Straight From DeHart - Aug. 10, 2022

Kelowna’s newest vitamin and supplement shop and organic coffee and smoothie bar has opened in Sopa Square. Owned and operated by soon to be wed couple James Greenough and Lauren Grainger, Goods Health and Wellness is located at #126 – 3030 Pandosy Street. Goods intends to bridge the gap in the supplement market by providing a tailored experience that combines a wide selection of natural health and clean sports supplements with a focus on Canadian brands like AOR, Organika, Natural Factors and BioSteel Sports. They have 35 brands and are growing that list. Goods also houses a functional Organic Coffee Bar, serving specialty espresso drinks with beans from Summerland roaster Backyard Beans and optional ingredients like MCT oil, medicinal mushrooms, and amino acids. Their Smoothie Bar is entirely organic, with a focus on great taste without a sacrifice in nutrition. Lauren treated me to a PINK Smoothie made with bananas, raspberries, strawberries, hemp hearts, CanPrev rosehip magnesium and almond milk. It was refreshing and delicious. There is indoor and outdoor seating, along with a shared and rentable co-working space that can be utilized by everyone from the morning coffee-goer to the business professional looking for a space to have a meeting. Goods are looking to attract everyone from high level athletes to wellness-oriented seniors. James and Lauren will be married on August 27th, and you can join them for the grand opening of Goods on September 3rd. Open seven days a week. www.goodshealth.ca

The Kelowna Chamber of Commerce opened its 2022 nominations intake for the 35th Annual Business Excellence Awards. Business owners, entrepreneurs and others now can take part in the nomination and application process which opens August 2nd via the chamber website at www.kelownachamber.org. Applicants can apply for up to three of the fifteen categories. All award applicants are reviewed by the Chamber’s independent judging panel and finalists’ places of business are visited by judges prior to decisions on award winners and runners-up. Applications are welcomed from businesses and organizations in Kelowna and area. Awards will be handed out in November. One additional award, Business Leader of the Year will be determined by judges independently of any application process. Nominations will remain open until August 24.

David Le and Nicolette Fernandez are the co-captains of UBCO JDC West Team 2022 – 2023. JDC is the largest business case competition for students in Western Canada, where the top 12 universities in Western Canada meet in January to compete in a business case competition. Beyond the case competition, they also support the local community by competing in a charity competition. JDC West 2023 will be taking place in person at the University of Saskatchewan and the Edwards School of Business in Saskatoon in January, 2023. For sponsorships contact captains@ubcojdcwest.com

The Delta Grand (Marriott) Hotel is celebrating their 30th Anniversary on Monday, August 15th. As part of the celebration, they are hosting a Root Beer Float Day by donation in support of the Children’s Miracle Network. The engineering department has custom built a float cart which will be displayed and activated in the lobby during the day. The culinary team has created a special cake. In addition to the party, the hotel has had a local artist create an anniversary illustration in which they turned into a window skin and is now displayed on the window above the front door of the resort. They are also publishing 20+ year associate spotlights and throwback Thursdays through social media. Joseph Clohessy is the general manager of the Delta Grand.

With support from the BC Arts Council’s Arts Impact Grant Program, Ballet Kelowna is launching Pop-Up Series, a new initiative that brings the Company to outdoor and alternative spaces in the community. The inaugural edition of the Series, Dance by the Lake, will take place at Kelowna City Park’s Jubilee Grandstands August 24-27 and features free dance classes, demonstrations, open viewing of Company class and rehearsal, and culminates with a special evening performance as part of the Kelowna Made Festival. No previous dance experience is required to participate in the dance classes which run August 24th to 26th from 10:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. with a final Intro to Ballet class on August 27th. All activities are free or by donation. For more information and to register for classes and the performance visit www.balletkelowna.ca. Simone Orlando is the Artistic Director & CEO of Ballet Kelowna.

Art in the Garden Show and Sale is August 27th and 28th from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at 2871 Lakeview Road in West Kelowna. Artists are Lynden Beesley, Judy Burns, Angel Calderer, Val Eibner, Nino Fabbro, Kenna Graff, Scott McKinnon, Barbara Morin, Cheryl Murphy, and Annabel Stanley.

Lakeside Eco-Sports is a new Kelowna company owned and operated by husband-and-wife team Gareth Brown and Pamela Castillo. Their ethos is to provide innovative products and services to their customers with minimal impact on the environment. They started the business this season with a small fleet of BC engineered E-Bikes offering rentals and related self-guided tours such as winery experiences. They provide their customers with everything they need to set them off on their adventure including access to their partner app allowing the treks to be downloaded to a mobile device for data driven or GPS based navigation. Each trek is plotted with additional points of interest such as restrooms, F&B, and photo stops, and they are constantly adding more educational and historic content of the region. You can rent their E-Bikes for 2, 4 or 8 hours. All their E-Bike rental options include an approved bike helmet, bike lock, bike storage bag and cell phone mount. They are currently located at Prestige Beach House on Abbott Street where they have a visitor centre pop up. www.lakesideecosports.com

Peachland will be making waves at its inaugural mural festival September 2nd to 4th. With a world-class line-up of professional mural artists and a slate of local musicians, other performers and kid’s entertainment, the family-friendly festival celebrates public art and building community. The festival is organized by the Peachland Community Connects Society (PCC) with a mission to bring specific areas within Peachland to life with murals and public art. They would like to create an outdoor art gallery that will encourage visitors and delight residents all year round. This year, artists will be creating original works on three walls, with Peachland related themes, such a water, wildlife, community, reconciliation, and positivity. Their historical Peachland Legion will receive a mural which will be a unique interpretation of gratitude and remembrance. The grand finale and mural unveilings will take place during the outdoor Making Waves Festival September 3rd and 4th. Shelley Sweeney is the PCC Chair. www.peachlandmakingwaves.com

A&W Gordon Drive location is once again hosting the Kelowna Capri Centre Vintage Car Show on Gordon Drive on Thursday, August 18th from noon until 7:00 p.m. in support of the MS Society of Canada. Everyone is invited with free admission. Come and show your car at the Capri Centre A&W to support MS or come and view all the wonderful classic and vintage cars that will be on display. All cars and public welcome. $2.00 from each burger will be donated to Burgers to Beat MS. Gengy De Torres is the Operations Specialist – Okanagan for the McMurray Group.

Birthdays of the week – Happy 90th Herb Comben (Aug. 16); Stuart Broughton (Aug. 10); Chris Petty (Aug. 10); Willy Burgess (Aug. 12); Cathy Slade (Aug. 12); Craig Hostland (Aug. 12); Kali Howden (Aug. 13); Rupert Gruen (Aug. 13); Abby Sones (Aug. 13); Dave Renner (Aug. 13); Scott Amis (Aug. 14); Gordon Fitzpatrick (Aug. 15); Kathy Sawchuk (Aug. 16); Doug Noble (Aug. 16);
Reagan Krivsky (Aug. 16); Roberta Fidalgo (Aug. 16).

Huge thanks to everyone for the hundreds of birthday wishes through phone calls, emails, text, visits to the hotel, visits to my home, Facebook, and many other social media platforms. I had a terrific week.

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