How time flies! This month my column celebrates its 23rd Anniversary with the Kelowna Capital News. Huge thanks to all of you, our readers, friends, colleagues and clients for supporting the newspaper, this column and me. Your loyalty and continued support and encouragement have made our success. I appreciate all of you taking me into your confidence each week and certainly could not have made this milestone without your help.
If you have not visited the BC Tree Fruits Market Store at 826 Vaughan Avenue, you are missing out on a wonderful experience. Open seven days a week, the market has a huge supply of fruit, grown by the 350 local grower members of the B.C. Tree Fruit Cooperative. At this time, there is a good selection of all kinds of apples and pears. As time goes on and during the summer months, there will be everything from cherries and apricots to peaches and other fruits grown by the growers. You can purchase the fruit by the pound or in bulk. The market carries a large variety of vegetables in stock now and local when in season. Some of the vegetables they offer at this time are potatoes, carrots, peppers, onions, broccoli, beets, turnips, rutabagas, green beans, and kale. Along with the fruit and vegetables, you can pick up wonderful baked goods of bread, pies, the popular carrot cake, snacks, dressings, juice, coffee, honey, chocolate and preserves, which are all locally sourced. I purchased the most delicious ambrosia and pink lady apples and some pears and oranges. Ronnie McClain is the store supervisor, Windie Jeider the produce lead and Laurel Van Dam is the Director of Strategic Initiatives. Support your growers and support this local market.
Cruzwear Unlimited at 539 Bernard Avenue is opening a second location. The business was originally started in Vernon 40 years ago and has been in Kelowna for the past 30 years, owned and operated by Doreen Velin. The new Cruzwear will be located in the new One Water Street building and will be opening in June. It will be owned and operated by Sheri Rothwell, Doreen's daughter. Keep tuned for more news.
Westkey Graphics at 1660 Innovation Drive has some great new products. They now offer beautiful decorative dividers that can add function and flair to your home or corporate office, with logos or icons subtly represented in the patterns. The patterns can be printed on plexi or full 3D, depending on application and budget. The dividers can also be used for open-air visual space division or can be safety dividers with plexi. The frames are stained or painted wood and contain all the virtues of design and may optionally serve to protect you, like pandemic safety screens they have been producing. Colleen Brown is the account manager. Visit www.westkeygraphics.com to view all the different styles of dividers.
This is not your ordinary dental office. Knox Mountain Dentistry at #7 – 740 Clement Avenue, in Kelowna’s north end, and was born from a labour of love of Dr. Jordan Sanders. Dr. Sanders is passionate about his ability to help people and has poured endless hours of energy and thought into the creation of this new office with the intent of changing the way patients feel about dentistry. From the moment you enter the funky space, you are greeted by greenery, warm neutral decor living room-like seating and friendly, knowledgeable, upbeat staff. Dr. Jordan has invested in the latest technology to enhance your dental experience, including an AIRFLOW system which has already become a popular staple with patients. Instead of using traditional metal tools to clean your teeth, they use warm water and a fine powder in jet form, which does an exceptional job. Each visit includes personal touches like weighted blankets, neck pillows, warmed face towels, noise cancelling headphones and, of course, Netflix. www.knoxmountaindentistry.com
Just a short drive into West Kelowna is the Lost Horn Mediterranean Grill at 2424 Main Street, owned and operated by Peter Contos. The food is exceptional and everything possible is made in-house, including all their sauces. Even the fries are hand-cut and addictive. Along with their regular menu, they offer a special feature nightly and the prices are extremely reasonable. If you like lamb or mussels, you really should take the short drive to enjoy this special restaurant, with an inviting atmosphere. www.losthorn.com
Kelowna Women in Business have a new 2020/21 board. They are composed of Dobrila Braunstein, President; Kara James, Vice President; Majda Stojanovic, Marketing; Katharina Kunz, Speakers; Rachela Pollock, Sponsorship; Nikki Gillingham, Social Media; Jennifer Crookes, Treasurer; Michelle Cooke, Payments & Registration/Secretary; Ruthanne Arams, Venues & Special Events and Christine Col, Membership. www.kwib.org
After 10 weeks of pitches, meetings, due diligence and training, Mike Boudreau, founder of TechBrew Robotics was named the 2021 OKGN Angel Summit Winner and took home the $145,000 investment fund. The company is a turnkey robotics automation for difficult applications, including a system that picks, trims and packages mushrooms. Brett Montrose, founder of Streamline Athletes took home the People’s Choice Award. The company is an online platform that improves the recruitment process for both athletes and coaches. www.okgnangelsummit.com
Pharmasave at 505 Doyle Avenue is celebrating their 4th anniversary. Co-owned by Gary and Joan McEwan, Sean and Leanne Misfeldt and pharmacist Brett Federko and Meghan Longpre, the store has been welcomed in the downtown area since it opened. They now have two pharmacists and eight employees with Lisa Prodaniuk as the front store manager. Along with regular pharmacy health and wellness products, they also have a good selection of cosmetics, household items, confectionery, some food products, clothing and gift items. Open seven days a week. www.pharmasave.com
UBCO’s top entrepreneurial teams faced off at the 3rd Annual MNP Quick Pitch Challenge judged by the Valhalla Angels for $75,000 in prizes. The top three winning teams are: First Prize: GAPSS – Gravity Assisted Particle Separate System, a revolutionary storm water decontamination system founded by second year UBCO students Jacob Sol (Civil Engineering), Cole White-Robinson (Mechanical Engineering), Jayden Wong and Graeme Kumagai (Electrical Engineering) and second year UBC Vancouver student Rudransh Kumar (Engineering Physics). Second Prize: CloudTrack, a theft-prevention system for motorcycles and other on and off road vehicles, founded by UBCO fourth year student Connor Scott (Electrical Engineering) and alumnus David Rojas, BBA. Third Prize: Agronome, a smart agtech platform targeting farmers in Africa founded by Michael Oyatsi, a UBCO Mechanical Engineering alumnus and Kennedy Wafula.
Easter is just around the corner. Earthly Creations Floral Art Gift Gallery at 2630 Pandosy Street, owned and operated by Marie Shandalla is ready to create wonderful floral arrangements for either delivery or sidewalk pickup. Along with floral arrangements, you can also order gift baskets filled with local Knights chocolate, honey, candles, soaps, salts, lotions, tea, coffee, cards and much more. Open Monday to Saturday, 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. marie@earthlycreations.net
Meet Your Makers, The Ultimate Shop Local Film is a film about artisans in the lockdown, produced by Wendy McAlpine, Portrait Photographer, Memoir Film Videographer and owner of Lake City Pictures. The documentary explores how ten creatives adjusted to meet the challenges of the lockdown and explores health, creativity, the impact of community support and the shop-local movement. Independent makers tend to think creatively and in comparison to traditional businesses, they have the ability to think differently about how a lock down affects them personally as well as their business. The film documents how these artisans pivoted in their lives and business plans a year ago when the lockdown hit. The businesses that have signed on to be featured are Brass Candy (Shotgun shell jewellery), Jaide Fox Painting (Functional art), KARAT Chocolate (Artisan chocolate), Everything Wild (Urban forager), Nikki Balfour (Painter), BlipKnits (Handmade luxury knitwear), Hiveology (Wax wraps and honey), Jaide and Joel Baking Company (Vegan and gluten free bakery) and Hemptations (Skin hair infused with hemp oil). View the trailer at https://youtu.be/ZMsNZCA_yl4
In December, 49 employees from Scotiabank in Kelowna, West Kelowna and Vernon volunteered their time to host a Salvation Army Christmas Kettle at various locations in their community. The goal was to raise critical funds for the Salvation Army and Scotiabank would match up to $15,000.00. At the end of the day, a record breaking $61,713 was raised for a total of $82,713 with the match. Capt. Darryl Burry of the Salvation Army states the funds will assist in providing help and hope to those who continue to experience significant challenges.
Birthdays of the week –Happy 90th Frank Singer (March 21); Ryan Donn (Mar. 24); Carol Heath (Mar. 24); Jock Tyre (Mar. 24); Jay Blackford (Mar. 25); Normie Wylie (Mar. 25); Pat Moxness (Mar. 26); Paul Moxness (Mar. 26) Lark Willms (Mar. 26); Jennifer Park (Mar. 26); Lyubov Omasheva (Mar. 27); Avril Paice (Mar. 27); Wendy Giammartino (Mar. 28); Dick Dummond (Mar. 28); Don Jeffries (Mar. 29); Francis Cheng (Mar. 30); Theresa Arsenault (Mar. 30); Mike Rout (Mar. 30).
Maxine DeHart is a Kelowna City Councillor and local hotelier. Phone her at 250-979-4546 or 250-862-7662 or Email max@maxinedehart.ca
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