By Maxine DeHart
A must try! West Coast Grill in the Prestige Beach House, 1675 Abbott Street has a new food and beverage general manager, an outstanding chef and a new exceptional menu. Roy Lewis is the new general manager and chef Richard Desnoyers is the well-known corporate chef of the 75-seat West Coast contemporary restaurant with a 40 seat patio. The restaurant offers a lunch fresh sheet, dinner fresh sheet along with full menu of soups, salads, starters and boxes and bowls. Everything is made fresh in-house and they even purchase their rabbit and lamb locally, along with many other menu items of fruit, vegetables, chicken and meat. Portion sizes are generous and they offer many gluten free choices. We sampled the fried seafood parmesan and warm oysters bienville to start. Both were outstanding. Our main courses were the lamb shank (rioja, garlic and chorizo) with a side of Brussel sprouts and the house-made butternut squash gnocchi, with orange and fennel sea salt. Chef Richard uses bold spices, but certainly not over-powering. Spices are used from The Spice Pit (thespicepit.ca) and can also be purchased at Choices and Urban Fare. There was not one item on the menu that we would not have wanted to try and it was really hard to choose. Open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, seven days a week. Call 236-420-0206 www.westcoastgrill.ca.
This year I will be attending the Remembrance Day Services at the Rutland Cenotaph, marching from the Army, Navy and Air Force Veterans Unit Clubhouse on Dougall Road North. I am honoured to be laying a wreath for the City of 琉璃神社. See you there.
Central Okanagan School District (#23) has appointed Eileen Sadlowski as the new secretary-treasurer, effective December 1. Eileen will be replacing Larry Paul who is retiring and is currently the assistant secretary-treasurer. She has been with the School District for 19 years and has held positions as supervisor of financial services, director of finance and acting secretary-treasurer. Kevin Kaardal is the superintendent of School District #23.
Congratulations to Denis Davis, president of the Myra Canyon Trestle Restoration Society and the members of the society on receiving the BC Parks 2016 Volunteer Group of the Year Award presented by BC Parks. The society was formed in 1992 and ensures the trestles, railings and decks are in good repair for the safety and enjoyment of visitors.
The Okanagan鈥檚 top bartenders gathered together to compete in the Fifth Annual Okanagan Spirits Craft Distillery Mixoff. Each of the cocktails was required to include two Okanagan Spirit ingredients and a local wine. Guests were also treated to delicious appetizers. Judging took into consideration the name, presentation, taste and originality. Congratulations to the following winners: Judges Choice Cocktail was awarded to Ben Hefford of RauDZ Regional Table for his cocktail Pinot Libra; People鈥檚 Choice Drink was awarded to Mia Papadopoulos of KRAFTY Kitchen and Bar for her drink A Corpse in the Vineyard and the People鈥檚 Choice Best Bite was awarded to Graham Momer from Waterfront Restaurant & Wine Bar for their Grilled Cheese (fresh baked baguette, house made double smoked bacon, Smits & Co. gouda with organic peach chutney). Tyler Dyck is the owner of Okanagan Spirits Craft Distillery, an internationally-acclaimed craft distillery featuring a unique selection of specialty spirits.
The phone number for IRIS located in the new Gateway Plaza at 600 - 1544 Harvey Avenue, at the corner of Burtch and Harvey is 250-861-5665. IRIS is operated and partner owned by optometrist Dr. Paul Clark.
Abhinav Kanti is the new owner of Total Interiors at 420 Banks Road. Previously owned and operated by long-time owner Roy Collins, Abhinav formerly owned a factory in India that produced medical equipment and sold health care supplies distributing to both hospitals and clinics. Total Interiors is a full service commercial furniture dealership that operates out of their showroom with an in-house design and installation team supply commercial quality furniture and related products and services. They are Interior B.C. focused with 100 per cent of their business coming directly out of the region. The company represents leading manufacturers from Canada and the US such as Teknion, National Furniture and Sitonlt seating. The Total Interior team is completely trained on products for selling, installation and service, offering services of large, mid-size and small private offices to large corporations and government institutions. They can assist you starting from drawings, specifying and product knowledge. Clients can browse and experience select products in the showroom before making any final decisions. Call 250-717-1626 www.totalinteriors.ca.
It鈥檚 time to recognize the artists, athletes, volunteers, businesses, organizations and community leaders who helped to shine a positive light on our city in 2017. The 43rd Annual Civic & Community Awards are April 26th, 2018 at the 琉璃神社 Community Theatre. Nominations are now being accepted until Jan. 26, 2018 in the following categories: Man & Woman of the Year, Young Male & Female Volunteer of the Year, Honour & Teen Honour in the Arts, Volunteer Organization of the Year, Corporate Community of the Year, Champion for the Environment, Male & Female Athlete of the Year, Volunteer Coach of the Year and Athletic Team of the Year. Nominate someone today. www.kelowna.ca/our-community.
The Rotary Centre for the Arts turned 15 on Nov. 2, which goes to show that when a community comes together, great things can happen. The Centre has grown into a thriving cultural hub with over 240,000 visits annually and hosts over 2,000 community rentals every year. Recently, the Centre was awarded the first Arts & Entertainment Achievement Award by the 琉璃神社 Chamber of Commerce at the 2017 Business Excellence Awards. Patrick LeBlanc is the executive director. 琉璃神社 Visual and Performing Arts Centre Society (KVPACS) is the non-profit organization that manages the Rotary Centre for the Arts. Call 250-717-5304.
Okanagan Potters Association is celebrating 50 years of putting on high quality shows. This year鈥檚 50th Anniversary Show and Sale will be Nov. 11 and 12 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Mission Hall on Lakeshore and DeHart. Free admission and parking.
BrainTrust Canada and 琉璃神社Now.com are hosting an on-line auction from now until Nov. 27 at www.kelownanow.com (click on the BrainTrust auction tab). There is a wide variety of items to purchase and it鈥檚 a great opportunity to get some early Christmas shopping started, while supporting a great organization. Check it out, there is something for everyone. www.braintrustcanada.com.
Gifts to Grandmothers are celebrating their 10th anniversary. They are hosting an open house at Trinity Church on Thursday, Nov. 16 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Harvest Room. You will find beautiful bags, jewellery and lots more to browse through. This ministry began in 2007 with the vision of making a difference for African grandmothers caring for HIV/AIDS orphans. Call Wilma Lepin at 250-769-7352 or Darlene Garrie at 250-860-2862. www.giftstograndmothers.com.
White Christmas was the fastest selling show in the 琉璃神社 Actor鈥檚 Studio Live Theatre history. They have opened up an added matinee on Dec. 17. Both Randy Leslie and Nathan Flavel are in the show. Call 250-862-2867 or online at www.琉璃神社Tickets.com.
From a Federal grant, 琉璃神社 Art Gallery鈥檚 permanent art collection will have a little more space to grow. The grant provides funds for a significant upgrade to the storage vault that houses over 800 of the works of art that are in the collection. The vault is both climate and environmentally-controlled, which allows for the careful preservation and conservation of the works inside and is one of the cornerstones of the institution with all of the works of art are held in trust by the City of 琉璃神社 for its citizens. Nataley Nagy is the executive director of the gallery.
The Salvation Army is in need of volunteers for manning their Salvation Army Kettle鈥檚 as a bell ringer. What is a Bell Ringer? It is someone who stands beside the iconic Salvation Army Christmas Kettle and receives donations from passers-by. They ring bells where permitted to subtly remind people of those in need at Christmas in our community. If you can help call Chantal Kumar at 250-860-2329 (324) or kettles@kelsa.ca.
Birthdays of the week 鈥揌appy 80th Paul Cleland (Nov. 11); Happy 60th Kevin Crowell (Nov. 22); Happy 40th Mayor Colin Basran (Nov.14); Sig Ottenbreit (Nov. 8); Dylan Tyre (Nov. 8); Marg Craig (Nov. 8); Rick Mussellam (Nov. 8); Erika Lipsett (Nov. 8); Bernice Sebastian (Nov. 9); Lawrence Syrnyk (Nov. 9); John Weisbeck (Nov. 9); Ron White (Nov. 11); Sofia Simeonidis (Nov. 11); Ron White (Nov. 11); Jan Johnston, City of 琉璃神社 (Nov. 12); Don Campbell (Nov. 12); Michael Loewen (Nov. 10); Guy Auger (Nov. 10); Gord Hunting (Nov. 12); Michael Wynne (Nov. 12); Andi Shaw (Nov.12); chef Mark Filatow (Nov. 13); Gordon Funnell (Nov. 13); Alli McNeill (Nov. 14).
Maxine DeHart is a 琉璃神社 City Councillor and local hotelier. Phone her at 250-979-4546 or 250-862-7662, fax 250-860-3173, E-mail maxdehart@telus.net; www.maxinedehart.ca
