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Goat wearing dog collar found wandering West Kelowna neighbourhood
WEST KELOWNA - A loose dog call in West Kelowna led bylaw to a much more unusual find Wednesday morning. An adult male goat wearing a dog collar was found wandering around a neighbourhood on Chieftain Road. Amanda Hill posted a pic and description of the goat to the Kelowna/Okanagan Lost and Found Pets Facebook...
VIDEO: Behind the scenes at the Canadian Culinary Championships
KELOWNA - The first of a series of three professional videos produced during the last Canadian Culinary Competition has been released on YouTube, and it’s an exciting glimpse into the intensity that goes on during one of Kelowna’s signature annual events. The Canadian Culinary Championships started in 2010 as a way to highlight the talent...
Local First Nations fashion designer aims for Los Angeles stage
WEST KELOWNA - A First Nations clothing designer living in Westbank has been invited to take part in Style Fashion Week in Los Angeles this fall. Jill Setah, a member of the Chilcotin First Nation, has lived in Kelowna for the past ten years. From a young age she had an interest in clothing design...
Local girl to make TV debut on First Dates Canada tonight
KELOWNA - A local model and freestyle motocross rider will appear on the debut episode of a new TV show that films couples on first dates in all their awkward glory. First Dates Canada was filmed in Vancouver earlier this year and debuts on the Slice Network for the first time tonight, Sept. 1. Kelowna’s...
Big Brother Canada cast coming to Okanagan to help local girl with depression
PEACHLAND – Cast members of TV game show Big Brother Canada will be in Peachland this weekend to help cheer up a local 15-year-old struggling with mental illness. Thirteen cast members from all three seasons, including season two runner up Neda Kalantar, will be at Davis Cove Lakeshore Resort Sunday, Sept. 6. Manager Shelley Peach...
Stand up paddle boarders to race around Rattlesnake Island
KELOWNA – A Peachland café and board shop is organizing a first ever stand up paddle board race across Okanagan Lake. The Rattlesnake Island SUP Classic is a seven kilometre race which starts at 9 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 19. Experienced racers will paddle from 2Street and Beach Avenue in Peachland across the lake to...
Drink and learn: A new kind of art class
KELOWNA – A unique new kind of art class that combines painting with alcohol is coming to Kelowna, West Kelowna and Penticton next month. Paint Nite is not your average art class, says administrator Jacqueline Wong. “This is more than just painting,” she says. “It’s socializing with family and friends and anytime you include alcohol...
Man arrested for groping store employee found not criminally responsible
KELOWNA – A 61-year-old man arrested for groping a female clerk at a downtown clothing store earlier this year won’t face any jail time as a judge ruled him not criminally responsible because of a mental disorder. Brian Edmund Spence was charged with two counts of sexual assault stemming from an incident which happened March...
Cool, wet weather helping crews battle four wildfires in Central Okanagan; forecast wind a worry
KELOWNA – Wildfire crews have been busy the last 24 hours with four wildfires burning around Kelowna but the wet weather today is helping control the largest fire on Little White Mountain. The Little White Mountain fire is approximately 120 hectares in size and not yet fully contained, according to B.C. Wildfire fire information officer...
Lakeshore Road paving finally set to begin
KELOWNA – The stretch of Lakeshore Road between DeHart Road and McClure Road will get even slower in the coming weeks as crews finally begin paving the busy Mission corridor. Up until Labour Day weekend, only one lane will be open from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. and motorists are urged to give themselves extra...
VOTE FOR STUART PARK! Downtown Kelowna feature named finalist in national contest
KELOWNA – Stuart Park in downtown Kelowna has been named a finalist for a national contest that highlights the best public places in Canada. With its winter skating rink, public promenade, 300 metres of waterfront, urban orchard and iconic 'Bear' statue, Stuart Park is one of 12 public spaces showcased by the 5th annual Great...
Possibility of ’ember showers’ from U.S. fire causes Grand Forks evacuation alert
GRAND FORKS – An evacuation alert has been issued for some residents of Grand Forks due to the possibilty of embers being blown across the border from the 19,000 hectare Stickpin wildfire in Washington State. The alert was issued today, Aug. 26 ahead of strong winds expected in the coming days, according to a post...
Daily non-stop flights announced between Kelowna and Victoria
KELOWNA – Travelers to Vancouver Island now have a non-stop flight to Victoria out of Kelowna International Airport. Pacific Coastal Airlines announced the seven day a week service Tuesday, Aug. 15, saying it will benefit communities on the island as well as the Okanagan. Effective Oct. 27, the Saab 340 aircraft will depart YLW at...
So You Think You Can Dance coming to Kelowna
KELOWNA – The top ten finalists from this year’s So You Think You Can Dance will be performing in Kelowna in January. The show is part of a North America tour that features the best dancers from the twelfth season of the 13-time Emmy Award-winning show on Fox and CTV. Judge, executive director and co-creator...
Abusive husband sentenced to jail for assaulting, injuring wife
"I'M GOING TO KILL YOU AND I'M GOING TO BE SMILING AS YOU TAKE YOUR LAST BREATH." KELOWNA – A local man with a history of physically abusing his wife was sentenced to 15 months in jail for an assault that left her with a cut lip, bruises and abrasions on her body. On March...
Dancing cowboy to get permanent memorial at local nightclub
KELOWNA – A local nightclub is honouring one of their beloved regulars who passed away from cancer last year. Arnie Davis was 80 years old when he lost his fight against lung cancer in July 2013. He was a popular fixture at many nightclubs for more than 20 years, with his positive attitude and love...
This one simple thing might have prevented one-third of stolen vehicles in the Central Okanagan
SHAPING UP TO BE A RECORD YEAR FOR VEHICLE THEFTS KELOWNA – RCMP are warning vehicle owners not to leave keys in their ignition after incidents of vehicle theft has spiked in the last year. Cpl. Joe Duncan of the Kelowna RCMP says in a release 23 vehicle were reported stolen between Aug. 1 and...
Mom raises $14K for Cuddle Cots across Thompson-Okanagan
WEST KELOWNA – What started as an idea to bring to Kelowna General Hospital a device which gives parents of stillborn children a few extra days with their child will now help families across the entire Thompson-Okanagan. In less than three months West Kelowna resident Kristin Esmail has raised enough money to buy four Cuddle...
Decision on Kelowna Mountie accused of assault expected in September
LANGUAGE ADVISORY KELOWNA – The judge in the trial of a Kelowna RCMP constable accused of assaulting an elderly bar patron will have to decide if the officer believed John McCormick was obstructing justice when he refused to leave Rose’s pub in downtown Kelowna last summer. Judge Gregory Koturbash heard final submissions in Kelowna Provincial...
33rd Apple Triathlon set to take over downtown Kelowna this weekend
KELOWNA – Athletes from around the world will be in Kelowna this weekend for the Okanagan’s largest annual triathlon. The 33rd Kelowna Apple Triathlon is B.C.’s only world triathlon championship qualifier with top finishers in each category eligible to enter the 2016 championships in Mexico. The race includes ia 10 kilometre run, 40 km bike...
Kelowna man who died while rafting lived and loved ‘all in’
"DON'T FORGET HOW LUCKY YOU ARE TO LOVE YOUR LOVED ONES SO MUCH IT HURTS" KELOWNA – They were high school sweethearts planning their dream Kelowna wedding when Rene Bourgault’s life was cut short in a tragic rafting accident last weekend. Friends, family and everyone who has been touched by his life are mourning his...
Local man documents entire CN rail corridor for posterity
KELOWNA – An Okanagan man with a passion for local history has begun work on a video he hopes will preserve the significance of the CN Rail corridor for generations to come. Alan Gatzke spent dozens of hours and thousands of dollars from his own pocket to modify his pickup so it could be used...
UFC extends contract with Kelowna fighter
KELOWNA – Local UFC welterweight Matt Dwyer has had his UFC contract extended by four fights. Dwyer, 25, a Kelowna resident since he was two years old, fights out of Toshido MMA in Kelowna. He was signed to a remarkably rare four-fight contract with the UFC in 2014. Although his first appearance resulted in a...
Pilot of Carson Air plane that crashed near Vancouver was drunk
KELOWNA – The pilot for Kelowna-based Carson Air that crashed in the North Shore Mountains in April was severely intoxicated, according to toxicology results released by the B.C. Coroners Service Wednesday, Aug. 19. Robert Brandt, 34 was the captain of a Metro II cargo plane that left Vancouver International Airport in the early morning of...