gin and Urban Whisky Styles. Other products that you might like to try are Spirit Bear Gin and Vodka, Urban Fruit Liqueurs, Urban Bau De Vies, Spirit Bear Flavored Vodka and Urban Honey Mead wines. Urban Distilleries will be hosting workshops and cocktail making classes. They now offer artisan food dishes, along with some mains, shared plates and lots of delicious desserts. You might want to try their popular cocktail paired flights and bites which give you three of each to try. Open seven days a week. www.urban-distilleries.com

CanScribe Career College has launched its new 26-hour on-line Indigenous Engagement course in partnership with Indigenous Insight. The course is designed to deepen one’s understanding of Canada’s history of colonization and foster understanding, respect and collaboration between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples and communities. Indigenous Insight is owned by L. Maynard Harry (KWAST-en-ayu). Maynard is a Status Indian whose life has been shaped by his lived experience growing up on an Indian reserve and as a member of a family directly impacted by Canada’s Indian Residential School System. For more information visit www.canscribe.com/indigenous-engagement-training/. Colleen Chapman is the CEO of CanScribe Career College.

Pioneer Gourmet Coffee at 1980 Windsor Road is celebrating their 15th anniversary in business. Owned and operated by local entrepreneur Colin Burton, Pioneer has eight retail blends, four organic and four conventional, with the Father Pandosy Espresso being their signature blend. Pioneer Gourmet Coffee was started by Luigi Cicchelli, a fourth-generation coffee roaster from Italy. All their brands are named after pioneers of the Okanagan Valley. The secret to Pioneer’s great taste is the old-world way they roast their beans. It is truly magical the way their technique brings out the aroma and flavour locked in those green beans. Roasting is both an art and a science and at Pioneer they are proud to continue the same tried and true roasting technique used by the Cicchelli family. Pioneer’s firsts store launch was in 2021 in the Glenmore IGA and now they are in over 100 retail spots in B.C. from Cranbook to Prince George and everywhere in between. Pioneer supplies to institutions, hotels, restaurants and offices. Colin sent me home with a package of Papa New Guinea coffee and it was absolutely full of aroma and delicious. Andrea Bertram is the General Manager of the company. The best way to tackle your day is to start with a great cup of coffee. www.pioneergourmetcoffee.com

Westbank First Nation (WFN) has appointed a new Board of Directors for Ntityix Development Corp. (NDC), reinforcing its leadership and strategic direction in business development. NDC manages key ventures in forestry, real estate and commercial enterprises, generating economic benefits for WFN and its Members, The board provides governance and oversight to ensure sustainable growth and responsible stewardship of resources. The board consists of Robbin Sinclaire, CPA (Chair NDC Board), Blake Scott; James Byra, Domenic Rampone and Jerrett Lafontaine.

The next Downtown Kelowna Association (DKA) Business After Hours is Wednesday, April 17th hosted by Kelly O’Bryan’s, 262 Bernard Avenue. Small Shop Downtown Weekend will be April 11th to 13th, which will coincide with Earth Day Quest. On the Saturday of that weekend, the first two hours of on-street parking in downtown Kelowna will be complimentary by the City of Kelowna. The three city-managed parkades are always free of charge on Saturdays unless there is a major event.

Angelica Palladino is the new Vice President, Guest Experience for Iconic Wineries of B.C., Mark Anthony Group. In her position, Angelia oversees hospitality across the prestigious portfolio of wineries, including Mission Hill Family Estate, CedarCreek Estate Winery, CheckMate Artisanal Winery, Martin’s Lane Winery, Road 13 Vineyards, Liquidity Wines and Red Barn Winery at Jagged Rock. Prior to joining Iconic Wineries, Angelica was the General Manager of Bishop’s Lodge, Auberge Resorts Collection in Santa Fe. She previously spent over two decades with Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, holding General Manager and senior leadership positions across some of the brand’s most iconic properties, including Seattle, Las Vegas, Vail, Las Colinas, Hualalai on the Big Island of Hawaii, Dallas and Berlin. In her new role, Angelica continues to set new benchmarks for luxury wine hospitality, blending her extensive expertise with the breathtaking landscapes and world-class wines of the Okanagan Valley.

Congratulations to the City of Kelowna Compass Award winners. Each year, the City Manager and Senior Leadership team at the City of Kelowna recognize up to five individuals or small teams whose actions have clearly demonstrated the city's values and helped build a City of the Future. They are Adam Cseke, Development Planning Manager for his work on implemented new provincial legislation through re-writing zoning bylaws; Edzel Biag, City Protection Officer, for his significant impact he has made on his colleagues, the community and the City; Nicole Unruh, Acting Manager, Finance Systems & Planning, for her constant commitment to the success of her colleagues and being an integral part of various systems implemented under her leadership. Working as a team, Madisson Montgomery (Recreation Technician), Steve Hebden (Recreation Facility Operations Supervisor), Brad Duquette (Community Development Coordinator), and Wayne Wong (Parks Foreman) received the team award for their organization of the Canadian Premiere League On Tour event.

Jenny McAlpine has expanded from planning Okanagan weddings, to also planning and producing events of all kinds. Jenny and her team at Jenny McAlpine Events + Weddings are providing planning services for corporate and association gatherings, not-for-profit events and galas, as well as milestone celebrations. They are well known for their expertise, creativity, style and seamless event execution. The new website is www.jennymcalpine.ca

Melissa Tesche is the new Executive Director of the Okanagan Basin Water Board (OBWB). Melissa was previously General Manager of the BC Fruit Growers Association and the Okanagan-Kootenay Sterile Insect Release Board. She has a master’s degree in conservation Biology at UBC Okanagan. Melissa is taking over from retiring Executive Director Anna Warwick Sears on April 22nd, 2025, following her 19-year tenure as Executive Director. Also new to the OBWB is the appointment of James Littley as their first-ever Chief Operating Officer (COO) and Communications Manager, Carmen Weld. Carmen joined OBWB following Corinne Jackson’s departure. Carmen has spent a decade in the journalism field working as a video journalist, reporter and editor in radio. Mayor Blair Ireland of Lake Country is the Chair of the OBWB.

Each year, Festivals Kelowna places between five and eight free-to-play pianos in high-profile, accessible public spaces throughout Downtown Kelowna and Rutland. These pianos encourage residents and visitors to showcase their inner Mozart and add musical charm to our cityscape. Festivals Kelowna is seeking artists to transform these pianos into vibrant pieces of art. This is an open call for design submissions and if selected, you will have the opportunity to paint your design on a public piano. Submission deadline is April 14th, 2025. For more information contact Saturday Sazaran at ssazaran@festivalskelowna.com

From creating eco-friendly fire logs, to empowering youth with climate change education, to supporting survivors of intimate partner violence, Okanagan College students in the Business Club Enactus OC are taking some of the most pressing issues of the day and developing real-world solutions that inspire, educate and make a difference in their communities. The team, consisting of 27 students from OC’s School of Business, as well as Science and Engineering programs, blazed a trail of success at the Western Canada Enactus Regionals showcase in Edmonton, securing a podium finish in all three categories it competed in. The team clinched first place for its innovative “Paper Trail” project and earned third place recognition for both the “Revive” and “Safe Haven” project initiatives. Visit www.enactusoc.ca

Congratulations to local ski racers Kael Oberlander and Finley Cashin for being named to Team Canada at the Ski Cross Junior World Championships in Isola 2000, France, April 2nd to 6th. The 2025 Junior Worlds team representing Canada is made up of four men and two women qualifying through world rankings and Nor-Am Series Performance. Earlier this month, Finley represented Canada at the World University Games, had a 3rd place finish at NorAm at Steamboat, CO and had a 1st place finish at the NorAm at Gore Mountain, NY and now sits in 2nd place in the NorAm Cup standings. Kael saw an equally exciting result finishing in 3rd place at the Gore Mountain NorAm and currently sits 4th place in the NorAm Cup standings. Both are currently fundraising and if you would like to follow them visit @kaeloberlander and @finleycashin or https://linktr.ee/finleycashin

Birthdays of the week – Cynthia Waldek-Peters (Apr. 2); John McCormack (Apr. 2); Aniko Szabo (Apr. 2); Ken Bessason (Apr. 3); Rick Methot (Apr. 3); Amber Firkins (Apr. 3); Jarrod Stocker (Apr. 3); Trevor Lutes (Apr. 4); Lyal Shoemaker (Apr. 4); John Mummery (Apr. 4); Gary McEwan (Apr. 4); Adam Relvas (Apr. 4); Yvonne Turgeon (Apr. 4); Diane Essler (Apr. 4); Dan Cloutier (Apr. 5); Denise Porter (Apr. 5); Karin Massar (Apr. 5); Rosemary Thomson (Apr. 5); Jo-Dee Hecko (Apr. 6); Tristan Llewellyn (Apr. 6); Kevin Flood (Apr. 7); Kathleen Lemieux (Apr. 7); Carmen Weld (Apr. 7); Kyle Spence (Apr. 7); Brenda Lee Erickson (Apr. 8); Nadean Ostrom (Apr. 8); Bonnie Vogan (Apr. 8).

The Specialty Bakery Birthday Cake Winner of the Week is Dan Cloutier. Dan, please pick up your Birthday Cake from any one of the four Specialty Bakery locations by noon on Tuesday, April 8/2025.

Maxine DeHart is a Kelowna City Councillor and local hotelier. Phone her at 250-979-4546 or 250-862-7662. E-mail max@maxinedehart.ca