Boulevard Okanagan, March/April 2020

MARCH / APRIL 2020

OKANAGAN LIFE AT ITS FINEST

LIVING ART A joyful Tuscan farmhouse

FRESH & GREEN Recipes for renewal

LIFE UNINTERRUPTED Tips for a digital detox

FOOD IS LOVE

Lifestyle influencer Tori Wesszer

Canada’s Largest Stressless Retailer

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NANAIMO 1711 Bowen Rd 250 753 6361

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VICTORIA 661 McCallum Rd 250 475 2233

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CONTENTS 52

On the Cover Photo by Darren Hull

Lifestyle influencer and Fraiche Living originator Tori Wesszer at her home in the Okanagan.

BUSINESS CLASS

44

36 FEATURES

DEPARTMENTS

28 LIVING ART

6

CONTRIBUTORS

The joyful Tuscan farmhouse

8

EDITOR’S LETTER

A digital breakup

By Susan Lundy

10

LIFE. STYLE. ETC.

Terry Simpson

By Lia Crowe

12

WELL AND GOOD

By Valaura Jones

36 GUESS GIRL

Bring on the retro leather, and denim with lighter washes, higher waists and wider legs.

By Jenny McKinney

48 LIFE, UNINTERRUPTED

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Tips for a digital detox

Health before hustle: The need for self-care

By Jane Zatylny

By Kaisha Scofield

MARCH/APRIL 2020

28

68

44

14

DESIGN NOTES

24

IN STUDIO

62 HEADLINERS

First light

Anita McComas

What’s on this spring

By Hannah Berger

By David Wylie

By Kathy Michaels

16

GOOD TASTE

44 BUSINESS CLASS

68 SECRETS AND LIVES

Finding his niche: James Schlosser

Food is love: Tori Wesszer

Tanner Caouette

By Angela Cowan

By Angela Cowan

By Toby Tannas

20 WEEKENDER

52 FOOD AND FEAST

70 NARRATIVE

That day I was a life model

Trawling for history: Steveston

Fresh and green: recipes for renewal

By Jade Cameron

By Heidi Fink

74

BEHIND THE STORY

By Lia Crowe

By Hans Tammemagi

62 TRAVEL

Remarkable Rwanda

By Suzanne Morphet boulevardmagazines.com |

MARC H /AP RI L 2020

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contributors “My career has evolved back to my roots in interior architectural design, where I have found a happy balance of both technical

HANNAH BERGER WRITER, FIRST LIGHT

drawings and creative sourcing and styling, completing a variety of renovation and styling projects throughout the Okanagan.

What I have always admired regarding the finishing touches is that it is such an opportunity to bring personalization and intent into any space.” Hannah is the principal designer and owner of Hannah Katey Interior Design and a new editorial contributor to Boulevard Magazine.

“I thought twice about visiting Rwanda last September because the Ebola virus was still raging next door in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. But

WRITER, REMARKABLE RWANDA

PAGE 72

Rwanda is one of the cleanest, safest and most progressive countries anywhere.

It was one of the first to ban plastic bags, for instance, and it has the highest percentage of female parliamentarians in the world. I thought seeing gorillas would be the highlight of my trip but it was the unexpected pleasures, like cruising the shoreline of a lake at sunrise and looking for wildlife from a boat, that made the biggest impression.” Suzanne is a regular Boulevard contributor.

“Any time we put our work and our art out in public, we open ourselves up to criticism — some good, some bad. We can’t escape

DAVID WYLIE WRITER, PAINTING NATURE ON THE BRIGHT SIDE

MARC H /AP RI L 2 02 0

critique, but we can determine how we react to it and what we take away from it. During my interview with artist Anita McComas, she recalled a comment from a respected artist that affected her deeply. In fact, it took her five years before she was able to talk about it.

During her introspection, she found a way to harness the feedback to sharpen her style — she didn’t let it cripple her work.”

David Wylie is a freelance writer and communications consultant. He is a regular contributor to Boulevard Magazine.

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BLACK PRESS MEDIA Penny Sakamoto GROUP PUBLISHER

BOULEVARD Mario Gedicke

GROUP PUBLISHER 250.891.5627

info@blvdmag.ca

MANAGING EDITOR Susan Lundy

ASSOCIATE EDITOR Lia Crowe

PAGE 14

SUZANNE MORPHET

O K A N A G A N L I F E AT I T S F I N E S T

CREATIVE DIRECTOR Lily Chan

DESIGN Lorianne Koch Michelle Gjerde Tammy Robinson Kelsey Boorman

ADVERTISING Mario Gedicke Vicki Clark

CONTRIBUTING Hannah Berger

WRITERS Jade Cameron Angela Cowan Lia Crowe Heidi Fink Valaura Jones Kathy Michaels Suzanne Morphet Kaisha Scofield Hans Tammemagi Toby Tannas David Wylie Jane Zatylny

CONTRIBUTING Lia Crowe PHOTOGRAPHERS Don Denton Darren Hull

ILLUSTRATION Sierra Lundy

CIRCULATION & Kate Sarac

DISTRIBUTION 250.763.7575

TRENDING ONLINE:

View Boulevard’s Fashion Friday

www.vicnews.com/life Any device. Any time.

Victoria Boulevard® is a registered trademark of Black Press Group Ltd. All rights reserved. No part of this magazine may be reproduced without the publisher’s written permission. Ideas and opinions expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of Black Press Group Ltd. or its affiliates; no official endorsement should be inferred. The publisher does not assume any responsibility for the contents, both implied or assumed, of any advertisement in this publication. Printed in Canada. Canada Publications Mail Product Sales Agreement #42109519.

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MARCH/APRIL 2020

PHOTO BY LIA CROWE

a digital break-up

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MARCH/APRIL 2020

I’m old enough to remember the days before smartphones, but the memory is a bit fuzzy, almost like my brain has been screen-fried over the last decade.

My husband Bruce was first to succumb to the Siren-like call of the smartphone, and he and his techno-mistress became inseparable. I’d wonder, “So, if both your iPhone and I were drowning, who would you save?”

Then I got my own iPhone and discovered that not only could I too be lovingly attached (texting, surfing, googling), I was suddenly connected all the time. I could send emails in a grocery store lineup; check Facebook during a party. Nothing was sacred; even my former Fortress of Alone Time — the bathtub — could easily be invaded by access to the world via my iPhone.

With this connection came the corresponding need to respond immediately. A persistent hum of anxiety insisted I respond to emails right away, and to texts, even faster. I felt naked without my phone, and a bit panicked if I went too long without checking in.

These days, people are talking about the need for “digital detoxification” as it becomes apparent that society isn’t keeping up with fast-paced changes in technology, and our smartphone addictions are not promoting good health. But breaking up is hard to do!

There are times my phone makes my heart race with happiness.

For example, sometimes Bruce will assert a fact with a particular edge of authority in his voice — and I know for certain that he is not certain. Enter Google fact-checking.

Recently we traversed the streets of several California cities, navigating our way to hotels, restaurants and attractions with the soothing voice of Siri telling us exactly where to stop, turn, change lanes. I recall those days of navigation-by-map which, for me, might as well have been navigation-by-the-stars, judging by the number of times I got lost.

But amid my iPhone love affair, I can see cracks in the relationship. I spend too much time with mindless scrolling — time I should spend letting thoughts meander through my mind. I allow work to invade my life at times it shouldn’t. Sometimes, I reach for my phone during meals, and I definitely reach for it the moment I wake up. (And really, how can anything be more important than coffee first thing in the morning?).

Two stories in this edition of Boulevard speak to the concept of digital detoxification and a corresponding need for self-care. Both bring to mind the times that Bruce and I have been forced to disconnect in places where cell coverage doesn’t exist. During those times — as we traipse along a beach, hike forested trails, sit in a hot tub, sip Prosecco, watch the sun set — I realize how little I miss my pocket lover.

Be sure to read Jane Zatylny’s tips for a digital detox (page 48) and Kaisha Scofield’s piece, “Health Before Hustle,” pages 12-13.

I hope you are able to relax, enjoy the moment, and revel in all the stories and beautiful visuals found in this edition of Boulevard.

Selling the Okanagan Lifestyle since 1983.

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life.style.etc.

TERRY SIMPSON LEXI & LAKE HOME FURNISHINGS AND ACCESSORIES

“I don’t follow trends; we set trends here.”

WORDS + PHOTOGRAPHY LIA CROWE

I meet Terry at her lakeshore boutique and, surrounded by beautiful things, we chat about life, style and what fires her up about her work. (“The people!” she says.)

Originally from Saskatchewan, Terry moved to Kelowna 12 years ago after realizing, she says, that life is too short to continue living in 40-degree-below weather. “In my late 40s I had a couple of acquaintances my own age pass away and I realized I had to make a change.”

Since she has been in the retail business for over 30 years, I wonder what innate quality has led to her success. She laughs. “I’m just an outgoing person, an effervescent person…although, last year I turned 60 so it’s petering off a bit.”

As we chat, the door opens and two women walk in. They are clearly regular customers, and as Terry’s effervescent personality comes to life, a conversation between them begins. I gather it is an ongoing dialogue that has been years in the making.

So I ask one of the women what she loves about the store, and she says, “It’s inspiring. When you walk in here it makes you think, ‘oh, I want that.’ It makes you want to do something with your house.”

Asked to describe the aesthetic of the store, Terry says, “Modern and current.” But she is quick to point out that she can’t take all the credit for the style of the shop.

“Barb is really the brains behind the operation,” Terry laughs as she talks about a woman who works for her. “I feel it’s good to have input from other people and Barb is an awesome merchandiser. I don’t buy anything for the store without running it by her first.”

Looking to the future, Terry’s vision is to continue to stay ahead of the curve on what Lexi & Lake brings to Kelowna. “I don’t follow trends; we set trends here.”

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STYLE INSPIRATIONS & LIFE Style icon: Nicole Begrand Fast.

Favourite piece of art: Tibor Hagerty painting.

Favourite fashion designer or brand: Tory Burch.

Favourite musician: Mick Jagger or Bono! It’s a tie!

Fave print magazine: Vanity Fair.

Favourite coffee table book/photography book: The House That Pinterest Built by Diane Keaton.

Favourite book of all time: The Pilot’s Wife by Anita Shreve.

Favourite local restaurant: RauDZ Regional Table.

Favourite wine: Sancerre.

Album on current rotation: Maggie Rogers – Heard It in a Past Life.

Favourite flower: White hydrangea.

Favourite city to visit: Montreal.

Favourite hotel: The Standard in NYC. Favourite app: Uber.

Favourite place in the whole world: Australia…all of it.

FASHION & BEAUTY Uniform: Smart casual with pops of bold colours.

All-time favourite piece: White blouse.

Currently coveting: Bandolier phone case and strap.

Favourite pair of shoes: Rose gold Arizona style Birkenstocks.

Favourite day-bag: Any oversize Coach bag.

Favourite work tool: Shrink wrap.

Favourite jewellery piece or designer: Danish Krone necklace by Shannon Koszyk.

Fashion obsession: SweetLegs leggings in camouflage.

Accessory you spend the most money on: Jewellery.

Necessary indulgence for either fashion or beauty: Marvis Italian toothpaste.

Moisturizer: Portus Cale Ruby Red Grape and Red Berries Hand Cream.

Must-have hair product: Minu Hair Serum.

Beauty secret: 1.5-inch flat iron for perfect wavy curls.

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well and good

Health Before Hustle The body needs time to recharge and rebuild WORDS KAISHA SCOFIELD

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We are a culture that celebrates the hustle, measuring our days by the number of items we can check off our to-do list. We strive to work harder, faster and smarter and will often power through mental fatigue and physical injuries or illness, looking to the next stimulant, painkiller or digestive aid to pull us through each day.

We ignore our own wellness needs. The idea of slowing down or recharging can seem like a nuisance, but what happens if we defer self-care for too long?

The body needs to recharge and rebuild. Rest is crucial for cellular regeneration, digestion, mental clarity and emotional stability. Pushing through an injury, working despite illness or ignoring mental fatigue can actually lead to more serious issues and negatively impact system performance.

There are three main body systems that can be compromised when we defer wellness: mental, structural and functional. Despite operating individually, each of these systems is profoundly connected and interdependent. When one is pushed too far — for example, by increasing caffeine intake in place of getting a decent sleep — ­ this can affect how the whole body functions. And a malfunction in one system can advance over time to affect other areas.

Mental Have you ever seen co-workers slump over their desk at around three o’clock, or witnessed the entire office head out for coffee between lunch and quitting time? Mid-afternoon is fatigue o’clock because it is when our daily cortisol levels are lowest. Cortisol is our stress hormone, and it is released by the body whenever it perceives urgency, whether you’re being chased by a tiger or speeding down the highway to catch the last ferry. In today’s high-pressure world, cortisol is in high demand despite a limited supply. Low cortisol leads to mental fatigue and can be exacerbated from overwork, lack of sleep, consistent stress or simply ignoring the importance of taking time to process challenges or emotions. We ignore the warning signs and rarely recognize that these stresses and challenges compound, taxing the endocrine system and leading to hormone imbalances.

Structural We are all familiar with the phrase “no pain, no gain,” and while there’s no doubt that crushing a workout feels great, overdoing it — especially if the body is being undernourished — can have negative consequences. Pushing through an injury or failing to give the body enough recovery time can lead to inflammation in the affected area and the surrounding tissue.

As Curtis Tait, a physiotherapist at Tall Tree Integrated Health in Victoria says, “Our systematic level of inflammation can have a compounding effect on local inflammation, which can affect our symptom sensitivity threshold ... local inflammation is a natural and good part of healing tissue damage, but it is the high levels of systemic inflammation that usually are a notable contributor to prolonged symptoms or poor recovery.”

Functional The food we eat fuels our body. Our digestion can be quickly overwhelmed when we are careless about this fuel.

The digestive system can be stressed when we make drastic dietary changes too suddenly, reduce caloric intake too severely, eat too quickly or consume a poor-quality diet.

Continued disruptions to the digestive system can cause long-term, sometimes complicated, digestive issues.

The idea of slowing down or recharging can seem like a nuisance, but what happens if we defer selfcare for too long?

Our microbiome, the flora living in the gut, are dependent on the fuel our diet provides, and microbiome and gut health has been linked to mental health and cognitive function. As a consequence, digestive issues can not only influence our digestion but impact our mental state as well.

Along with our microbiome, our emotional relationship to food is important to our mental health. In the case of dieting or caloric restriction, changes that are made too quickly and enforced too rigidly can lead to digestive and mental stress. Because we are constantly considering and weighing our food options, the actual process of digestion can be compromised. We are unable to digest our food properly if we are in a parasympathetic state, meaning if we are anxious about our meal before we even start to eat, chances are it won’t be digested properly. In some cases, the emotional stress of a restrictive diet can be as harmful as the digestive stress of a poor diet.

Compounding issues in any of these areas of structural, mental or functional wellness can lead to prolonged illness.

The body will eventually recognize persistent ailments as chronic and as a result will start shifting resources away from healthy systems to deal with imbalanced ones.

Slowing down can be hard. Most people know self-care is important, but don’t actually make wellness a priority. Activities like bubble baths, massages, reading a book or taking a nap may seem self-indulgent or luxurious, but what if the idea of caring for ourselves was less about damage control and more about prevention? What if instead of measuring our hustle, we celebrated our wellness?

“Self-care” is more than just a buzz word. Conscious practice of self-care is gaining in popularity for good reason. The art of unwinding and the activity of inactivity are being reintroduced to our busy society. Self-care focuses on recharging, repairing and regenerating, learning to check in and respect the body’s needs. To unwind we must try to be realistic about our abilities and acknowledge where we may have pushed ourselves too far.

Yes, it is important to strive for our goals but also to recognize that in order to wind up the hustle we must first learn the importance of winding down to recharge. By paying attention to physical and mental well-being and resisting the urge to push through fatigue, illness and injury, we give ourselves the ability to recover fully. boulevardmagazines.com |

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design notes FIRST LIGHT 2102-70

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First Light WORDS HANNAH BERGER PRINCIPAL INTERIOR DESIGNER, OWNER / HANNAH KATEY INTERIOR DESIGN

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As spring approaches, we often want to revamp our surroundings in preparation for warmer months ahead. Benjamin Moore’s “colour of the year” — a stunning blush-coloured hue titled First Light 2102-70 — is the perfect accent to build around for the upcoming season.

Welcoming its playful-yet-calming tone, Benjamin Moore has given this colour the honour of representing a new decade. It’s thought to bring a sense of cheer and optimism, while making a statement and adding a burst of personality to any interior.

A good way to build around this colour is to select a patterned focal point that includes the colour; in this case, we’ve selected a stunning, floral-print wallpaper. Mix toss pillows with soft

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patterns in pink and a variety of textured solids to complement it. Add an unexpected statement chair.

In this scheme, black is used to ground the space with masculine elements and keep things balanced. Often we plan for contrast within colour and tone, but a common oversight is contrast within feminine and masculine shapes and textures. These subtle details are important to connect a well-designed space and maintain harmony and balance throughout.

1. First Light 2102-70, Benjamin Moore Kelowna 2. JF Floral wall covering, call for price, Benjamin Moore Kelowna 3. Renwil vase set, $115, Lexi & Lake 4. Arteriors chandelier, $3,300, Lexi & Lake 5. Nuevo pink chair, $1,199, Marshall’s Home Living 6. Renwil jute pillow, $120, Lexi & Lake 7. Renwil pink pillow, $89, Lexi & Lake 8. Renwil black velvet pillow, $120, Lexi & Lake 9. Pink throw blanket, $130, Alchemy 10. Nuevo sectional, $2,999, Marshall’s Home Living 11. Arteriors coffee table, $3,500, Lexi & Lake 12. Sunpan end table, $350, Lexi & Lake

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Welcoming its playfulyet-calming tone, Benjamin Moore has given this colour the honour of representing a new decade.

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good taste

James Schlosser of Niche Wine Company.

Finding his niche

A conversation with winemaker James Schlosser of Niche Wine Company WORDS ANGELA COWAN

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PHOTOGRAPHY DARREN HULL

MARCH/APRIL 2020

Where were you born and where did you grow up? I was born in Vancouver but my family moved

to West Kelowna when I was three, so the Okanagan has always been home.

Where did you train? I did my undergrad in biology at the University of Victoria and then moved to Ontario to complete an honours and a Master of Science degree in oenology and viticulture.

How long at your winery? My wife Joanna and I incorporated Niche Wine Company in 2009 and released our first vintage in 2010.

How did you get started in the wine business? I was inspired by my mom and dad. My parents

bought this beautiful West Kelowna property when I was just a kid and I was lucky enough to grow up here. In the late ’90s my dad read the book The Heartbreak Grape and fell in love with the idea and the challenge of growing Pinot noir grapes. Not long after, my parents took the plunge and planted a vineyard and when I came home from UVic that

summer, they asked if I would be interested in working on the farm. By the end of the summer, I was registered in winemaking school and on my way to Brock University in St. Catharine’s. I guess the rest is history!

What is your winemaking style? Have you ever heard the expression: “The best fertilizer for a vineyard is the winemaker’s footsteps?” It’s true. Our small-batch operation demands that attention to detail. That being said, over 15 years of winemaking experience has taught me that although it’s important to be attentive throughout the process, ultimately wine is an expression of things you can’t control. The wines I make are made with little intervention and a lot of farming effort.

How do you know when you have a particularly good vintage? The weather in a given season usually dic-

tates the outcome of any vintage, but harvest can also be full of unexpected impact. Even if you’ve got the best growing season in the world, it doesn’t mean you’re going to come out with a great vintage. The stars have to align. And the unexpected is sometimes a good thing. It’s one of the things I love about wine — it’s one part mystery and two parts miracle.

What is one of your favourite varietals to work with and why? Pinot noir is far and away my favourite. It’s

funny, because Pinot noir can be quite difficult to grow and hard to work with, so you would think it would be my least favourite.

For me, making Pinot noir is truly a labour a love. All of our Pinot is produced exclusively with grapes grown by my parents on the farm where I grew up. There is something really special about this place. The vineyard sits at an elevation of 620 metres and when it comes to growing Pinot, elevation is key.

“It’s one of the things I love about wine — it’s one part mystery and two parts miracle.”

In the world of wine, who do you most admire and why? Who influenced you? There’s a smattering

of people. One of them is my prof from Brock University, Andy Reynolds, who’s more of a viticulture guy. I spent years with him, and he really taught me a lot about growing grapes and making wine. Sandra Oldfield, former CEO of Tinhorn Creek, is another inspirational player in the wine industry. We are currently working with her through a Scale Up mentorship program offered by Accelerate Okanagan. Her advice and coaching have been instrumental in our growth, and she’ll continue to be a key figure in the success of Niche.

Do you have a favourite wine or vintage that you have made? The diversity of the wines you can make is exciting: white, sparkling, rosé, red. With Pinot noir, it truly showcases the place where it is grown and produced. If you think about a Merlot, there’s a certain expectation that it’s going to have a consistent nose and palate. Pinot noir has carved out a niche and is celebrated for its regional nuances.

3937 Lakeshore Rd. Kelowna lexiandlake.com 778-477-4787

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Find everything from home furnishings to jewelry.

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What is one of the hardest things about winemaking year in and year out? Winemaking at our scale is a very physical job. With each

vintage I gain more experience, but I also find it increasingly hard to balance the demands on my knees and my back. There is no question that this job comes with a lot of heavy lifting and power washing. The other challenge is that winemaking can be fairly unpredictable; we often find ourselves at the mercy of Mother Nature.

What is one of the most rewarding aspects of your job? I love that the winemaking process is so cyclical and dependent on place and time. On the one hand, you’re always looking forward and there is all the possibility of what the next vintage holds. That anticipation, it really is fun. And maybe a little addicting. On the flip side, there is this reflective process with wine. We’re always looking back, tasting cellared wine and talking about “ageability.” I truly believe wine is a conduit for spreading joy and creating connection. Being a maker of that kind of experience is wildly rewarding.

Hobbies? Skateboarding. I recently picked this one up again. I have a longboard and a skateboard I bought in Maui, and it’s been fun getting back into it. And woodworking. I am a YouTube woodworker, but if I’m being honest, I’m better at watching the videos than I am at making the products. It’s a work in progress.

Anything else we should know? Currently, our winery is not open to the public, but we recently launched a wine club designed for lovers of craft, smallbatch wines who are passionate about buying and drinking local. The shipments go out three times a year and contain our latest lineup of wines and other locally sourced goods we think pair well. Because of the limited nature of our production, it’s a great way to ensure you get a taste of what we’re up to. From our farm to your doorstep! nichewinecompany.com/club

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weekender

trawling for history Steveston is the perfect weekend destination WORDS HANS TAMMEMAGI

eat.

Britannia Steveston is an “upbeat” and “hip, new-vibe” restaurant in the heart of the Steveston village. Owned by Britannia Brewing Company, it proudly features fine local food, especially seafood, along with its own craft ales. The Halibut and Seafood Pie or the Clam Chowder or a plate of Britannia beer-battered chips and fries go down well with a foaming glass of Wave Crusador XPA (Extra Pale Ale), which lies between a British pale ale and an American IPA. 20

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PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY RICHMOND TOURISM

see.

do.

sleep.

Head to Garry Point Park at the western edge of Steveston for grand views onto the Fraser River and Strait of Georgia, which are afloat with fishing boats, tugs pulling barges, and sailboats. Families picnic under the trees while youngsters play along the shore. But the highlight is dozens of kites — dragons, airplanes and diamonds attached to long strings — looping through the sky overhead.

You may even see a person on a three-wheeled buggy whizzing about the park pulled by a kite.

Hop on a bicycle and explore Steveston and the surroundings.

Being almost perfectly flat, the area is ideal for easy biking. And there’s lots to see with many trails, including the oceanside west and south dyke paths. A good destination is the historic London Heritage Farm to the east, where you can enjoy tea in the beautifully restored 1890s farmhouse surrounded by gracious gardens and displays of antique farm implements.

A short drive to the River Rock Casino Resort, western Canada’s only four-diamond casino resort, is well worthwhile. Luxury suites and guest rooms will make your stay relaxing and comfortable. In addition to the casino, the resort offers a theatre, where many top entertainers appear, an indoor swimming pool, a fitness centre and an award-winning spa. The cuisine is superb with the Sea Harbour Asian food restaurant, the Tramonto restaurant, a food court and Curve Lounge.

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MARCH/APRIL 2020

In 1905, Steveston was a warren of gambling houses, saloons, opium dens and an incongruous opera house.

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n the boardwalk at Fisherman’s Wharf at Steveston, where the rich Fraser delta meets the Pacific Ocean near Richmond in BC’s Lower Mainland, I inhale the smell of saltwater mingling with salmon, spring prawns and octopus being sold direct from boats. I can feel a deep sense of history.

In the late 1890s, 17 canneries lined the Steveston shore and square-rigged sailing ships carried millions of cans of salmon around the world. During the fishing season, the population ballooned from 400 to 10,000, transforming the town into one of the wildest in western North America. In 1905, Steveston was a warren of gambling houses, saloons, opium dens and an incongruous opera house.

To savour this rich past, I joined the Steveston Heritage Experience tour at the Seine Net Loft of the Britannia Heritage Shipyard, a National Historic Site consisting of 14 restored buildings. A guide wearing a 1914 costume showed us the Murakami boatworks, First Nations and Chinese bunkhouses and boats being restored. Sipping oriental tea in a rudimentary bunkhouse, we learned how Japanese “picture” brides arrived to marry Japanese fishermen they’d never met before.

At Steveston Tram Car 1220, known as the Sockeye Special, we munched on popcorn as the conductor explained how electrified trams ran to Vancouver from 1902 until 1958.

After touring the Steveston Museum we entered the Strait of Georgia Cannery, another National Historic Site, built in 1894, and the largest cannery in the area. The guide led us along the cutting and packing line, describing the long hours, child labour and poor safety. He said a scream of pain often resounded as a finger was chopped off by a sharp knife, followed by frantic searching for the severed digit before it got canned. boulevardmagazines.com |

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During World War II, Japanese people in British Columbia, including all 2,600 in Steveston, about two-thirds of the town’s population, were forcibly moved inland. Hundreds of fishing boats were confiscated and overnight Steveston became like a ghost town.

In 1949, the Japanese-Canadians were allowed to return and slowly Steveston was rebuilt. Salmon catches grew and by the 1960s the good times had returned. In the 1990s, however, salmon stocks dwindled and increased mechanization led to canneries consolidating. The last cannery closed in 1997.

But Steveston bounced back again. Today, the fishing fleet, reduced to 600 boats, remains Canada’s largest, and the tourist trade is booming due in large part to the town’s rich history.

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in studio …

WITH ANITA MCCOMAS

Painting nature on the bright side WORDS DAVID WYLIE

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PHOTOGRAPHY DARREN HULL

Artists are often inspired by emotional reactions.

Kelowna painter Anita McComas’ success as an acrylic artist, however, was shaped by an allergic one.

Early in her painting life, the Kelowna artist developed an affinity for the colour and texture of oil paints. She gravitated toward the old-world Rembrandt palette.

“My work back then was really different than it is now. It was a lot more realistic,” Anita said.

Over time, the chemicals in the oil paints started to irritate her eyes, and Anita would shed tears uncontrollably as she painted. The allergy forced her to switch to acrylics.

“If you’re used to oils, switching to acrylics is a struggle. One of the problems with acrylics is the colour you paint is not the colour you see the next day — it changes,” she said.

“The feel of the paint is different. The way the paint goes on is different ... all of that makes you start to experiment with more and different colour, and eventually you narrow it down to those colours that work for you.”

Anita now paints with predominantly Golden brand acrylics, using the jewel tones to create an iridescent effect in selected portions of her work.

“If you thin them down, you start to see the shimmering in them,” she said. “I’ve moved from those darker, more realistic earthy kind of tones to bright ones.”

Painting on the bright side wasn’t to everyone’s taste, and she has had to overcome criticism for her colourful, impressionistic style.

In 2014, Anita had a booth at the Calgary Stampede’s Artist Showcase. Getting into the show was an honour in itself, she said. She had time to get to know the other artists over the 11-day event, including a BC artist she highly respected for his work.

“We started chatting, and he’s standing in front of my booth.

He’s looking at it, shaking his head. He says, ‘I’ve figured it out; you just need to dip your paintings in black,’” recollected Anita.

The blunt statement shocked her into silence.

“What do you say to that? I couldn’t even talk about it because it was just so devastating.”

However, she used the stinging criticism to further hone her craft and continued to own her unique style.

“I think it made me challenge myself more. I re-examined my work and it became better because of it. I was able to blend the less realistic aspect with a little more realism,” she said, adding that she started to use more mid-tones to bring out facial details.

Along with changing up her paint from oil to acrylic, Anita has also changed the focus of her art. For years, she never wanted to paint anything that didn’t have people in it.

However, moving to British Columbia was an awakening. A visit to stunning Lake Louise, Alberta, first inspired her to start painting landscapes. In BC, there was no shortage of inspiration for her artistic eye.

“All of my first works were landscapes when I came to BC,” she said. “I threw in, every once in a while, the animals.”

One of her pivotal paintings featured a bear, with the city encroaching on his habitat. Since then she’s focused her unique

“All of my first works were landscapes when I came to BC. I threw in, every once in a while, the animals.”

style on capturing the majestic side of animals with subtle undertones of shifting spaces, bold strokes that hint at emerging spaces or plains, or a sense of overlapping time frames.

Moose were another favourite subject in her animal series.

“I love the magic in the antlers, so I exaggerate them.

That’s how I do most of my animals. There’s something exaggerated to keep them from being real.”

In a way, it’s a return to her first love. Nature was part of Anita’s life from an early age. She grew up on a 40-acre family farm in the state of Maryland.

“My whole childhood was spent weeding a three-acre garden. We grew tons of our own food,” she said.

Anita spent her youthful days around the animals on the farm, and was particularly taken with her aunt’s many horses, which were often the subject of her work.

Leaving the farm behind, she got her fine arts degree and took a job as an import buyer for Craftworld, which was the biggest craft distributor in the United States at the time. Her job took her to Taiwan and Hong Kong, where she met her husband-to-be Lorne Nadler. She eventually emigrated to Canada and they built a life together.

With a full-time job as vice-president for a Canadian importer of work and safety equipment, as well as a young family to raise, Anita sought refuge in her art. She started attending a nighttime painting studio, three hours once a boulevardmagazines.com |

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week. It was her first foray into painting, as she’d been mainly drawing up to that point.

The business side of her personality never really gave up its grip on her artistic life.

“There are some artists who just feel everything and they just go with that. I’m the artist who could have also been an accountant,” she said. “I have that analytical side. It’s a really weird crossover because you’re fighting your left brain to let the right brain take over.”

Anita suffered a tragedy last year when Lorne, who was her husband for 29 years, passed away. She said that painting has been instrumental in the healing process.

“My husband was for years a very public part of my art. He really helped foster a community connection to my art through his personality and his love of people. If you knew my art you probably had met Lorne,” she said. “In a way, for the past year my work has been a very primary part of healing or dealing with a new reality, creating an intensity and further developing

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the theme of non-permanence and change that underlies much of my work, particularly as I paint those often shifting plains that are very obvious in my animal series.”

Now Anita is looking for ways to engage in the community in a way that’s meaningful to her, and has taken an interest in the new Creative Hub proposed by the City of Kelowna.

With her personal focus on life-long learning, she’s currently in her second year of an Arts Leadership and Cultural Management master’s-level degree at Colorado State University.

“I have an interest in community art development, which in many ways balances the solitude of working as a professional artist in the studio-based path that I have chosen,” she said.

“I see a huge gap in the sense of community for artists in Kelowna. Compared to other communities, such as Penticton and Peachland, there is no centre that visual artists have. We need a community gallery, not hallways, to hang shows. We need a place to meet, hold classes, share thoughts and band together to support each other.”

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hot properties

living

art The joyful Tuscan farmhouse

WORDS VALAURA JONES

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PHOTOGRAPHY DARREN HULL

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quick facts: design time: 6 months build time: 2 years square feet: 10,000 bedrooms: 4, plus additional guesthouse bathrooms: 7 notable features: interior/exterior stonework, reclaimed wood beams and fireplace mantles, home automation, master suite with sitting room and his & hers walk-in closets, bedrooms with en suites/ walk-in closets and access to private covered decks, three-car garage, library, media room with “starlit” ceiling, home gym, games room, guest house with private bathroom and kitchenette.

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I could be standing in a centuries-old Tuscan property that an enterprising couple has painstakingly renovated in their bid to enjoy a more relaxed life.

Surrounded by vineyards, orchards and farmland, the meandering roads of East Kelowna are an escape into another world — a quieter and simpler time, a vacation from the rigours of a life that’s always “on.” This picturesque backdrop is a painter’s dream and the perfect spot for a Tuscan farmhouse.

The winding driveway slopes upward and curves around a house that exudes a kind of charm that people endure long flights in order to see and experience for themselves.

The house is less than a decade old, but as I enter the dramatic two-story foyer, I can’t help but think of the British “leave-it-allbehind-and-escape-to-Europe” design shows I’ve watched over the years. I could be standing in a centuries-old Tuscan property that an enterprising couple has painstakingly renovated in their bid to enjoy a more relaxed life.

“We had been dreaming about this house for years. We wanted to design an old-world Tuscan farmhouse; to build a home that would never become outdated,” smiles homeowner Diane.

While the layout and floor plan are better suited to modern life,

it’s the incredible craftsmanship and attention to detail that emanate timelessness.

The home is constructed with an artful blend of natural stone, reclaimed wood, plaster and wrought iron. An old building on Pandosy Street supplied the reclaimed timber for the beams in the ceiling and fireplace mantle. The bolts on the fireplace and return air vents were salvaged from a junkyard in North Kelowna.

Other aspects of the home have a sense of history in their architecture and design, such as the barrel vault stone archways in the kitchen and entrance.

The charm extends to the decor too, with the carefully selected pieces lending a sense of surprise and delight.

“We’re art collectors, and all of our paintings make me feel a certain way; usually it’s happy. It’s interesting to be able to look at a painting that I’ve had for years and years and never get tired of it even though it’s something that I see all the time.”

Diane and her husband have filled their home with contemporary and modern works that are bursting with colour and texture.

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The piece above the living room mantle serves as the inspiration for what Diane describes as a “rock and roll glam” look.

With its custom animal-print furniture and blend of textures, including metal-chain fringe on the sofas, the living room decor stands in juxtaposition to the house. But this is precisely why it works.

It feels like a generational home, where the furnishings and decor change, but the heart and the memories remain in the plaster that lines the walls. It’s joyful.

“Colour is such a big part of my life.

I think people tend to be afraid of too much colour, but I think, ‘be adventurous.’ Have fun with your decor,” explains Diane. “If it makes you feel happy and it makes you feel alive, that’s the whole point of decor and interior design and art.”

The human experience was an essential factor in the design and construction of the house. The family eschewed the combined great room and instead opted for spacious rooms that open into one another yet feel independent. It’s an excellent balance that allows the spaces to adapt to their guests and preserve a feeling of intimacy and comfort.

“An extremely important room in farmhouses is the kitchen because it is there

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that the entire family gathers; to dine, in all seasons; for household tasks, in bad weather; and for friends and family gatherings on long winter evenings,” wrote C.M. Mazzini, in “La Toscana Agricola,” 1884.

The kitchen is grand, but the finishings keep it warm and inviting. You can imagine the smell of homemade apple cider wafting through the air during winter months, or the vibrant colours of a tossed salad viewed against the bold granite countertops.

The original plans called for one oversized island in the middle of the room, but as Diane considered the needs of her family and guests, she realized that two islands were better than one. The resulting layout leaves a corridor from the cabinetry-clad refrigerator to the casual dining space. It also ensures that there is plenty of room for guests to gather in the kitchen without impeding the cook.

Around the corner, we come to the master suite with its intimate sitting room and fireplace. A blue-hued painting hangs in pride of place above the mantle; the artist is the couple’s elder daughter.

Upstairs, two-bedroom suites flank either end of the house, each with a walk-in closet and dedicated en suite. A guest suite and family room ensure optimal comfort for friends and family with windows that overlook the breathtaking grounds below.

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The basement level boasts a well-appointed home gym, a theatre room and what is best described as a hobby room: two motorcycles, an art studio and a nail technician table hint at the family’s varied interests.

Back on the main level, we stop to chat with Boulevard’s photographer extraordinaire, Darren Hull. He’s particularly fond of the stonework and wooden beams and is impressed by the “longevity” of the house.

“This is the second time I’ve been here, and I think to myself, ‘This house will be here in 200 years’, and that’s pretty impressive,” says Darren. “There’s just a timeless quality. You can clear this place out, and there’s still a level of charm here that’s super unique.”

As we near the end of my tour, we find ourselves in the library. It’s an intimate room that houses other delights that have stood the test of time, namely wine and books. The collection of leather-bound tomes are beautifully backlit, the shelves pulled away from the wall so that beams of light cascade down and emphasize the texture of the stone behind.

All of the lighting in the home is meticulously planned to make the most of its features. Uplighting highlights stairs, walls and beams. Home automation systems ensure that light greets you as you enter rooms. And, of course, the stunning art collection is illuminated to beautiful effect.

As we stop to contemplate one of Diane’s favourite pieces, I ask about her passion for fine art and its impact on her life.

“I just love looking at beautiful and interesting things. I love the whole creative process. I don’t paint, but this home is an expression of my creativity.

This is our artwork.”

Supplier List: Design Plans: Sticks + Stones Design Group Stonework: Collington Construction Granite Countertops: Absolut Stone & Granite Lighting Design & Home Automation:

Can-Nor Electric Light Fixtures: Pine Lighting Custom Furnishings: supplied by Momentum Interiors Fanslau Stucco

GROWING YOUR FAMILY’S WEALTH TODAY AND FOR GENERATIONS TO COME www.nicolawealth.com boulevardmagazines.com |

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fashion

GUESS

girl

STYLING JENNY MCKINNEY

X

PHOTOGRAPHY DARREN HULL

Boulevard visits Mike’s British Repairs at Hillcrest Garage to take a trip back to the early ’90s. Bring on the retro leather, and denim with lighter washes, higher waists and wider legs.

Motorcycle jacket by Papillon ($229) and shorts

by One Teaspoon ($115), both from Bia Boro.

Denim jacket by Guess ($108) from Hudson’s Bay; underwear ($15) and bralette ($13)

by Calvin Klein from Winners; “Rolla’s East Coast Flare” high-rise, lightwash denim By Free People ($165) from Bia Boro.

Bralette by Free People ($69) and oversized denim long jacket by Muse Looks from Los Angeles ($166), both from Bia Boro.

Crop-top blouse ($38) from Topshop; slim, tapered jeans ($118) from Hudson’s Bay.

Denim dress by Topshop ($90) from Hudson’s Bay.

Makeup and hair: Jenny McKinney Model: Ava Redpath, represented by Deja Vu Model Management Photographed on location at Mike’s British Repairs at Hillcrest Garage. A huge thank you to Mike and his staff for hosting our team for the day.

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1557 Reservoir Road, Penticton BC 3.1 acres of rolling landscape with stunning 180 degree mountain and Okanagan lake views and is located within 5 min. of central Penticton. Solid concrete construction with guest house and perfect for cidery, craft brewery or winery.

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2377 George Court, West Kelowna BC A well maintained seasonal cottage provides a quaint retreat while you build your dream home. Nestled amongst estate homes, this .35 acre flat lot offers 84.5 ft of lakeshore with exceptional views of Lake Okanagan.

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3313 McKellar Road , Kelowna BC Perched upon a hillside set back on 3.658 acres, in a very private treed setting, with a sweeping view of Okanagan Lake - this 3,200+ sq. ft. 2 storey split acreage home is fully developed with 5 bedrooms and 5 bathrooms.

1 & 3 - 771 Raymer Avenue, Kelowna BC 2 New Homes!Incredible opportunity to live in the front detached home and rent/sell the carriage home.Vibrant Pandosy and Lower Mission is desired for its proximity to trendy shops,restaurants,transit,Okanagan College + KGH.

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714 Rockcliffe Place, Kelowna BC Modern masterpiece in the prestigious gated community of Highpointe. Perched high upon the hillside, breathtaking valley, city & lake views. Gourmet Island Kitchen. Media Room.

Wine Cellar. Salt water pool. Outdoor Kitchen. 2 Garages.

4295 Hobson Road, Kelowna BC Nestled on over half acre of a lush landscaped lot,this refined craftsman residence offers a secured gated oasis in the most desired area of Kelowna. Nearly $400k has been recently invested into the indoor and outdoor living spaces.

Upper Mission, Kelowna BC Never before available to the market in the most prime location Kelowna has to offer, welcome to this prominent trophy property nestled on just over 15 irrigated acres.

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$819,000 gst applicable 239 Grange Drive, Vernon BC New 3 bedroom plus den, 2.5 bath home in the new Commonage neighbourhood at Predator Ridge. Huge transom windows & high end laminate flooring are featured throughout the main areas in this vaulted great room plan.

$1,250,000 gst applicable 257 Ashcroft Court, Vernon BC CHILCOTIN - Move in ready modern farmhouse - This spacious walkout rancher is an entertainer’s dream. Open floor plan, high ceilings, beautiful finishes + breathtaking views .

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1522 Marble Ledge Drive, Lake Country BC Quiet dead-end street in the Waterside phase of Lakestone!!!

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$474,900

3481 Shayler Road, Kelowna BC Located in McKinley Beach, this new showhome offers sweeping panoramic Okanagan Lake views. Unyielding quality and custom designed 2,060 sq ft walk-up Rancher with 3 car garage, 3 bedrooms and 3 bath with in-law suite potential.

675 Firwood Road, Kelowna BC Privately situated on Westside Road along Okanagan Lake, this 3 bedroom + den, 4 bathroom tastefully crafted home truly offers a space of comfort to take in the ultimate Okanagan lifestyle from all three levels.

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103 Echo Ridge Drive, Kelowna BC New Home – Situated in a private setting with a backyard abutting a natural green space, this new 3 bedroom rancher with a grade level entry, appeals to modern living.

213 Summer Wood, Kelowna BC Nestled in the established neighbourhood of Wilden, Echo Ridge delivers a family oriented lifestyle amongst nature and close proximity to airport, downtown and schools. 1,902 sq. ft., 3 bedrooms, 2 full baths and a den in the lower level.

1486 Rocky Point Drive, Kelowna BC Elegant 4 bed, 5 bath home. 4,254 sq. ft. of luxurious living and enviable Okanagan Lake views. Extensive use of hardwood, tile and quartz in this soaring, great room plan. 9 ft. center island, 5 piece master ensuite and oversized triple garage.

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$775,000 gst applicable

$725,000 gst applicable 102 - 1151 Sunset Drive, Kelowna BC This modern private 3 bedroom, 2.5 bathroom town home offers urban living like no other. Offered in the Vodka colour scheme, you are drawn to the carefully articulated selection of refined finishes.

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Senior Vice President, Sales

Real Estate Associate

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business class

“Food is love”

Fraiche Living originator Tori Wesszer inspires and connects with her followers

WORDS TOBY TANNAS

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MARCH/APRIL 2020

When Tori Wesszer greets me at the periwinkle-blue front door of her West Kelowna home, I feel like I already know her. As one of her 171,000 followers on Instagram, I’ve logged a lot of hours watching and learning from this dynamo. Tori has cooked up a huge audience by following her passion for food.

“There’s so much joy in feeding people,” she says with a smile. “Food is love. It brings such a huge amount of pride and satisfaction when we can feed someone.”

A dietitian by trade, Tori is emerging as one of Canada’s top lifestyle influencers. Her Fraiche Living blog and Instagram account inspire thousands of people daily. Fraiche Food, Full Hearts, Tori’s newly published cookbook (created with cousin Jillian Harris), is climbing the bestseller lists and

she’s just about to launch a new meal-planning tool on her website.

“I want to help people get a healthy meal on the table. Feeding your family a good, balanced meal that you can all eat together around the table is achievable.”

Tori’s wizardry in the kitchen began at a young age.

“When I was a kid I just loved reading cookbooks. My parents would have friends over and I would cater their parties at 12 years old, just because it was fun.”

Tori is still having fun in the kitchen despite the fact her passion has become her full-time job.

“My mom jokes with me and asks me all the time how I can still like cooking dinner, but I do,” she laughs. “I’m very aware of keeping the passion alive. I never want it to feel like a job.”

When she’s not dreaming up new recipes or testing them in the kitchen, Tori and her team are busy writing, photographing and planning content for the blog.

“It’s more difficult than I thought it was going to be,” she admits. “When I started I thought, ‘How hard could it be to blog?’ Turns out there is a lot to it, which ultimately is part of the journey and the joy.”

As a mother of two young boys, Tori loves and appreciates the flexibility of working from home. She admits, however, that a healthy balance between work time and personal time is a new thing for her.

“The boundary thing has been a bit tricky for me. Up until very recently, I would put my kids to bed and then go back to the computer and work until I got tired. Sometimes that was at two or three in the morning.”

Hiring a small team, including a business manager, has helped put more structure into Tori’s work days. There’s another side to the business, though, that’s definitely not nine to five. A successful influencer must have a strong connection with their audience.

“Part of my work is sharing my personal life,” she explains.

“People want to see a connection, something that inspires them.”

A big part of Tori’s appeal is her openness. Through Instagram stories, fans get a behind-the-scenes glimpse of her life at any hour of the day. They see into her home, her family life and her friendships, and sometimes it gets really personal.

“You have to show some of the realness, you have to be a bit vulnerable, you have to show what your life is about, otherwise I don’t think there would be too much for people to connect to.”

Tori’s ultimate goal is to inspire people. Her hope is that Fraiche Living fans feel inspired to simplify and beautify their lives. She’s very clear about one thing: she never wants to give the impression that her life is perfect.

“We are living in a really crazy society. We’re surrounded on social media with pictures of perfection, homes that look perfect, kids that never fight. It’s just not realistic.”

A scroll through the Fraiche Living website and Instagram feed is a feast for the eyes: dreamy, delicious — dare I say “perfect?” — photos of food, family, fashion and décor.

“We do our best to make the pictures look the best we can, there’s no doubt about that,” she concedes. “But what you

“It brings such a huge amount of pride and satisfaction when we can feed someone.”

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see in the grid should be taken as something to inspire you. It’s not in any way an indication that that person’s life looks like that all the time.”

Tori offers to show me her basement as an example of “real life” with two boys. (For the record, it’s a bit messy!)

She appears on camera without make-up, she’s open about having rough days and she shares heart-wrenching “mommy” moments.

“A life well lived comes in so many shapes and forms. I feel passionate about that. I have down days where I nitpick myself. I know most women do. I’m so thankful to have a great support system.”

Tori always makes time to connect with her husband Charles. It’s not surprising they most often meet in the kitchen.

“Charles is a really great cook. It’s really nice to have someone in my life who understands what drives me and shares that passion. Our idea of a great night is cracking a bottle of wine, and then we put Frank Sinatra on and cook together.”

In the learn-as-you-go world of social influencers, Tori is becoming a star. She’s relatable, she cares, she’s got passion and drive. You definitely get the sense she’s just getting started.

“I have this massive gratitude to be honest and it makes me emotional. I love what I’m doing and there’s so much more I want to do.” fraicheliving.com

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lifestyle

Tips for a digital detox WORDS JANE ZATYLNY

Whether you choose a digital fast, a one-day digital sabbatical or a digital diet, as I did, the process can initially be a bit uncomfortable. Hang in there.

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The term “detox” once meant abstaining from alcohol, tobacco or drugs. Today it also applies to sugar, fat, carbs and those other delightfully addictive things: our smartphones, televisions, computers, tablets and social media sites.

There are many reasons why you might want to give up or reduce the time you spend on your devices. Maybe you’d like to focus on social interactions with friends and family without the distraction of incoming texts or other messages.

Maybe the 24-hour news cycle is causing stress in your life, or the struggle to keep up with the Joneses on Instagram is taking its toll.

I had a different reason to reduce my screen time. I needed to start sleeping again.

In her book, The Sleep Revolution, Huffington Post founder and sleep advocate Ariana Huffington writes, “Our houses, our bedrooms — even our beds — are littered with beeping, vibrating, flashing screens. It’s the never-ending possibility of connecting — with friends, with strangers, with the entire world, with every TV show or movie ever made — with just the press of a button that is, not surprisingly, addictive.”

I’d fallen into the habit of using my phone as an alarm clock, waking to the cheery sound of chirping birds or the poetic lyrics of the late Leonard Cohen. Problem is, when I woke up in the middle of the night and checked the time on my iPhone, notifications from friends in other time zones glowed enticingly. Before I knew it, I was fully engaged with texts, emails and then, predictably, world news. Even with the rose-coloured “night shift” option toggled on, it was very hard to return to sleep.

Like you, I also use my phone to take and share pictures, listen to music, record interviews, check my flight status and make appointments. Turns out, there’s very little a phone can’t do, which of course is why we’re so addicted to these devices.

In 2018, Google researchers authored a paper about the tech “attention crisis” that surrounds us. Consider the couple on their cell phones at the next table, eating dinner together while tapping messages to other people on their phones …the throngs of people in airports, walking face down, staring into their handheld personal computers … or the half-listening friend, who scrolls through her social media feed while you’re shopping together. The researchers suggest that we are sucked into the vortex by the “fear of missing out.” But what if FOMO itself is causing us to miss out on life? boulevardmagazines.com |

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THE DIGITAL DIET PLAN

There are many ways to do a digital detox, from “digital sabbaticals,” once-weekly recesses from device use, to apps — like Flipd, Cleverest, AppDetox and OFFTIME — that claim to improve digital self-control.

There’s also the cold turkey method, where you put down the phone entirely for a defined number of days. For me, complete abstinence is neither practical nor desirable. But it had become clear that some sort of reduction in the time I spend on my devices was in order. It was time for a digital diet.

FACING THE MUSIC

I began by turning on a setting on my phone that calculates screen time: the digital equivalent of stepping on the scales. I had a feeling it would be high, and it was: nearly four hours of screen time per day on my personal devices. I felt better when I read that the average US adult spends around 11 hours each day listening to, watching, reading or interacting with media.

SETTING A GOAL

I rely on my devices to read the news. I thoroughly enjoy posting and viewing photography. I love connecting with friends at home and around the world. It’s the mindless scrolling, particularly in the middle of the night, that I need to eliminate. So I set a realistic goal: no more than 1.5 hours per day of screen time.

REMOVING TEMPTATION

This next step was like removing all the goodies from the kitchen cupboards. Huffington recommends “gently escorting” all digital devices out of the bedroom, and stopping use of electronic devices 30 minutes before bed. I re-installed my clock radio next to my bed and purchased a Swatch analog watch (so far, so fun!). Then I moved my charger to the kitchen and left my iPhone there every night. Finally, I turned push notifications off on my social media and email apps.

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find beautiful properties, premium service, and extraordinary living, you will find Engel & Völkers, the boulevardmagazines.com | MARCH/APRIL 2020 world leader in luxury real estate.

SETTING BOUNDARIES

A few days into my digital diet, I realized that it was pretty easy to set boundaries for my device use. For instance, I stopped looking at my phone during meals, when I’m spending time with friends, or when I’m hiking, shopping or just walking down the street. I catch up on news and social media posts at set times throughout the day now and I have a 45-minute limit on social media posts. I pick up the phone to call or text friends more often.

Rediscover reading a paper book.

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A FINAL WORD

With my phone spending nights in the kitchen, my quality of sleep has improved enormously, and my screen time has decreased to my goal of 1.5 hours per day. My real-time social interactions have increased and, best of all, the “fear of missing out” has completely dissipated.

Whether you choose a digital fast, a one-day digital sabbatical or a digital diet, as I did, the process can initially be a bit uncomfortable. Hang in there. The rewards of choosing life uninterrupted are well worth the effort.

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food and feast

Winter salad with apples, pomegranate and celery.

fresh green and

Recipes for renewal

WORDS HEIDI FINK

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PHOTOGRAPHY DON DENTON

I

am starting to get tired of winter fare. My appetite for rich stews and rib-sticking carbs has turned to a craving for fresh, green, crunchy, bitter and sour — flavours that remind me of spring and renewal.

We might still be in the throes of winter, but my palate is reminding me that West Coast spring is just around the corner.

The notion of seasonal produce at this dreary time of year has always been fascinating to me. What is still considered “in season” in these hushed and cold months at the beginnings of spring? Many winter-storage vegetables and fruits are getting past their prime (although still delicious); many spring greens have yet to emerge or are in their earliest stages. How can I concoct something that satisfies my need for freshness without departing too much from the rhythms of our local growing season?

We can honour this time of year with a combination of local foods, greenhouse fare and a few imported seasonal items. For the last, citrus has always been my February goto. The markets are overflowing with beautiful grapefruits, sweet limes, tangelos, Meyer lemons, blood oranges. Their sour, sweet or bitter juices taste of freshness and renewal, and perfectly complement winter vegetables than run to peppery, bitter or sharply green.

For the rest, I rely on a combination of greenhouse herbs, in-season greens (kale, arugula, chicory and the like), along with crunchy winter-storage vegetables and fruits (green apples, cauliflower, fennel, celery and pomegranate, to name a few).

Foods like this ignite a sluggish digestion, liven up a bored palate and possibly help to shed some winter pounds. More than that, they taste absolutely delicious. They satisfy my need for fresh and green.The flavour hit of fresh herbs,

peppery greens, crunchy vegetables and sour citrus in late winter gives me the same feeling as when I emerge from a slow hibernation into the weak sunlight, to feel the fresh air and taste it.

I like to create simple dishes from these basic ingredients.

Salads, soups, side dishes, plates of raw veggies or perhaps a smoothie. The recipes I’m sharing here are among my favourites in terms of flavour, texture and visual appeal.

From a tart yet creamy green smoothie to the sweet crunch and bitter juice of a shaved fennel and grapefruit salad to the garlicky herbaceous hit of a re-imagined Green Goddess dressing, these “Recipes for Renewal” have got you covered.

Spring, we are ready for you!

GREEN SMOOTHIE SERVES 2

Refreshing, slightly creamy and not too sweet, this smoothie is perfect for breakfast or an afternoon snack. The unsweetened oat milk provides a lovely mouthfeel and light sweetness; feel free to substitute another milk of your choice.

1 medium ripe banana, peeled ¼ ripe avocado, peeled and chopped 2 cups (500 ml) packed spinach leaves 1 small or ¾ large green apple, peeled, cored and chopped 1 to 1½ cup (240 to 370 ml) unsweetened oat milk Optional - ½ scoop unflavoured protein powder

Place all ingredients in a blender and purée until smooth.

Pour into two glasses and serve immediately.

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Winter Crudite and Green Goddess Dip.

GREEN GODDESS DIP OR DRESSING

WINTER CRUDITÉS

An updated spin on the classic herb and mayo salad dressing, this one pumps up the ratio of herbs and uses avocado for creaminess. Tangy, green and flavourful — you will love this. It can be used either as a salad dressing or as a dip for crudités.

This extra-crunchy, complex and refreshing take on a classic veg-and-dip platter is just what the doctor ordered at this time of year. Allow the underdog vegetables to shine here. Pay special attention to how the vegetables are prepared and arranged.

The platter will wow your guests.

Choose three to four of the following vegetable options:

MAKES 1 ½ CUPS (375 ML)

1 cup (250 ml) packed flat leaf parsley ¼ cup (60 ml) sliced chives 1 ½ Tbsp. (22 ml) white miso (e.g. Hikari brand) ½ avocado, chopped ½ cup (125 ml) buttermilk 2 Tbsp. (30 ml) chopped cilantro 1 small clove garlic, peeled ¼ cup (60 ml) extra virgin olive oil 3 to 4 Tbsp. (45 to 60 ml) lemon juice Place all ingredients in a blender and purée. Taste to adjust seasonings. Transfer to a bowl for serving, or a glass jar for storing in the fridge. This dressing keeps in the refrigerator for up to four days.

SERVES 6 TO 8

6 small carrots Hearts of 2 bunches celery (“hearts” means the small, yellowish centre stems) 1 bunch red radishes OR ½ large daikon radish 1 bulb fennel 1 whole endive 1 bunch broccolini or sprouting broccoli ½ head cauliflower, separated into florets ½ purple cabbage Green Goddess Dip (recipe above) CARROTS: peel and cut into very long thin sticks.

RED RADISHES: stem, rinse and serve whole or cut in half, depending on size.

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DAIKON RADISH: peel and cut into either rounds or long sticks.

FENNEL: slice into the thinnest wedges you can.

ENDIVE: slice off bottom end and separate the leaves;

cut large leaves in half lengthwise if desired.

BROCCOLINI: cut the bottom 2 cm of stem off; blanch broccolini for 30 seconds in boiling water and cool before adding to the platter.

CAULIFLOWER: separate into florets; cut some florets in half. Blanch like the broccolini, if desired.

PURPLE CABBAGE: cut into thin wedges.

Choose your vegetables based on flavour, shape and colour. You can pick a mono-chromatic colour palette (e.g. pale yellow-white with daikon, endive, cauliflower and celery hearts) or go for vibrancy with purple cabbage, broccolini, carrot and red radishes. Or focus on the shape: all long thin crudités; or contrasting shapes for a different visual appeal. The choice is completely yours.

Arrange your selection of vegetables on a beautiful platter and place a bowl of the Green Goddess Dip in the centre or on the side. Another option is to arrange the vegetables in different sizes of Mason jars around the dip.

CELERY, GREEN APPLE AND POMEGRANATE SALAD SERVES 4 AS A SIDE

One of my favourite winter salads, this comes together easily with its simple honey-mustard vinaigrette. Make sure to slice the cucumber and apple as thinly as possible. Use a mandoline for the celery if you have one.

From our farm to your doorstep, just in time for happy hour.

JOIN THE CLUB >>

Winter salad with apples, pomegranate and celery.

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DRESSING ¼ cup (60 ml) extra virgin olive oil ¼ cup (60 ml) apple cider vinegar 2 Tbsp. (30 ml) honey ½ tsp. (2.5 ml) Dijon mustard ½ tsp. (2.5 ml) salt ¼ tsp. (1 ml) ground black pepper 1 Tbsp. (15 ml) minced chives SALAD 4 to 5 large stalks celery, sliced very thin 1 large green apple, quartered and sliced very thin Seeds from ½ pomegranate Several handfuls of arugula leaves ¼ head radicchio, sliced DRESSING: whisk all ingredients together in a small bowl until well mixed. Transfer to a small Mason jar or glass dressing cruet. Dressing can be saved in the refrigerator up to one week. Shake or mix well before using.

SALAD: place arugula and radicchio on a large platter, evenly mixed. Arrange celery and apple over the greens. Scatter pomegranate seeds over the top. Drizzle with dressing. Serve.

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If you’ve been following our progress you’ll have to agree. We delivered!

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FENNEL & GRAPEFRUIT SALAD SERVES 4 AS A SIDE

Slightly sweet, slightly bitter, super refreshing, this is a sophisticated salad, wonderful for use as a starter or palate cleanser for a meal of rich roasted meats. Make sure to slice the fennel very thin; use a mandoline if you have one.

SALAD: 1 large fennel bulb, quartered, cored and shaved thin on a mandoline 3 large ruby grapefruit, peel sliced off and sections cut from the membranes DRESSING: 2 Tbsp. (30 ml) lemon juice 2 Tbsp. (30 ml) grapefruit juice 2 tsp. (10 ml) honey ½ tsp. (2.5 ml) salt ½ tsp. (2.5 ml) ground black pepper ½ tsp. (2.5 ml) Dijon mustard ¼ cup (60 ml) extra virgin olive oil DRESSING: whisk all ingredients together in a small bowl until well mixed. Transfer to a small Mason jar or glass dressing cruet.

Dressing can be saved in the refrigerator for up to one week.

Shake or mix well before using.

Winter salad with grapefruit and fennel.

design. manage. build.

SIN~CERAS - TOMMIE & GEORGIE GOLD WINNER

SALAD: place shaved fennel and sectioned grapefruit in a large salad bowl. Add about ¾ cup (180 ml) of the dressing. Toss well to mix. Taste to see if it needs more dressing. Arrange on a platter and serve immediately.

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57

travel

Remarkable Rwanda Conservation push sees parks and tourism grow WORDS SUZANNE MORPHET

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w

e’re getting closer,” says my guide, holding up a radio antenna in one hand and a receiver in the other. “It’s quite strong.”

We’re looking and listening for M-7, a collared male lion who’s out there somewhere in the fading light of a September afternoon in one of the oldest national parks in Africa.

A few minutes later, Hein steers our 4X4 off the dusty red ribbon of a road and we lurch over rough ground and around small shrubs.

Just over the crest of a hill we spot him. He’s lying in long grass near a warthog burrow. His tan and tautly muscled body blends in with the grass and a radio collar is barely visible under his thick mane.

He’s with his brother and they barely look up as we come to a stop a few metres away.

“They might wait for this warthog to come back,” says Hein. “They love warthog.”

The lions of Akagera National Park are just one of Rwanda’s conservation success stories in a country where “remarkable” seems to be more than just a tourism marketing slogan.

Created in 1934, the government abandoned Akagera during the genocide in 1994. When that nightmare ended, people who had fled came here in search of a new home, bringing 40,000 head of cattle with them.

Wildlife stood no chance against farmers and poachers and in 1997 the government downsized the park by twothirds.

What remains is still some of the most scenic savannah in East Africa with high ridges, deep valleys, lakes and plains. Lions were reintroduced in 2015 and black rhinos two years later, meaning Akagera is once again a “Big Five” park.

Sizable herds of buffalo, zebra, impala and topi graze the plains, while hippos and crocodiles rule the shallow lakes and papyrus swamps, which form the largest protected wetland in central Africa.

The government’s strong commitment to conservation has led Botswana-based Wilderness Safaris to open a new camp here, its second in Rwanda, with exclusive rights to the diverse northern corner of the park.

“Don’t be scared,” says Anita, the manager at Magashi camp, as she shows me to my tent on a raised platform overlooking Lake Rwanyakazinga. “You’re going to hear hippos all night.”

And not just hippos, but nightjars — one of Akagera’s 500 species of birds —and bubbling kassina, a type of frog. That night I fall asleep to a strange symphony of

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churring and whooping, but most of all to the loudest grunts and oinks I’ve ever heard. Good night, hippos!

Rwanda is densely populated. It’s smaller than Vancouver Island but home to 12 million people, making its conservation achievements all the more impressive.

In the opposite corner of the country, Nyungwe Forest National Park teems with life: birds, butterflies and 13 species of primates, including chimps. The park also contains a spring that’s thought to be the remotest source of the Nile River.

When we arrive late one afternoon, mist is rising from the valley floor far below. The air feels wonderfully moist and cool on bare skin. A trail leads deep into the forest where we can hear the rat-atat-tat of a great blue turaco, a bird traditionally hunted for its meat and feathers.

Eventually we come to what looks like a single strand of a giant cobweb strung across the sky. It’s actually a walkway designed to give visitors a bird’s-eye view of the surrounding jungle and it was built by Vancouver-based NGO Greenheart. We linger, suspended in mid-air for many minutes, reluctant to leave this romantic landscape.

But another park is calling.

Gishwati Mukura National Park near Lake Kivu will officially open as the country’s fourth sometime this year.

Sitting on the high divide between the Congo and the Nile river basins, its two montane forests total just 34 square kilometres, a tiny fraction of Nyungwe, but it will also provide important protection for wildlife, in this case golden monkeys, chimpanzees and rare birds.

Wilderness Safaris is opening a camp here too. The details are still under wraps, but the conservation-minded company negotiated a 25-year concession agreement with the Rwanda Development Board to create an exclusive chimpanzee and primate trekking experience.

Speaking of primate trekking, you can’t come to Rwanda without visiting the gorillas of Volcanoes National Park. Well, you could, of course, but why would you? This is where Dian Fossey brought to the world’s attention the desperate plight of the species that shares 98 per cent of our genetic code.

Before we visit the park, we’re curious to see what the country has achieved with its admittedly pricey gorilla viewing permits.

Individual permits cost $1,500 US and of that, 10 per cent goes to local improvement projects. In 2018, that totalled almost $2 million US. In one village we tour a new hospital. At another we’re introduced to Preciosa Nyiramikam and meet her cow, bought with tourism money. Preciosa tells us she no longer worries about feeding her family. And at the Gorilla Guardians Centre in Musanze we meet reformed poachers who now get paid to be wildlife protectors.

Volcanoes National Park is part of the Virunga massif, a chain of eight volcanoes that spans Rwanda, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Of these, Mount Karisimbi is the highest, at 4,507 metres, and this is where my group heads.

Unlike most wildlife experiences in Africa, where you pay and take your chances, seeing gorillas here is pretty much guaranteed.

Armed trackers go into the park early every morning to find each family of gorillas, then report their location to guides. It’s a way of protecting the gorillas as well as monitoring their health.

But knowing we’re definitely going to meet our closest animal cousins doesn’t diminish our excitement. If anything, it increases it.

How many will we see? How close will we get?

For the first hour we hike through a radiant bamboo forest. Then the path gets steep and muddy. Bamboo gives way to large African redwood with a dense understory. Finally, we leave the trail and hike through waist-high stinging nettles that live up to their name.

When we meet the armed trackers for the Susa family of gorillas we know we’ve arrived.

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Rwanda is densely populated. It’s smaller than Vancouver Island but home to 12 million people, making its conservation achievements all the more impressive.

We’re led into a large clearing where Kurira, Susa’s dominant silverback, sits alone on the forest floor, arms wrapped around his manly chest like he’s giving himself a hug.

Then other gorillas come into view through the greenery. More silverbacks, mothers with youngsters and one with a baby. They look content, even bored, examining their fingernails or chewing a branch. They come so close that sometimes we have to move quickly to get out of their way.

When another family of gorillas suddenly shows up, near

pandemonium breaks out. The Susa family — all 26 of them — gather together as if to confer, then turn and leave in single file. As they disappear into the forest it’s like watching a river of gorillas flow by.

Yes, gorillas will likely always be Rwanda’s pride and joy, and for good reason.

But it’s heartening to know this tiny country is restoring and protecting its other wildlife too. What it’s already accomplished truly is remarkable.

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headliners WORDS KATHY MICHAELS

A collection of things arty, fun and spectacular happening in the Okanagan.

Get in the groove with the art of ballet; take in the adventures of Jane Goodall; head up to Big White for AltiTunes; check out whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s brewing at an ale fest; and catch up with Canadian darling Jann Arden.

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Joshua Beamish’s Saudade.

SAUDADE

Rotary Centre for the Arts Friday, March 13

Joshua Beamish is one of Kelowna’s most precious exports, elevating the art of ballet wherever he touches down.

He’s collaborated with the Royal Ballet, The National Ballet of Canada, the Dutch National/Het Nationale Ballet Junior Company, Cape Town Opera, Vancouver Opera, New York City Ballet principals Wendy Whelan (in Restless Creature) and Ashley Bouder, among others.

Beamish will return home Friday, March 13 with Saudade — a contemporary dance named after the Portuguese word for nostalgia or longing.

Audiences will see six men express the feeling of longing and melancholy, through the collision of elegant balletic lines and dynamic, street-style energy during the one-hour show.

While it will be the first time it’s performed in Kelowna, Saudade has already garnered rave reviews.

“As Saudade came to a close and the audience roared, this quote by Maya Angelou came to mind: ‘At the end of the day people won’t remember what you said or did, they will remember how you made them feel,’” Madison Embrey from New York Rag said of Beamish and Saudade. “Beamish’s cast spoke with the most brilliant dance vocabulary, but the

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Arkells: AltiTunes at Big White Ski Resort.

feeling of saudade that swirled inside me as the men glided across the floor is what I’ll never forget.”

The March show will take place at the Mary Irwin Theatre in downtown Kelowna’s Rotary Centre for the Arts. Saudade represents Beamish’s first Kelowna performance in five years.

Tickets for the show range from $28 - $40 and are on sale now at rotarycentreforthearts.com/events/event/70602.

er of Thick as Thieves Entertainment.

Festival-goers will have access to free skiing, discounted hotels, shuttles to and from Kelowna, games and outdoor activities.

See: bigwhite.com/events-activities/events-calendar/ altitunes-music-festival

JANE GOODALL

THE ARKELLS

Vernon and District Performing Arts Centre March 24

One of Canada’s best-loved bands, Arkells, will headline a new festival called AltiTunes at Big White Ski Resort.

The event is being billed as an all-ages, multi-genre music festival chock-full of outdoor activities, games, food, drink and, of course, music.

The event is being produced by the team that brought Denim on the Diamond to downtown Kelowna.

“Our goal is to transform the resort into a night and weekend of entertainment for guests to enjoy. Those attending AltiTunes after a day of activities at Big White will share in what is shaping up to be an unforgettable après-ski experience,” said Kurt Jory, co-own-

Jane Goodall, the woman who first set foot in the forests of Tanzania in 1960 armed with little more than a notepad, a pair of binoculars and a dream of observing wildlife, will be sharing her unique experiences at the Vernon and District Performing Arts Centre on March 24.

“From the moment she witnessed a chimpanzee make a tool to the moment she decided to leave the park in order to save the chimpanzees she cared for, Goodall will describe her extraordinary scientific breakthroughs in animal behaviour and her journey to becoming one of the world’s most prominent and active conservationists,” reads the promotional material for her visit.

“Goodall’s talks never fail to inspire people of all ages as she recounts her unique experiences as a young woman working alone

AltiTunes, Big White April 4

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in the rainforest and her hope for a future where people live in harmony with nature.”

The Jane Goodall Institute is a global community conservation organization that advances the vision and work of Goodall. By protecting chimpanzees and inspiring people to conserve the natural world we all share, we improve the lives of people, animals and the environment.

All proceeds from ticket sales support the institute’s efforts to save the planet and its most endangered species.

See: ticketseller.ca/tickets/event/an-evening-with-dr-jane-goodall

Jane Goodall, courtesy the Jane Goodall institute

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25TH ANNUAL OKANAGAN FEST OF ALE

South Okanagan Events Centre April 17-18

The crew from Strangefellows at the Okanagan Fest of Ale.

The Okanagan Fest of Ale is taking things back to ’96 and kicking it old school in celebration of the very first Fest of Ale 25 years ago.

There will be 90 beverage vendors at what’s being dubbed the biggest beer festival the Okanagan has ever seen.

“This is another record-breaking number of participants for us,” said John Cruickshank, president of the Okanagan Fest of Ale Society.

“Of the participating breweries, many will be offering new seasonal releases, collaborations and beers created especially for the festival. The group is a nicely balanced mix of returning favourites, new, and soon-to-be-up-and-running breweries from neighbourhoods across the province, and we can’t wait to welcome them to the Okanagan in April.”

Guests of the fest can also look forward to fabulous food, with many restaurateurs incorporating a craft-inspired twist on their dish, fun photo booths, onsite pop-up shops, and entertainment and great live music in both the SOEC and the PTCC. Penticton has always been a major player in the craft beer scene and was recently named Canada’s Craft Beer Capital by Lonely Planet.

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Operating as a non-profit society, the Okanagan Fest of Ale donates all net proceeds back to the community. To date, the Fest of Ale has given $757,600 to local charities and not-for-profit societies in the South Okanagan.

Tickets to the event are available online at festofale.ca/

JANN ARDEN

South Okanagan Events Centre June 17

Multi-platinum, award-winning singer, songwriter, actor, author and soon-to-be Canadian Music Hall of Fame inductee Jann Arden will stop in Penticton on June 17 as part of her live cross-Canada tour.

Arden is a much-celebrated artist who catapulted onto the Canadian music scene in 1993 with the release of her debut album Time For Mercy, featuring the hit single I Would Die For You. A year later, her career breakout hit Insensitive cemented her position in the music world.

Since then, however, Arden has become more than just a musical entity. She’s Canada’s ubiquitous friend, known not only for the songs that send listeners to a time and place in their own lives but also for her personable and likable persona.

Jann Arden.

Her comedy series called JANN is one of the areas where she’s demonstrated this element of her personality. The series is set to return to CTV in 2020 as part of CTV’s mid-season schedule.

She also presents the The Jann Arden Podcast, which is available weekly on iHeartRadio Canada, and has written four books, the most recent being the Canadian bestseller Feeding My Mother – Comfort and Laughter in the Kitchen as My Mom Lives with Memory Loss.

Tickets to the event are available at livenation.com.

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secrets and lives —

AND THE 7 SINS with TANNER CAOUETTE

c

oming up on his 18th

year in the auto industry, Tanner Caouette currently serves as general manager and managing partner of Jaguar, Land Rover and Volvo Kelowna, as well as being a partner at Vernon Hyundai. He joined the Wyant Group in 2016, several years after moving to the Okanagan.

WORDS ANGELA COWAN

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PHOTOGRAPHY LIA CROWE

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“No two days are the same,” he says of why he’s stayed in the industry so long. “It doesn’t matter the brand, or the situation. It’s just that you’re always dealing with people, and you’re changing people’s lives. You’re providing one of the biggest purchases in their life, and I like being a part of that.”

Despite admitting to being a bit of a workaholic, Tanner makes time to enjoy the many amenities in the Okanagan. An avid golfer, he also spends much of his leisure time with his wife and their three dogs.

“We take them paddle boarding. My wife’s better than I am, but we get out a few times a month,” he says, laughing. “I like to spend as much time on the lake as possible.”

The pair also makes a point of travelling when they have the chance.

“Every couple of years we try to do something that’s really out there,” says Tanner. “We went to South Africa in 2016, and Dubai in 2018. Dubai was just absolutely incredible. It’s hard to put into words. Everything is so opulent. We went to one of the biggest mosques in the world, and it was built with marble and 24-karat gold, and it’s just so amazing and beautiful, and so different.”

“No two days are the same … it’s just that you’re always dealing with people, and you’re changing people’s lives. You’re providing one of the biggest purchases in their life, and I like being a part of that.”

The 7 Sins envy:

Whose shoes would you like to walk in?

Tom Brady. He’s a winner. The greatest quarterback of all time. And what’s more impressive is he’s been able to be at the top of his game for two decades. He was an underdog when he entered the NFL and has been able to overcome any and all obstacles. He’s evolved to succeed in today’s game, and he’s also one of the greatest leaders in the sport.

gluttony:

What is the food you could eat over and over again?

Pizza. I grew up in a small town, and I worked at a mom-andpop pizza place while going to school. We used to experiment with all sorts of ingredients and would come up with some of the best (and worst) recipes. It is definitely my guilty pleasure food.

greed:

You’re given $1 million that you have to spend selfishly. What would you spend it on?

I would take my wife on a lavish holiday. There is so much of the world we have not seen, so I would want to experience some of the amazing sites this world has to offer. If there was any left over, I’d buy a classic Land Rover Defender.

wrath:

Pet peeves?

Bad service.

sloth:

Where would you spend a long time doing nothing?

Here. There’s so much to do in the Okanagan Valley, between the beaches, parks, lake, mountains, etc. I have three dogs and the only thing I need more of is time to “do nothing” with them.

pride:

What is the one thing you’re secretly proud of?

My mom. She is the most powerful woman I have ever met. She is my inspiration.

lust:

What makes your heart beat faster?

I know it’s cliché, but my wife. She is the perfect combination of sexy and sophisticated. After 12 years together, she still gets me fired up.

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narrative

WORDS JADE CAMERON

X

ILLUSTRATION SIERRA LUNDY

THAT DAY I WAS A LIFE MODEL 70

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I T E L L M YSE L F I F E E L OK AY A BOU T O T H E R S SE E I NG M Y NA K E D BODY, BU T I K NOW T H AT I A M LY I NG T O S OM E DE GR E E .

hould I shave? I flip this question over in my mind a dozen times. I know Zoe does, and he’s seen her before. Then again, she says he’s in his 70s, and a natural bush was a given back when he would have been around women my age. Also, a bit of hair might provide just the slightest means of protection, even if it’s only an illusion. I throw the razor in my bag just in case.

I’m heading to meet my stepsister, who is taking me to my first ever life-modelling gig. There, I will pose nude for the sake of art. Drawing me will be a single client, Charles, and Zoe, who I’ve insisted come along. She’s modelled for him before, and has arranged this session at my inclination of interest.

Nudity is a strangely loaded concept. The various attitudes and implications related to exposing one’s body are beyond contradictory, and the lines between empowerment, exploitation and exhibitionism are muddy at best. But nudity is universal! Everybody has a body and why shouldn’t we feel casual about seeing them and having them seen by others? Women’s figures are beautiful and deserve to occupy more than just sexual spaces. I tell myself I feel okay about others seeing my naked body, but I know that I am lying to some degree.

This is where Charles comes in. Charles participates in a

weekly life-drawing class, where a group of people gather around a nude model and draw for two hours. I’m hoping that his interest in the human figure in a desexualized context, and my participation in this exchange, will be a way to confront my own internalized taboos and insecurities. I want to be confident in nakedness, I want to feel good about my body in a platonic “here I am, no big deal” kind of way.

So I set out, flipping between anxiety and confidence, excitement and dread. I meet up with Zoe and we debrief.

She reassures me. She tells me that the hardest part is coming up with and holding new poses. I suddenly realize I haven’t considered the logistics of this. Shoot. I don’t know a single pose. But Zoe says it’ll be fine, that they just come naturally and there are no wrong positions. She says to twist; twists are interesting.

I mull over her advice as we hop into the car. In the back is a pile of clothes that she tells me to look over. I pull out a like-new super-soft sweater — high quality and in black. It’s like it was made for me.

“Have it!” she says. I stuff it in my bag, and am distracted from our destination just long enough to feel minor relief.

Eventually, we park at the base of Charles’s driveway and the moment of “is it too late to turn around?”

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I want to be confident in nakedness, I want to feel good about my body in a platonic “here I am, no big deal” kind of way. hits. It is. The dread takes over and fills my feet as we trudge up the driveway. Charles’s door is bright red. I am pulsing with anxiety as Zoe knocks on it.

Charles opens the door. He is a small man with grey hair and a black beard. We head up to the kitchen and his wife, Sally, jumps right into the conversation. She offers us Girl Guide cookies. I can’t believe what we’re here for. I can’t believe I’m doing this.

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The studio is impressive. There are work tables easels, shelves of materials, drawers of different paper sheets, toolboxes of charcoals, and jars of sketching pencils. A grey paper backdrop hangs from a roller on one wall and onto the floor, making a stage. It is illuminated by a menacing spotlight. I am thankful for the professionalism it portends.

Also intimidated.

Charles says there’s a robe for me to wear in the bathroom whenever I decide to get ready. I follow his direction and head to “change.” This doesn’t seem like the right word when there’s nothing to change into — but “strip” is worse.

I begin undressing.

My body and I are on relatively amicable terms. I don’t fall too far outside of the desirable norm. But puberty brought large, heavy, wideset breasts to my otherwise petite frame.

This is supposedly a good thing, according to almost everyone I complain to. To me, it has always been a source of deep insecurity.

I struggle to get the cuffs of my jeans over my ankles and realize I’ve left my socks on last. How unsexy. Is that a good thing? I avoid looking down at myself as I slip into the robe.

It is silk. As I step back into the room, they are still setting up their things and I stand waiting, unsure of when to take the robe off. I’m anxious to get it over with.

Charles explains that we will start with a few one-minute poses, then move onto two minutes, then a couple of fives, and finish with one or two long holds. “Whenever you’re ready,” he prompts.

I slip the silk off and drop it in a pile to the side. Zoe is smiling at me. I feel surprisingly relaxed now that I’m actually just naked. Yet I am certainly aware of the shallowness of my breathing.

I move into the spotlight and decide to start facing backwards. I raise one arm over my head and twist my torso.

They both remark that this is a great position.

So it begins. One minute seems longer than it usually does.

Then it’s done and I twist a different way.

“You’re a natural!” Charles says. He is engaged in polite conversation with Zoe. I listen to the scritch-scratch of their pencils. I examine Charles’s studio meticulously. It’s almost boring. Now the five minutes. Time ticks away ever so slowly. I realize that I am so focused on staying still that the whole naked thing isn’t really a thing. Finally Charles calls time and tells me I can take a break and stretch. I again become acutely aware of my nakedness and pull my arms across my chest. I feel my body’s awkward posture outside of a deliberate position. The break is the longest part yet. I am relieved when we start again.

We do a long pose and I read every single title on Charles’s bookshelf. They are organized by subject. Suddenly the session is over; I slip back into the robe and briskly head for the bathroom. Jeans have never felt so comforting.

When I emerge, Charles and Zoe are comparing drawings as Sally gushes over them. They all applaud me as well, and I don’t know how to take the compliments. We say our goodbyes and I run down the driveway.

“So, how did that feel?” Zoe asks excitedly.

“I don’t know. Fine, I think.” It’s the truth. I’m not quite sure how I feel. I’m glad I went through with it and I’m glad it’s done with. I still feel nothing as we part ways. But later, as I travel back home, I am suddenly struck with shame. I can’t quite place its source but I find myself pushing the memory of the day out of my mind, avoiding reflection, not ready to process it.

Was I expecting something bigger? I don’t feel empowered.

I don’t feel exposed. I don’t feel a new confidence in my body. I just feel weird about requesting an arrangement to stand naked in a stranger’s basement.

I carry Zoe’s sketches, rolled up with two elastic bands, under my arm as I wait to transfer busses. It’s late. It’s cold now, and I remember the sweater Zoe has given me. I put it on under my bomber jacket and I’m instantly warm. I think of our relationship and how great it is to have a sister who knows me, who sees me, who reminds me I exist beyond skin. Our closeness has nothing to do with our physical bodies.

When I get home I unroll the three pages and show my girlfriend the drawings.

“Whoa. She got your tits perfectly,” she says.

Do you have a good story to tell — and the ability to write it?

Boulevard readers are invited to submit stories for consideration and publication in the Narrative section. Stories should be 800 to 1,000 words long and sent to managing editor Susan Lundy at lundys@shaw.ca. Please place the word “Narrative” in the subject line.

@bcwinefest

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behind the story

Boulevard fashion stories rely heavily on collaboration with local businesses and our appreciation runs deep. This issue we needed a cool garage to shoot our “90s Guess Ad”-inspired fashion shoot and we were thrilled to find the perfect location, Mike’s British Repairs at Hillcrest Garage. We were even more thrilled that owner Mike Fraser graciously welcomed our team into his world for the day. Mike’s British Repairs, specializing in Jaguar, Land Rover, MG and Triumph, took over Hillcrest Garage — which was built shortly after the Second World War — in 1999. Hillcrest has all the characteristics of a “neighbourhood garage” with decades-worth of stories, and Mike has lovingly maintained its unique atmosphere.

IN THE PHOTO: GARAGE OWNER MIKE FRASER WITH MODEL AVA REDPATH AND MECHANICS COREY CHAFFEE AND RYAN HORVATH

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PHOTO BY DARREN HULL

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