Sisters Brooklyn Haddon-Klein and Brittany Haddon have started a vegan food service called Sorella Vegan Eats.
The sisters – Sorella means sister – share a passion for vegan food and environmental sustainability. Brittany is an elementary school teacher and Brooklyn is finishing her business degree at Okanagan College. Sorella seeks to educate and spread awareness of the plant-based lifestyle and to offer the community convenient plant-based meals at affordable prices. The sisters have veganized their favourite food – such as lasagna, butternut squash soup, a mac and cheese sauce, banana bread and lemon loaves. They offer a power bowl filled with fresh Okanagan ingredients, along with one of their best sellers of Cookie Dough Bliss Balls as an energizing treat. Everything is 100% vegan with the option for gluten-free and nut-free. Working towards becoming completely zero-waste, Sorella take-out menu food items are sold in reusable containers. Check out www.sorellaveganeats.ca for more home delivery information. Sorella will be at the East Kelowna Market on April 11.
Once again, has created a fabulous Easter display with the Easter Bunny and Chick at Save-On-Foods in Orchard Plaza. The display was assembled with PepsiCo Bubly sparkling water. The Easter Bunny was constructed with the new Bubly peach flavour and the Chick was constructed with the new Bubly pineapple flavor. The structure was erected with about 1,000 cans of the sparkling water and will be on display until after Easter.
After 17 years, popular Global Okanagan news anchor Doris Maria Bregolisse has decided to leave the broadcast industry. Doris not only read the news, but she produced all shows she has been on – weekend news; the noon news; the 5, 6:30 11 p.m. news shows; and the show on BC1 at 9:25 p.m. She has also been a reporter her entire TV career, saying editing video has been one of her favourite aspects of the job. Doris now would like to do something different, finding it’s time to give up staring at four computer screens for seven hours, then reading aloud to yourself in a green room for another hour. As Shrek said, “Change is good, donkey.” Doris says she will miss her great co-workers. She decided to originally become a journalist because she thought it was one way of helping people find justice and closure. Her classmate, Simon Partington, was murdered by Clifford Olson in 1981. Good luck Doris.
Well-known Red Seal Chef Jim Armstrong has been creating premium spice blends and hand-crafted spice rubs for several years but is now ready to offer them to the public. His new spice line, Smokin’ Flames, include spice blend flavours of Cajun, Pork, Bratwurst, Beef, Sweet Italian, Poultry, Spicy Italian, Chorizo, Jimmy’s Caesar Rim and Fish Spice Blend. Find them at Peter’s Your Independent Grocer, Codfather’s, Lakeview Market, Chef’s Edge, Johnny’s Meats, Urban Liquor and Metro Liquor. His website also has several good recipes to pair with his spices at www.smokinflames.ca.
The candidates for the Miss Kelowna Lady of the Lake have been announced for 2021: Arianna Steinson (Miss Claremar Delivery Services), Cheyenne MacNaughton (Miss Uptown Rutland Business Association), Avery Chalmers (Miss Downtown Rotary), Cameron Simon (Miss Kelowna Gyro Club), Cassie Marshall (Miss Kiwanis), Susan Jaramillo (Miss Sunrise Rotary) and Lily Johannesson-Arndt (Miss Aubin and Associates). Due to COVID, pageant events will be held virtually. May 4 is presentation and public speaking; June 7 is speech and talent; and the pageant finale is July 16. Charlene Wehrmann is the president of Miss Kelowna Lady of the Lake.
Congratulations to Mark Tompkins of Buzz Marketing, who emerged as a winner in a national competition celebrating hometown business heroes, supporting peers during COVID. Mark and his business won Kelowna’s 2021 Alignable Local Business Person of the Year. One of the largest online referral networks for small businesses, Alignable.com had a month-long North American search for local business leaders who have gone above and beyond to help their peers during the COVID crisis. Alignable amassed an incredible 86,000 votes across 35,000 communities with recommendations about hometown business heroes. This is the third year Alignable has hosted this contest, inviting its 6M+ members to vote for their favourite peers. Participation levels for 2021’s competition topped 2020’s by a monumental 800%. www.alignable.com
StruXure Okanagan opened its doors in December, providing luxury, automated adjustable, louvered pergolas that keep out the rain, snow and sun. President Dan Effa says StruXure offers an adjustable roof over an outdoor space, a watertight covering that tilts up to 170 degrees to shield the sun with an app on your smartphone and closes automatically to keep the rain and snow out of your outdoor space. With a 15-year warranty, the product ties well into the architecture of your home, restaurant or winery because of the available design options. StruXure won Best Outdoor Product at the International Builders Show in Las Vegas and Best in Architectural Record’s outdoor product category in December.
A decades-long connection to Okanagan College and a desire to give back to the community has inspired a $150,000 donation by the Friesen family to the Okanagan College Foundation to support the Our Students, Your Health campaign to complete and equip the new Health Sciences Centre. Diane Friesen worked at Okanagan College in the mid 1970s. In 1984, her husband Rod started Voyager RV in Lake Country. Their son Jason is now running the business, grateful to be able to hire graduates from the college’s RV technician program. Voyager RV also donated $30,000 to the College’s Bold Horizon campaign for a new Trades Training Complex.
The Okanagan Historical Society has received a Heritage BC grant of $78,178 for site rehabilitation at the Father Pandosy Historical Mission site. Domenic Ramponi is a member of the Father Pandosy Mission Site Committee which organized the bid application.
Knocking On Freedom’s Door is a local book telling the history of the development of Freedom’s Door, an addiction recovery home which houses 64 men in a long-term recovery program. The book was developed and written by Tom Smithwick with contributions from many including Lloyd McClelland and Wanda Agra, two employees of Freedom’s Door. Five residents of Freedom’s Door tell their personal life stories in addiction and their battle to remove themselves from active addiction, the process of healing and the hope of a new life that comes post addiction. Other chapter contributors are Sharron Simpson, Ellen Hubert and Mary Ann Smithwick, Tom’s wife. The book is available at Mosaic Books, Loaves and Fishes and Kennedy’s Parable or Freedom’s Door, 1279 Centennial Cres. All proceeds go to Freedom’s Door.
The Downtown Kelowna Association (DKA) is expanding both the Downtown on Call (DOC) and Clean Teams. They are now hiring both full and part-time positions. The DOC team is visually present, travel in teams of two and are outfitted in red and black uniforms. They deal with front line issues related to personal safety, hospitality and help create a positive social environment downtown. A current BST license is required. Clean Team members are responsible for maintaining cleanliness of sidewalks, walkways, alleys and parking lots on a year-round basis. A valid BC driver’s license is required. Uniforms and training are provided for both positions, which work outside all year round, with substantial walking and social interaction. Mark Burley is the Executive Director of the DKA. If you are interested, email admin@downtownkelowna.com or call 250-862-3515.
If you are looking for some Easter weekend food ideas, hop into QB Gelato and Cafe at 1884 Dayton St. Easter offerings include hot cross buns, nine-inch Tourtieres, decorated Easter egg sugar cookies, sour cream waffles and Maple Roch Dark Amber maple syrup and tarts of lemon, frangipane and chocolate ganache and salted caramel. You might want to try their Easter Egg Stracciatella Gelato.
Birthdays of the week
Jolene Grigg (Mar. 31); Donna Basran (Mar. 31); Gordie Abougoush (Mar. 31); Karen Hill (Apr. 1); Elaine Ophus (Apr. 1); Dr. David Craig (Apr. 1); John Mason (Apr. 1); Karmijit Gill (Apr. 1); Carson Chan (Apr. 1); Cynthia Waldek-Peters (Apr. 2); John MacCormack (Apr. 2); Amber Firkins (Apr. 3); Ken Bessason (Apr. 3); Rick Methot (Apr. 3); John Mummery (Apr. 4); Diane Essler (Apr. 4); Lyal Shoemaker (Apr. 4); Leo Robert (Apr. 5); Dan Cloutier (Apr. 5).
Maxine DeHart is a Kelowna city councillor and local hotelier. Phone her at 250-979-4546 or 250-862-7662; email max@maxinedehart.ca.
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