Sustainable seafood market, Codfather’s Seafood Market in Guisachan Village Centre at 2355 Gordon Drive has undergone a major refurbishment. Owned and operated by Jon and Anne-Marie Crofts for the past 23 years, the popular market has been in existence for 35 years, formerly owned by Len Bishop. Codfather’s is a full-service fishmonger. They are proud to use every part of the fish from fin to tail, respecting the ingredient and use every piece. The renovations include new display cases, expanded cold storage and a face-lift for the entire market. The new look includes a massive 24-foot fresh fish display, 28 feet of new counter, new energy efficient refrigeration equipment, LED lighting and a wonderful new condiment display wall. As a result of the renovation, Codfather’s is now able to operate their new fish box program for pick-up orders in the south of the valley. www.localfishbox.com. This is their most exciting project in the 23 years they have owned Codfather’s and was partly as result of the work they have done with organizations such as Slowfish International, T Buck Suzuki Foundation and the Fisheries for Communities Campaign to promote small scale sustainable fisheries and therefore local food security in BC and other regions. The Crofts believe that fish sustainability does not need to be expensive, and that certain species of fish are underutilized. There is a large new fish map on one of the market’s walls that is really interesting to view. From seacuterie and fresh-shucked oysters to whole fish, hand-cut fillets, live shellfish and more, Codfather’s is a one-stop-shop for all your seafood. www.codfathersseafood.com. To compliment each other, the Broken Anchor Cafe is literally inside the market in the same building. Broken Anchor is a relaxed café serving 100% sustainable seafood including fried and raw options of seafood such as oysters and cod. Chef Ross Derrick and Daniel Haere are the owner/operators of Broken Anchor. www.brokenanchorseafood.ca
Kelowna-based CanScribe Career College will launch its brand-new Agricultural Technology Program on January 2, 2025. This innovative 12-week on-line program will equip students with the tech-based skills increasingly required by the agricultural industry. It emphasizes time-tested agricultural methods and the emerging role if technology in the sector, including drones, sensors, AI and web-based tools. CanScribe is especially excited to welcome students from remote and Indigenous communities where agriculture is becoming more viable thanks to emerging technologies. A diverse range of industry experts lent their expertise to create this program, which has been managed by Jonathan Naylor, CanScribe Project Manager. The reach of their program is now national. Colleen Chapman is the CEO of CanScribe Career College. www.canscribe.com.
DKL Financial has donated $5,000.00 to the Central Okanagan Foodbank for the second year in a row, in leu of client gifts. DKL is celebrating its 30th year in business with Dale Lamb as the President and CEO. Dale and DKL is increasingly focused on community programs that we see every day, as life is becoming harder for everyday Canadians. It is their sincere hope that this contribution will make a meaningful difference, ensuring that no one in our community goes hungry during these economically challenging times. Not only does the foodbank provide vital support for those in need, but they also divert millions of pounds of food from the landfill every year. In 2023 and 2024 the food bank has rescued over 2 million pounds of food that otherwise might have ended up in the landfill. The community kitchen is also a great resource that is being implemented in the coming year.
The Kelowna Branch of the Okanagan Heritage Society would like to remind you that the Kelowna Branch 2025 Calendars ($20.00), the popular Street Names Book ($35.00) and the Okanagan Heritage Society 88th Annual Report ($30.00) are still for sale. Contact Chris or Cathy Jennens at cjennens@telus.net or 250-862-2801.
The 7th Annual Kelowna Christmas Turkey Drive held at Immaculata Regional High School was a huge success with a total of 446 turkeys delivered to the Central Okanagan Food Bank. The kids at the RINK hockey program participated for the second year in a row. The Turkey Drive presents a great first-hand opportunity for students to learn the importance of giving back to their community. They also learn that a fundraiser (funraising) can be a lot of fun. Jim Hare was the organizer of the event.
Binny Boparai-Gill has been awarded Women Entrepreneur of the Year at the BC Food & Beverage Rise Awards 2024. This celebrates Binny's leadership in steering Farming Karma to its success, through innovation, sustainability and a strong connection to the community. Farming Karma is a family-owned farm-to-table business founded by Karma and Kuku Gill, whose passion for farming and vision for creating exceptional fruit beverages laid the foundation for the company. They continue to craft refreshing, real fruit beverages that are grown, juiced and canned on-site at their operation in Kelowna. The company is extremely community-minded supporting many local charities. Farming Karma was a major sponsor of the Maxine DeHart - United Way Ramada Hotel Drive-Thru Breakfast. Avi Gill is the CEO and Co-Founder of Farming Karma Fruit Company. www.farmingkarma.ca
Michelle Ratcliffe is the owner of Alpenglow Strategies that is making tourism a force for good. As founder and principal, she is a consultant, facilitator, writer and speaker integrating sustainability into corporate strategy and capacity building for the tourism sector. Together they are creating deep prosperity with a new, restorative model for the visitor economy. The ways that collaborators work with Michelle are Community-centric, team-based strategic planning; Annual planning and operationalising existing strategic plans; Project implementation and launches; Community and customer engagement; Event speaking and facilitation. Her background comes from the Chamber of Commerce and hospitality world, also coming from Whistler, B.C. It is her core belief that tourism can be an honourable platform for cultural exchange and social change. For more information visit www.alpenglowstrategies.com
Porter’s Restaurant at 1851 Kirschner Road has a new chef. Chef Dan Welte trained as a professional chef through the Royal Academy of Culinary Art program in London UK, which led him to work in high-end places throughout London. Chef Welte has been influenced by Chef Michel Roux Jr., a classically French-trained chef, as the cuisine that Chef Welte is trained in is French fine dining and that has helped influence his cooking over the years. Chef Welte will be slowly rolling out more new features and improving their vegetarian options on Porter’s menu. They will also have consistent feature sandwiches as they go through the winter months to increase variety. Open Wednesday to Sunday 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
The City of Kelowna has won the prestigious 2024 GFOA Distinguished Budget Presentation Award. Awarded by the Government Finance Officers Association, this is the 23rd year in a row that the City has received this award, which recognizes governments that prepare budget documents of the very highest quality that reflect both the guidelines established by the National Advisory Council on State and Local Budgeting and the GFOA’s best practices on budgeting. Joe Sass is the General Manager, Corporate Services for the City of Kelowna. www.kelowna.ca
Ron Langevin, Wealth Advisor with CIBC Wood Gundy, in partnership with Cst. Della-Paolera from the Kelowna RCMP, along with Regency Retirement Resort, recently hosted a Fraud Awareness and Prevention event at the CIBC Orchard Park Branch location. Their mission was to help educate clients and the general public on the ever-increasing threat of fraud and cybersecurity crimes. They provided valuable insight into the various scams that these fraudsters are engaging in, recognizing the signs of fraud attempts, and how to protect yourself from becoming an unfortunate statistic of one of the fastest growing crimes in Canada. Ron mentioned that they are planning to host another event in the future. Stay tuned for more information on that event. Reach out to Ron at 250-717-2617 or Ronald.langevin@cibc.com if you have any concerns or questions about the types of frauds and scams that are out there or tips on how you can keep you and your information safe.
Birthdays of the week – Happy 65th Barb Douglas (Jan. 6); Happy 50th Alexandra Little (Dec. 30); Happy 70th Randey Brophy (Dec. 27); Janice Stuart (Jan. 1); Amy Cohen (Jan. 1); Gavin Dew (Jan. 1); Wayne Pierce (Jan. 1); David Russell (Jan. 1); Dustin Serviss (Jan. 1); Donna Martin (Jan. 1); James Kay (Jan. 1); Larry Lenarduzzi (Jan. 1); Mitch Carefoot (Jan. 2); Clifford May (Jan. 2); Carol Wardrop (Jan. 3); Kim Williams (Jan. 3); Shanie Dwyer (Jan. 4); Cheryl McNaughton (Jan. 4); Stephen Fleming (Jan. 4); Jody Miller (Jan. 4); Christy Lovig (Jan. 4); Cliff Shillington (Jan. 4); Gary Barnes (Jan. 5): Brenda Geen (Jan. 5); Colin Moorman (Jan. 5); Scott Lanigan (Jan. 5); Mike Borg (Jan. 5); Paul McIntyre (Jan. 7); Cam McIntosh (Jan. 7); Angela Nagy (Jan. 7).
The Specialty Bakery Birthday Cake Winner of the Week is Carol Wardrop. Carol, please pick up your Birthday Cake from any one of the four Specialty Bakery locations by noon on Tuesday, December 7/2024.
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