Cherry Picking Time

Food Bank Drive and Barbecue

Corrie Omand is all about helping the community and making a difference, this is one of the reasons she joined the Junior Chamber International. On Saturday, she and more than a dozen other JCI Okanagan and Kelowna Jaycee members went door to  door throughout the city, collecting hundreds of kilograms of food and cash donations for the Kelowna Community Food Bank.

On Thursday they will hold a fund raising barbecue from 6-9 pm at 1075 Tamarack Dr. (off Springfield Rd near Gertsmar Rd.) They will be weighing all the food and tally the cash collected with the results being announced at the barbecue. Please bring a food donation to help that total grow!

August is RE/MAX'S month of Miracles

RE/MAX ‘Month of Miracles’ is coming this August: for the whole month of August, Children’s Miracle Network member hospitals and its partners are putting their support and appreciation behind RE/MAX for their 20 year partnership and more than $115 million, worth of miracles to Children’s Miracle Network member hospitals. The First Annual RE/MAX Month of Miracles will be a time to celebrate the many ways RE/MAX Associates and Miracle Offices give back to their local Children’s Miracle Network member hospitals through the Miracle Home program and fundraising initiatives.

Way to go RE/MAX lets keep up the good work!

Encouraging Signs

These first six months have been very positive for the Okanagan valley, and in particular our office here in Kelowna, as our unit sales are up 16% over last year at this time and we are selling 42% of our own listings in house. In June, we achieved a record 47% of all our sales being done within the RE/MAX office, which means we are selling almost one half of all our listings ourselves.


Our local real estate board The Okanagan Mainline Real Estate Board shows encouraging signs as well with overall unit sales up 9.8%. Condo and townhouse sales showed the biggest jump in activity in June up 49% and 42% respectively. With all of this spring and early summer activity, listings are still down over 10% from last year indicating we are headed to a balanced market which does not necessarily favor the buyer or the seller.
Well priced properties are selling in a relatively short time and in some cases create a multi offer environment. Prices continue to remain relatively flat, experiencing very little movement either way. Higher prices are not likely to happen in the near future as the listing inventory is still high.

Free Music in Kelowna

Parks Alive! is a night of free music for those looking for something to do at no cost. Parks Alive! roving park night will take you to Rutland Lion's Park tonight. The night will start off with Wentworth Music's Rock School they will start playing at 6 pm with a tribute to Bryan Adams, they are followed by Gorgeous Priceless at 7 pm and the to finish the night off will be the band Flashback at 8 pm.

Also tonight, Rotary Center for the Arts will host it's final jazz jam for the summer.

This Friday night, Parks Alive! will return to its regular weekend spot at Kerry Park with country music being played both this Friday and Saturday evening, the music will start at 6:30 pm both nights.

Free Music in West Kelowna

West Kelowna is having free outdoor music every Friday night from 7 to 9 pm until the end of August at Memorial Park. This week it is Robert Fine and the Dreamland Band, next week it will be Daisy and the Sparrow. With other groups to follow such as Cod Gone Wild, Moni Funk and the Groove Machine, Scissor Kick and Jimmy Leguiloux.

You can find a full listing of who plays when by going to districtofwestkelowna.ca

Lyle Lovett is playing at Mission Hill Winery

Lyle Lovett is performing at Mission Hill Winery tonight. Tickets are available for the the show starting at $99.00 they can be purchased through Select your Tickets. Show time is 8 pm and you might want to arrive early as parking is limited.

Lovett is touring with his Acoustic Group band, promoting the release of his newest album Release Me. His music style which is predominantly country also crosses into jazz, blues, swing, folk and gospel.

With another beautiful day in the forecast for us here in Kelowna the evening will be warm Mission Hill's amphitheatre is going to be a great place for this concert tonight.

A Walk through Time

Come take a walk through time with Kelowna's Museums Society. Thinking about activities for you or your summer guests? Then you should consider taking a walking tour through historic downtown Kelowna this summer.

The tour starts by meeting at the Okanagan Heritage Museum and finishes at the Okanagan Wine Museum. This one hour tour will pass by historical buildings and Okanagan monuments on a journey through history. 

The tour is by donation and starts at 10 am running July 14, 21 and August 11, and 18th
For more information about the walking tours you can call 250.763.2417 or kelownamuseums.ca

Kids Golf for Free

This week across Canada hundreds of golf courses will offer FREE golf to children under the age of 16 who are accompanied by a paying adult during the Take A Kid to the Course program taking place July 9-15, 2012.

In addition to free golf, many courses may offer additional programs such as junior clinics, free range balls, free junior club rentals and parent/child tournaments.

Take a Kid to the course was developed by the National Golf Course Owners Association Canada to encourage families and juniors to take up the game of golf, this cross-Canada program is designed to improve both your score and your relationship with your child/ren by bringing them out to a golf course.

Here are a few golf courses in Kelowna that are offering this program:
Gallaghers Canyon Golf and Country Club - 250.861.4240
Kelowna Springs GC - 250.765.4653
The Okanagan GC - 250.765.5955

Call a golf course near you to see if they are a participating course, if they are book a tee time and enjoy your day with your child!

Pioneer Picnic for Glenmore

Each year in July, the Kelowna Branch of the Historical Society hold a Pioneer Picnic at Parkinson Recreation Centre. Every year the picnic is planned to recognize an area in Kelowna. This year the picnic will be held on July 15th and will recognize the Glenmore area.

They ask that you bring a picnic lunch and lawn chairs to the event, the Historical Society will provide coffee, juice, cake and ice cream.

If you plan to attend and are descendants of Glenmore pioneers, they would like to recognize you at the picnic. Please RSVP to ohskelownabranch@gmail.com or call 250.717.6765

Summer Wine Festival

The Okanagan's Summer Wine Festival is set to get underway tomorrow July 7th here in Kelowna. This is the valley's biggest wine festival. The festival will allowing locals and tourists alike to immerse themselves in the diverse flavors of the Okanagan, and there are some great wines made out here!.

The Summer Wine Festival is the third of four annual Okanagan Wine Festivals, with the positioning of it designed to attract the peak summer tourists.

The Summer Wine Festival will run from July 7th to July 15th.

New Adventure Park set to open in Kelowna

Kelowna has a new adventure park set to open this weekend in Kelowna with the Grand Opening on July 20th. WildPlay Element Park is an 11 hectare adventure park that is located at 5983 Highway 33 South. Just 20 minutes east of downtown Kelowna.

It's Monkido Aerial Adventure attraction of 80 different elevated games connected by nets, wobbly bridges and Tarzan swings will open tomorrow July 7th.
The Dragonfly course of 11 ziplines and the Primal Swing a giant slingshot that helps people hit 3G force are set to open sometime over the next 2 weeks.

We also had Whiplash Wake Park open last week on the waters of Okanagan Lake at the west end of the Bennett Bridge. This should be an exciting summer in Kelowna for all the thrill seekers!! 

Check them out at www.wildplay.com