Baths by Design at 451 Banks Road is celebrating their 25 anniversary in business. Owned and operated by Ron and Mary Ann Gill, 25 years ago they occupied only 1,800 square feet and now they are triple in size, remaining in the same location from inception. Some of the lines that they started with and pioneered in Kelowna are still lines they actively sell such as Blanco (granite and stainless steel kitchen sinks - Canada); Agalite (custom shower glass doors - Canada); Acritec (all kinds of tubs - Canada); Riobel (faucets - Canada); Victoria and Albert (limestone sinks and tubs - England); KWC and Kugler (faucets - Switzerland), Neptune (tubs, toilets, sinks and showers – Canada); Jacuzzi (the brand that set the bar for jetted tubs that is now known as Jason – Canada) and Villeroy and Boch (high-end Porceline – Germany). They also sell to the public at wholesale direct prices and have sold over $750,000,000 in product and employ ten staff who have been with the company from two to 14 years. The company has a satellite location in The Factory downtown on St. Paul Street. If you look around town, you will more than likely see many of their commercial and residential projects from hotels and small businesses to air plane hangars. Call 250-762-7771 www.bathsbydesign.net
Terry Feeny, president of EZ Bins Ltd. has opened a branch of EZ Bins in Kelowna. Based out of Penticton since 2011, the company is a waste management company supplying construction and demolition bins up and down the valley from Lake Country to the US border. The bins are ideal for home or commercial renovations or any type of commercial use. They have 60 bins available in their stock; ten are pink and the rest are orange. Bob Jensen, a long-time local resident is the associate under the EZ Bins banner in Kelowna. Call 1-877-797-7766.
Hotel Eldorado has a new executive chef. Vincent Stufano, a Canadian-born chef originally from Montreal, was formerly the Executive Chef for the Fairmont Chateau Whistler and has developed his career at restaurants such as Chez Danielle, La Belle Auberge, as well as the Pan Pacific and The Oak Bay Beach Hotel. www.hoteleldoradokelowna.com
Pete Thewlis is the new Grand Poohbah of the Masters Racquetball Club. Peter has held this positon in the past so he knows what the demands of the positon are and the entire master’s members are looking forward to his leadership.
Samantha Barker has joined Farris, Vaughn, Wills & Murphy LLP as an associate. She practices in the areas of corporate and commercial law, residential and commercial real estate, and wills and estates. Call 250-869-3882 or sbarker@farris.com
Inspired Cooking is presented by 21 of Canada’s greatest celebrity chefs from across the country, from Michael Smith to Vikram Vij, who wrote the foreword, along with Kelowna Chef Rod Butters and former Kelowna Chef Ned Bell. The cookbook benefits InspireHealth Supportive Cancer Care with locations in Kelowna, Vancouver and Victoria. It offers insights about how the disease has affected the chefs’ lives, their beliefs in healthy food and their culinary styles, accompanied with inspirational real people cancer survivor stories. Each chef has contributed recipes based on nutritious ingredients for a healthier lifestyle and all proceeds go to InspireHealth for cancer support. The 198 page cookbook has large photos and a bio of each chef. From roast chicken with butternut squash and apples, anti-hangry granola bars and buttermilk panna cotta with fresh berries to lobster cobb salad, roasted halibut with beet salsa and carrot and coconut milk soup, you will find many recipes that are a must try and easy to assemble. A patient from InspireHealth was quoted “I love the book, found the stories inspirational and the recipes were perfect”. Inspired Cooking is distributed by Nancy Wise at Sandhill Book Marketing and is available at Mosaic Books and select wineries throughout the Valley.
Beach Bum Tours is a new company owned and operated by Krystina Rossworm. Get in the van with Krystina’s new funky, fun touring van. Her tours are not so run of the mill, so if you are looking for something different, Krystina is your gal. She offers the Sup and Sip Tour (Stand up paddle boarding, lunch and wine); Twisted Tour (Outdoor yoga class with a farm to table pickers lunch and wine tour); Surf and Sip Tour (Wake surf lessons, pub lunch on lake and wine tour) or the Boat and Booze Cruise (Private three hour wake boat tour, lunch at pub and wine/beer/spirits tour). You can also customize your Beach Bum Custom Tour with zip lining, biking or sailing. Perhaps even a bachelor or bachelorette party. Call 250-864-0552 www.beachbumtours.ca
The Kelowna Art Gallery has a new board of directors for 2016/17. They are Clayton Gall, Paul Mitchell Q.C., Derek Sanders, Joanna Wrzesniewski, Dylana Bloor, Mary Butterfield, Joanne McKechnie, Stan Somerville, Candance Surette and Amy Zurrer.
A Vista Villa Couples Retreat has received a TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence. Celebrating 19 years in business, owner Sherry Cote strives to ensure that every single couple has a memorable and enjoyable experience. They are touted as a hidden couple’s oasis in the heart of the Okanagan. The Certificate accounts for the quality, quantity and recency of reviews submitted by travelers to TripAdvisor over a 12 month period. Call 250-212-8538.
Rollie's Roadhouse is a local caterer whose versatility makes their Okanagan catering services the perfect choice for any special occasion, including weddings, birthdays, anniversaries, family reunions, or any other event you can dream up. Owned and operated by Chef’s Rollie and Karen Facette, from small to large groups, Rollie's Roadhouse has the menus and food experience to make your next event stand out. They can even cook onsite with their state-of-the-art bright and fun mobile kitchen. I recently was lucky enough to be at luncheon that was catered by Rollie and Karen. Delicious fresh food. Call 250-859-4441 www.kelownacatering.ca
IWEN Canada (Intercultural Women’s Education Network) has entered their organization into a shared collaborative decision and has hired co-executives directors to lead the women’s organization. Vice-president Tamara McLellan and director of Programs Kate Phelps now share the position. They will share overall strategic and many day-to-day operational responsibilities for IWEN. Tamara will focus primarily on fundraising and communications, while Kate is responsible for program development/oversight as well as policy execution. Kevin Edgecombe is the president of IWEN. www.iwencanada.com
The City of Kelowna, Public Works Yard celebrated long time employees with long time service awards. Congratulations to David Dray (30 years); Dora Federico, Bruce Bunce, Randy Levere, Wayne Nadasde, Fred Wollin, Clark Yarrow (25 years); Nick Fiorante (20 years); Dave Francis, Ken Mintram and Brian Zsoldos (15 years); Nick Ali, Brian Cairney, Gary Girling, Conrad Harding, Allen Murray, David Relkov, Alf Soros (10 years).
The Kelowna Legion, Branch 26 will now open their kitchen for breakfast and lunch, Monday to Friday with their new cook, Carissa Unger. Carissa will share the classic comfort foods that she grew up eating and preparing in her grandmother’s restaurant in Austin, Manitoba. Some of her homemade dishes and secret recipes are soups and stews, handmade perogies, cabbage rolls, pastas, meatloaf and quiches. The public is welcome. The Legion is also looking for a Saturday volunteer cook. Call 250-762-4117.
Mascots are in vogue these days for many events. Robert Moore is selling his Coyote suit, along with the Coyote control vest. The head and feet were professionally made by “X-Files” monster creators in Burnaby, B.C. and includes covers for standard shoes. You might have seen the Coyote at the Maxine DeHart – United Way Drive-Thru breakfast in past years. He was a great hit. ($300.00). Call 250-763-4679 or rmrail@shaw.ca
The joint choirs of the Cathedral Church of St. Michael of All Angels with 30 people will be off on a tour of England and Wales on July 26. Under the direction of conductor Matt Hill, they will sing in many prestigious venues, being the first such tour arranged. To celebrate, there will be two send-off concerts; one free on Friday, July 21 at 7:00 p.m. and the second, a solo voice repertoire from Britain will be presented by Matt Hill on Sunday, July 23rd at 4:00 p.m. by donation. Both events will be held at the church at 608 Sutherland Avenue. Everyone invited.
Summer Music Series at House of Rose Winery at 2270 Garner Road with free, live music every Thursday is now until August 24. Bring a lawn chair. www.houseofrose.ca
Birthdays of the week – Trevor Hill (July 18); Cheryl Stecko (July 19); Phil Parker (July 19); Al Waters, Kelowna Capital News (July 20); Dave Libbretch (July 20); Ross Saunders (July 21); Garet Tanner (July 22); Art Peede (July 22); Jack Taylor (July 23); Lynne Glata (July 24); Robert Letvinchuk (July 24).
Maxine DeHart is a Kelowna City Councillor and local hotelier. Phone her at 250-979-4546 or 250-862-7662, fax 250-860-3173, E-mail maxdehart@telus.net.
