Straight From DeHart – Aug. 1, 2018

I will not be writing a column next week.  See you on August 15th.

Kelowna Pool Tables at #101 – 1823 Harvey Avenue (same centre as Andre’s) has new owners, formerly owned by Barry and Lesley Smith for 15 years.  Now owned and operated by Jeff and Monique Watson and their daughter Chantelle, the store is chock-full of pool tables, shuffle boards, dart boards, ping pong, foosball and poker tables, 60 In 1 arcade games, video games and bubble hockey. They also sell accessories for all the games, along with billiard lights, pub tables, bar stools, juke boxes, spectator chairs and neon lighting signs. Open Monday to Friday.  www.kelownapooltables.com

<who>Photo Credit: Contributed</who>Kelowna Pool Tables and Games Room - (L to R) Gino Vaselenak, Monique Watson, Jeff Watson and Chantelle Watson.

Relocating from Alberta where she was the Head of Exhibitions and Collections Management at the Art Gallery of Alberta, Laura Jane Ritchie is the new Curator for the Kelowna Art Gallery, 1315 Water Street. Originally from New Brunswick, Laura holds an MA in Art History from Western University and has worked in collections and exhibitions management and visual arts administration with many art organizations across the country. She is a fellow of the Getty Leadership Institute’s NextGen, Executive Education for the Next Generation of Museum Leaders. www.kelownaartgallery.com

House of Rose Winery is celebrating 25 years with co-owners Aura Rose (winemaker) and husband Wouter van der Hall.  The winery, one of the first 20 in B.C. was long known for the founder, Vern Rose who purchased the property in 1983 and opened the winery in 1993.  He was loved by customers for his wit and passion for wine.  Aura is Vern’s daughter. The winery has seen huge changes since in the beginning it was a tiny part of tourism and the economy of the community. What has not changed is their down to earth, friendly approach and their good wines and funky names. www.houseofrose.ca

<who>Photo Credit: Contributed</who>House of Rose Winery - Aura Rose and Wouter van Der Hall

Globally Fair has relocated from 1695 Burtch Road to #107 – 3001 Tutt Street now with more space and more product. Owned and operated by the mother-daughter team of Cindy and Kate Henderson, the store carries fair trade products from seven fair trade organizations in this popular unique store, with fair trade being the guiding force behind the store. Globally Fair at Burtch Road will also stay open only a couple days a week until the end of August when their lease is up and the stock is completely depleted, but the new shop is now up and running. Drop into the new shop. It’s certainly worth a visit. Open Monday to Saturday 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Call 778-484-3247 or check out www.globallyfair.ca.

Next time you are on the Westside and are hankering for a smokie or hot dog for a quick lunch, stop by The Wandering Gourmet food stand in front of Canadian Tire.  Owned and operated by Darrell McIntyre you will not be disappointed. Daryl cooks up the tastiest jumbo hot dogs (Helmut’s), Bavarian smokie (Illichmann’s), a huge jalapeno cheddar smokie (Illichmann’s) and a philly cheese steak (Illichmann’s) that is to die for. The buns come from Nature’s Oven.  He also offers beef burgers, turkey sage burger, wild pacific salmon burger and a veggie burger along with add-ons and cold drinks. He was very busy when I dropped in so that tells you that the food is great. I even ran into one friend that I had not seen for years and met some new people too.  Open 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Thursday to Monday. www.thewanderinggourmet.ca or check him out on Facebook.

<who>Photo Credit: Contributed</who>The Wandering Gourmet

Final Round Gym is a new 4,500 square foot, functional fitness and personal/team training gym that has opened in West Kelowna at #100-2476 Westlake Road. The gym is owned and operated by Jay Saunders, who was one of UFC’s top trainers and has also held the title of top trainer world-wide. Jay is a certified strength and conditioning specialist through the National Strength and Conditioning Association. The gym offers a non-contact youth program, boxing, boxing beginners, kick boxing skill training and conditioning, MMA, and a FIT program for adults. Jay offers classes for every fitness level and every age from beginner to advanced for competitions and also for youth MMA from ages six to seventeen. Call 250-740-5174 www.finalroundmma.ca

Okanagan Adventures in West Kelowna has rebranded and is now GiftGator.ca. The company will continue to provide bookings for Okanagan Experiences and now has started to include uniquely Okanagan products as well. Owned by Ayn Lexi, the company wanted to shift their intent instead of just focusing on booking Okanagan experiences, broadening their offerings to add gift cards which never expire. These gift cards are perfect for anyone who is hard to buy for.  The recipient can go onto the site and redeem the card for whatever they wish.  The cards can be personalized with a message as they are created in-house.  To celebrate, the company has created a summer contest GiftGator Great Summer Giveaway. They are giving away a pair of wine tour tickets for two every week through September 10th. In total 22 wine tour seats will be given away for a party tour that will take place on September 15th. No purchase required. Enter at www.giftgator.ca/great-summer-giveaway/

Craft Culture and Meadow Vista Honey Winery at 3975 June Springs Road are hosting a Night Market at the Winery every Friday night in August between 4:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. with a variety of vendors, food trucks and musicians in East Kelowna. They will have everything from art to clothing and jewellery to specialty foods. You can browse at the market, grab a bite to eat from the food trucks and relax on the grass while enjoying entertainment. Admission is free. www.craftculture.ca

Aman Dosanj of The Paisley Notebook is offering a pop-up dinner experience like no other where you can ride the story of Lake Country and eat it too. Sourced at Claremont Ranch Organics, August 18th from 1:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., it includes a bike tour and four course dinner with two alcoholic beverages. It will feature a long table amongst the pear orchard with hosts Molly and Matt. Tickets $180.00 at www.sourced2018.eventbrite.ca. For more information go to www.paisleynotebook.com.

The Legion at 1380 Bertram Street is hosting The #1 International Kenny Rogers Tribute Show as seen on Oprah, Jay Leno Show and CNN “Kinda Kenny” with special guest Pam Ferens Nashville recording artist. On Saturday, August 25th at 7:00 p.m. Tickets available at the Legion ($30.00) and must be purchased in advance. Call 250-762-4117.

If you have your full Class 6 motorcycle license and your own motorcycle and would like to take your riding to a new level, register for Kelowna & District Safety Council’s Advanced Riding Techniques, two-day course. They will cover advanced clutch control, shifting, counterbalancing, higher speed braking, curve management, hills, passing and highway riding. August 25th and 26th and September 1st and 2nd.  Register at www.kdsc.bc.ca

<who>Photo Credit: Contributed</who>Kelowna and District Safety Council

Township 7 Vineyards & Winery of Penticton has acquired Blue Terrace Vineyard in Oliver, located at the north end of the renowned Black Sage Bench. The purchase brings the winery’s total estate vineyards holdings to 24 acres, including their Naramata Bench and south Langley vineyards. In addition, Township 7 works with nine longtime, small family growers in the South Okanagan and Similkameen Valleys. Mike Raffan is the general manager and Mary McDermott the winemaker ow Township 7.

The annual North Westside Fire Rescue BBQ fundraiser is Saturday, August 11th from 2:00 to 8:00 p.m. at the La Casa Cottage Resort, 6808 Westside Road. It’s an action packed event with a live auction, music, auction for children, 50/50 draw and plenty of door prizes. $12.00 for the BBQ, salad and a drink. Hot dogs for children are free. Proceeds to the North Westside Firefighters Society. For pre-sale tickets leave a message at the Killiney Beach Fire Hall at 250-545-1195. Jason Satterthwaite is the Chief at North Westside Fire Rescue.

Birthdays of the week – Happy 95th Betty Gold (Aug.2); Happy 80th Dave Roseberry (Aug. 2); Happy 40th Daniel Perju (July 28), Yours truly Maxine DeHart (Aug.6); Dom Vinci (Aug. 1); Alex Draper (Aug.2); Joan Johnston (Aug 2); Darren Bates (Aug. 3); Ross Grimmer (Aug. 5); Mohini Singh (Aug. 6); Roger Sellick (Aug. 7); Hugh Feagan (Aug. 8); Stuart Broughton (Aug. 10); Wilbur Turner (Aug. 10); Paula Turner (Aug. 10); Cathy Slade (Aug. 12); Willy Burgess (Aug. 12); Kali Howden (Aug. 13); Rupert Gruen (Aug. 13); Scot Amis (Aug. 14).

Maxine DeHart is a Kelowna City Councillor and local hotelier. Phone her at 250-979-4546 or 250-862-7662; E-mail [email protected].