After weighing the risks, and after several conversations with the provincial government and Interior Health, the board of directors at O’Keefe Ranch have decided to officially cancel its annual Christmas Light Show.
The decision to cancel the show was not made lightly, said board chairperson Bruce Cummings.
“The ranch would like to send a big thank you to everyone who donated Christmas lights and supplies,” he said. “The volunteers are keen on making this annual event come back in 2021.”
The board is hard at work to ensure the ranch will reopen for the season on Mother’s Day in May. There will be a number of changes, the biggest being the closure of the Cattlemen’s Club Restaurant.
“Dale Flowers and his family dedicated many years to making the restaurant a fixture at the ranch and they made it through 2020 in spite of tough times for restaurants,” said Cummings. “The board wishes Dale the best as he moves to his new opportunity.”
That new opportunity is operating the Overlander Restaurant at the Royal York Golf Course in Armstrong.
“We are very proud of Cattlemen’s Club and what we have accomplished in the years of running a successful restaurant in the Okanagan Valley,” the Flowers family said in a social media post on Nov. 13, announcing the move “just down the road.”
“This beautiful establishment is now calling to us with growing possibility,” the statement reads.
Meanwhile, Cummings said the board at O’Keefe is considering various options to offer food service to their customers in the upcoming season.
Donations continue to come into the “Fill the Steer” campaign with more 100 individuals contributing more than $20,000 so far.
The recent Antique Tractor auction conducted by Timberstar will add a sizable donation. The auction was held in honour of David Van Gaalen, Marylyn Van Gaalen, and Della Van Gaalen from Burbridge Farm Ltd; Adrien Van Gaalen; Irvin Esler; and Timberstar Tractor’s late CEO, Jake Wiebe.
The Historic O’Keefe Ranch is a charitable organization so donations can be tax-deductible.
READ MORE: Vernon council boosts O’Keefe Ranch grant
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Dale and the Flowers family moved their popular restaurant from the Historic O’Keefe Ranch’s Cattleman’s Club to the Armstrong Royal Golf Course under the new name the Overlander Restaurant. It opened in late November 2020. (The Overlander Restaurant Facebook)
