KARAT Chocolate Boutique and Café has opened at 1526 Ellis St. across from Dunnenzies Pizza in downtown Kelowna.
Owned and operated by the husband and wife team of Amanda Helman and international pastry chef and chocolatier Julian Helman, the café is a unique take on old European style mixed with an Okanagan twist. The atmosphere is welcoming with Phil & Sebastian Coffee, specialty coffees, fresh hand-made pastries, desserts and the signature KARAT homemade chocolates and confections. KARAT also serves lunch and offers artisan sandwiches on their own home-made bread. One of their signature pastry items is a Panau Chocolate KARAT butter croissant with dark chocolate ganache inside and out. Chef Helman also creates many classic French Entremets, which is a cake of many layer. You can pick up a variety of chocolate bars and bon bons. Amanda offered me a KARAT Mille Feuille chocolate bar, which is 70 per cent single origin dark couverture and 33 per cent white couverture with crispy butter wafer. It was exceptional. The café has several tables for inside dining with a patio opening soon.
Smitty’s Family Restaurant in the Ramada Hotel at 2170 Harvey Ave. will host is a job gair on Tuesday, July 14, 2- p.m., looking for experienced cooks, servers and dishwashers.
Curious Hair Boutique (Hair Skin Body) has opened in Orchard Park at the former Regis location, 40-2271 Harvey Ave. Owned and operated by Adam Zeinab, who recently relocated from Calgary, Kelowna is the first Curious location in B.C. after opening seven locations in Alberta. The shop is light and bright and offers all services for men and women, including cut and style, colour, highlights and corrective work. They pride themselves in being fashion forward in the hair industry and are great believers in education for their hair industry staff. Curious offers hair products from France and Germany, including La Biosthetique from Paris and a retail line Kerastase, also from Paris. You can book on-line or by phone at 250-712-0664. Open seven days a week.
Mike Coulthard, director of flight operations at KF Aerospace (formerly Kelowna Flightcraft) celebrates his 40th anniversary with the company this year. Mike started at Kelowna Flightcraft sweeping floors while he was in school. He became a pilot with the company on June 21, 1980, and served as chief pilot from 1988 to 2015 before the promotion to his current position.
Capt. Calvin Barr is the owner and director of Luxury Lake Tours. Calvin and Capt. Rob Lysak have been offering captained tours of Okanagan Lake for the past four years, taking clients out on the water for all types of fun – tubing, wakeboarding and water-skiing. Their Campion Biltmore is a watercraft with a 200 HP ETEC Evinrude outboard that has power to propel clients safely and efficiently around the lake. Luxury Tours offers a wide variety of combo tours in addition to the regular watersports, including their popular Lake Wake & Wine Tour. Both Rob and Calvin are fully certified captains with Transport Canada and their vessel meets all the requirements for safe operation. There is a full bathroom on board and this enables them to be compliant with the drinking of alcoholic beverages and regulations on the water. They are following all COVID-19 protocols. For more information check out www.luxurylaketours.com.
The Kelowna branch executive of the Okanagan Historical Society or 2020-21 are Bob Hayes (president), Chris Jennens (vice-president), Margot Pridham (secretary), Cathy Jennens (treasurer) and Lois Marshall (past president). The board directors are Vicki Karogiannis, Sheri Keller, Domenic Rampone, Lynne Scott and Evelyn Vielvoye. As the Kelowna branch won’t offer its usual activities to members this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all membership fees for 2020-21 have been waived.
Claire MacLeod has joined the firm of Pushor Mitchell LLP as an associate lawyer. Her practice includes civil litigation and employment law. Email her at macleod@pushormitchell.com.
Kelowna Actors Studio has given up its workroom space on Enterprise Way, having downsized and moved back to the 1379 Ellis St. location.
Healthy Essential Clinic (HEC) is for people struggling with mental health and healthcare issues who need quality integrated care from multiple practitioners. Christina Camilleri is the founder and director at the clinic. Their structured programs are personalized for the mild, moderate or acute needs. Through personalized medial monitoring, psychiatry, counselling, nutrition, exercise, physiotherapy, massage, pilates, occupational therapy and family-focused care, HEC provides structured programs across the age spectrum to meet your individual and family needs. HEC takes the Federal recommendations for wrap-around care in one location seriously. This is the gold standard for medical care right in your own backyard.
The Interior Savings Community Relief Fund’s 20 new non-profit grant recipients in the Central Okanagan have been announced. In total, 45 non-profit organizations from Clearwater to Osoyoos received grants ranging from $1,500 to $7,000. The Central Okanagan recipients are Central Okanagan Meals on Wheels, Ki-Low-Na Friendship Society, Kelowna Community Resource Society’s Family HUB, Bridge Youth and Family Services Society (Kelowna), Lake Country Food Assistance Society, All Are Family Outreach (Lake Country), West Kelowna Shelter Society, YMCA of the Okanagan, Central Okanagan’s Project Literacy Society, Kelowna and District Society for People In Motion, Elevation Outdoors, Community Recreation Initiatives Society, Central Okanagan Hospice Association, Kelowna Gospel Mission’s Dental Clinic, Connect Counselling and Therapy, Okanagan Valley Pregnancy Care Centre, Kelowna Women’s Shelter, Central Okanagan Elizabeth Fry Society and Reach Out Youth Counselling and Family Services Society.
Happy 49th anniversary
Brian and Diane Schjodt (July 3).
CedarCreek Estate Winery has pulled together two special bundles of their estate grown Riesling – two different interpretations of the same variety, both originating from their Home Block Vineyard surrounding the tasting room and winery. Purchase their gold medal-winning 2018 Platinum Block 3 Riesling and their 2018 Estate Riesling, the winner of the Best Semi-Dry Riesling Wolf Blass Trophy at the Canberra International Riesling Challenge.
Kudos to the Kelowna Buddhist Women’s Association for donating $750 to the Central Okanagan Community Food Bank. The donation was raised from the association’s second annual sale of 1,700 plus pieces of the Japanese pastry “Manju,” hand-made by the ladies in November over a four-day period for Dana Day. The Kelowna Buddhist Temple was formed in 1932 and the Women’s Association in January 1937.
Summer camps are back at the YMCA. Register for July camps now and registration for August camps begins July 20 in various locations throughout Kelowna. Visit www.ymcaokanagan.ca/summer.
Kudos to the Kot Auto Group Campaign Operation 300 for making a donation of $19,000 to the Central Okanagan Food Bank. During the month of May, all Kot Auto Group’s Okanagan Dealers of Kelowna Hyundai, Buy Direct Truck Centre, Penticton Nissan and Kelowna Kia donated $100 per vehicle sold.
The Kelowna Rotary Club has donated $25,000 to the Child Advocacy Centre. The funds were generated from the annual FortisBC Rotary Pro-Am Golf Tournament.
Birthdays of the week
Don Richmond (July 8); Marc Whittemore (July 9); Jeremy Lugowy (July 9) Donna Good (July 10); Sherry Huva, my niece (July 10); Shirley Hutt (July 10); Gary Bakelmun (July11); Dave McLean (July 11); Gerry Moller (July 13); Steve Kinsey (July 11); Terry Flannigan (July 12); Cathy Comben (July 13); Luanne Chore (July 14); Stacey Metcalf (July 14); Dawn Hurry (July 14); Ken McWilliams (July 14); Bo Skapski (July 14).
Maxine DeHart is a Kelowna city councillor and local hotelier. Phone her at 250-979-4546 or 250-862-7662; email max@maxinedehart.ca; website www.maxinedehart.ca.
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