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Horse woman
Desert Park’s Paddy Head was pioneering female jockey in 1970s
IN THIS ISSUE
Three years after ‘death,’ he’s grateful for second chance at life
Page 10
PUBLISHER
4
Students act as mediators at Tuc-el-Nuit school
6
Correctional officers graduate as inmates arrive
8
Rustico’s cowboy rides off into the sunset
10
Three years after ‘death,’ oldtimer celebrates life
12
Grassroots project is gift to Osoyoos community
14
As female jockey, Paddy Head stood up to the mob
16
Area 27 to host junior cyclists at Hayman Classic
22
Ballet Kelowna plans memorable night at Venables
22
Census of birds is an annual event
23
Around Town events calendar
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FEBRUARY 2017
EDITOR
RICHARD MCGUIRE editor@oksun.ca
AD DESIGN
RONDA JAHN production@osoyoostimes.com
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BRIAN HIGHLEY brianhighley@aberdeenpublishing.com
CONTRIBUT0RS KELSI BISSONNETTE is a Certified Fitness Trainer and Instructor. She has been working in the fitness industry for 20+ years and has owned her own fitness studio.
Horse woman
Desert Park’s Paddy Head was pioneering female jockey in 1970s
ON THE COVER Paddy Head, the volunteer vice president of the Desert Park Exhibition Society was a pioneering female jockey in the 1970s. The Mafia tried to bribe her to fix a race, but she refused. (Richard McGuire photo) Page 14.
We welcome feedback from our readers. Send comments to editor@oksun.ca or mail to Box 359, Osoyoos, BC V0H 1V0, Telephone 250-4957225. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in whole or part by any means without the written permission of the publisher. While every care has been taken with this publication, the author(s) and publisher cannot be held responsible for any errors it may contain. No liability is accepted for any loss or damage resulting from the use of this publication. © 2017 Aberdeen Publishing. We reserve the right to refuse any submission or advertisement. ISSN 2291-2991.
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Sun Sightings The Okanagan River offers some beauty in winter despite cold temperatures that are starting to ease. Not long ago, salmon came. It won’t be long before spring brings a bouquet of flowers. (Lyonel Doherty photo)
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Tuc-el-Nuit students Ava Podmorow, Joey Decker and Brett Calhoon stand ready to mediate any problems that fellow pupils might have. The school has run the peer mediation program for 20 years and has seen fewer conflicts as a result. (Dan Walton photo)
Trained students act as mediators at Tuc-el-Nuit By Dan Walton
Help, I need an adult! That phrase has become far less common over the past 20 years at Tuc-el-Nuit Elementary School, where students in a squabble are taught to rely on their own problem-solving skills through the school’s peer mediation program. A select few of the school’s senior students in Grade 5 and 6 are nominated and then vetted at the beginning of 4 www.oksun.ca
every school year. Once the training has been completed, 20 students begin rotating shifts on the playground to serve as mediators. “When I was younger I didn’t always want to go to the adults,” said peer mediator Joey Decker who’s in Grade 6. “Kids who have a problem probably feel safer telling somebody closer to their age because we’ll probably understand it better because we were their age not long ago.” When younger students are in a tiff in the schoolyard,
they know they can ask for help from one of the big kids wearing a bright yellow vest. Children know to contact an adult supervisor for more serious problems, but as Grade 6 mediator Brett Calhoon said, the common issues he’s able to help with involve things like name calling, feelings of exclusion and attacks on snow sculptures. Once a mediator has been approached by somebody with a problem, all students involved will find a private space to talk out the situation. During the mediation, everybody has to feel like they’re being heard. There are four rules: no interrupting the person speaking; no name calling; only tell the truth; and try to find a sensible resolution. “We’re not supposed to say, ‘What’s your problem?’ Instead we nicely ask them if everything is okay,” said Grade 7 student Ava Podmorow, who’s volunteering as a mediator for her second year. “Sometimes they open up and talk about their problems and other times they say things are fine.” Before she was old enough to join the team, volunteering as a peer mediator was something Podmorow had aspired to become one day. “When I was younger I always liked seeing the peer mediators walk around, and I always wanted to be one because the kids were a lot older and I thought it was really cool,” she said. “It’s cool when you’re only 11 and 12 years old and you can help kids a lot when they’re sad or mad – it feels good to do that.” Mediators help younger students to see that resolving personal conflicts doesn’t have to be a big deal. “Sometimes you don’t want to have the whole report thing with the teacher,” Decker said. “Now that there’s this program, kids can deal with their own problems more.” And younger students who use the program can rest assured knowing that dirty laundry never gets aired – mediators are sworn to secrecy. “The only other person who knows is Ms. (Thea) Kitt,” Decker said. “About 20 years ago I heard about the mediation program that they were doing at the high school here, as well as many other high schools all around the world,” said Kitt. She then began to wonder if a mediation program
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could work at the elementary level. To adopt the program at Tuc-el-Nuit, Kitt spent a day at a school that had been using the program. “The teacher running it said it’s a fabulous program,” she recalled. “He gave me the whole program in a big binder; taught me everything and I decided to start trying it. That was 20 years ago and we’ve been doing it every year since.” To gauge the difference being made by the program, Kitt said data was extensively gathered during the early years. “We noticed there was less fighting, less referrals to the office,” she said. “Over the years that all of those went down, all the little stuff that go on the peer mediators deal with.” Beyond the direct efforts of the mediators, Kitt has noticed the practice has had a reverberating effect. “We’ve noticed that little kids use the mediation skills and start to work problems out on their own before even approaching a peer mediator.” Before they can become a fully-fledged mediator, there’s a script that each candidate has to have memorized with about 10 hours of training involved. Also, it’s critical for candidates to be good listeners who will hear out every problem in its entirety. “With a peer mediator, they get complete one-on-one attention,” Kitt said. Although there are countless other variables, Tuc-elNuit notices fewer conflicts on the playground today than when the mediation program first launched. “By the end of every school year it gets even more peaceful,” she said.
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Officers march on Fairview Road in Oliver during Remembrance Day ceremonies. (Lyonel Doherty photo)
Correctional officers graduate with badges as dozens of OCC inmates start arriving By Lyonel Doherty The true test for new correctional officers at the Okanagan Correctional Centre (OCC) has begun as inmates recently started arriving. The high-security prison will house inmates in a phased-in approach, according to Kate Trotter, senior public affairs officer for the Ministry of Justice. “The first to move in will be those from the Okanagan catchment area,” she said. “Over the coming months, the number of inmates will increase as more inmates are sent to the facility by the courts.” Trotter said they are anticipating that the OCC will ulti6 www.oksun.ca
mately house approximately 400 inmates by the time the phased-in approach ends this fall. In the meantime, correctional officers are ready to put their training to the test. The fourth class of 24 correctional officer recruits graduated during a recent ceremony at the OCC north of Oliver. Since the centre opened on October 21, three other graduating classes took part in the ceremony, and one more class is expected to graduate soon. In each ceremony the graduates are piped in with family and friends in attendance. Each graduate is issued a badge and is sworn in by warden Steve DiCastri.
The small, formal ceremony is a very proud moment for staff and their families. “The warden, staff at the OCC and the entire Corrections Branch are all very proud of the accomplishments of these new recruits,” said BC Corrections spokesperson Cindy Rose. She noted that senior management at the OCC have followed many of these individuals from the first information sessions they attended. They watched as they took the Correctional Officer Physical Abilities Test and then saw them through the rest of the hiring process. “To see them complete the full six weeks of intense training is a very proud moment for us all and we are all impressed with how they have performed throughout this entire process,” Rose said. One correctional officer said he was very relieved to complete the training, noting the courses were very demanding, particularly the one pertaining to law. But in the end, he was very proud to receive his badge, which not only represented a significant career change for him, but a life-altering experience. Rose pointed out that BC Corrections provides very thorough training to ensure officers are prepared and have the skills and confidence necessary to do the job. After they complete their training, each new recruit is partnered with an experienced mentor who continues to help them in their development and can discuss any questions that come up.
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But new recruit training doesn’t stop once they start working because there is an 18-month basic training program that continues while they are on the job. At the end of the program, officers complete advanced training and receive full correctional officer status. “Once that status is attained there are learning and training opportunities throughout their career to ensure staff are constantly advancing their skill set to excel at their jobs,” Rose said. Correctional officer training includes sections on law and the criminal justice system, communication and conflict resolution, use of force, and programs that help inmates reduce reoffending. The centre will house male and female inmates, with one of its 11 units exclusively for women. Core programs that are designed to reduce reoffending for inmates will begin immediately. Rose said there are no plans for inmate crews to work offsite in the community at this point in time. But that is the expectation in the future. “For now, crews will focus on work on the OCC site such as cleaning, laundry and site maintenance,” she said.
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Bruce Fuller pounds away at an antique typewriter as he ponders his future. (Dan Walton photo)
Cowboy who built Rustico is riding off into the sunset By Dan Walton
The man at the helm of Rustico Farm and Cellars is getting ready to ride off into the sunset, literally. Bruce Fuller, the cowboy-clad founder and proprietor of Rustico, is moving on after nearly a decade spent crafting the vineyard into a Wild West winery. “There was a history here that was important to be recognized and picking up on it helped us to position ourselves in a memorable way,” he said. That old days identity that became a part of Rustico was engineered by Fuller. He based the business’s concept on a combination of real life and fiction – a mix of pop culture’s depiction of the cattle-lassoing, revolver-packing horsemen who conquered the American Frontier, along with the true history of the Okanagan’s early settlers. He gained an intimate understanding of this area’s long and rich history after serving four years as a director with 8 www.oksun.ca
the Oliver and District Heritage Society. Come high noon at Rustico – when it was time to wet the whistle, Fuller would host his guests in a saloon fit for a cowboy. “We don’t want our guests to guzzle and go,” he said. “I’m not into that – it’s wrong. We always say in cowboy culture, ‘take it easy, enjoy.’ We want to give the guest an experience that’s a little different, so when you leave here, you’ve had fun.” It’s difficult to find any modern technologies around the Rustico homestead – it’s a place of agriculture that’s predominantly sprinkled with furnishings of the Old South. “It’s old-fashioned looking, it’s funky, the wines are good, you can have a big picnic outside and a roaring fire, you can have lots of fun and lots of laughs and go away with a memory.” Since taking over in 2007, Fuller has made a home out of the Rustico headquarters, which is a cozy log cabin-style residence that was originally built in the 19th
century as a bunkhouse for miners. When it was first built, the bunkhouse sat two-and-ahalf hours away from its current location at Sally Silver Mine. Log by log, through the tricky Anarchist Mountain switchback roads, and with nothing more than a Volkswagen truck and trailer – it was finally relocated in 1963 to where it stands today on Golden Mile Drive located between Oliver and Osoyoos. The home was then given a new roof made out of sod, which had been cut out of the neighbouring mountainside. After being taken back in time by a visit to Rustico, visitors who take home a bottle of wine get to enjoy much more than the delectable tastes of their reds and whites. “When they take the product home they have a memory,” said Fuller. “Take a wine home with you from your travels, wherever home is, you put a bottle on the table in front of your guests, and you have a whole experience to talk about with them.” Fuller said almost everybody seems to enjoy Rustico’s theme and he noticed that Europeans seem to be the most fascinated, followed closely by guests from the U.S.A. and the Canadian Prairies “Cowboy culture starts when you’re a child,” he said proudly. One of Rustico’s flavours is a pinot noir called Doc’s Buggy, which was inspired by an old-fashioned medical practice. Back in the day, it was common for a doctor to make house calls, whereby travelling to the patient’s home for treatment was commonplace. “So Doc’s Buggy is a wine that pairs well with any food,” he explained. “It’s a versatile wine because it meant you could make house calls. You could go visit anybody you like for dinner and feel safe bringing a bottle of pinot noir – it goes well with pretty much whatever the
host might be serving.” In the 1800s, it was common for a Texas cowboy to start his career at the age of 14, Fuller said. By the time they reached the Canadian border, they would usually be at least 18 at that point, “So they were trail-hardened.” And while the young cowboys weren’t restricted by any laws regarding a drinking age, wine wasn’t very accessible in North America. “When those young cowboys showed up at a saloon in Osoyoos they’d have been drinking whiskey.” Reflecting upon his tenure, Fuller said the team at Rustico has succeeded very well here in delivering his dream. “Everything that we thought would happen, happened.” But they never figured on a wildfire potentially wiping out the entire farm in the summer of 2015. Despite high winds pushing the fire up to his fence, Fuller stayed behind and grabbed a bottle of wine appropriately titled “Last Chance” (to give him a bit of courage). But luckily Mother Nature showed some mercy and spared the ranch that night. She also didn’t want to tangle with the likes of the Oliver Fire Department. As far as Fuller is concerned, the winery still has potential to become even more impressive. “I want to still be here and continue to build the brand,” he said. “I would have liked very much for the brand to have evolved a little bit more.” The new owners are planning to rebrand the business and Fuller hopes it will not become “just another winery.” As he explores his options for the future, Fuller ultimately hopes to continue as a player in the local wine industry. “We’re pretty tight, our group,” he said of the wineries and vineyards around the South Okanagan. Oh well, come on horse, it’s time to go.
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Harold Cox was back playing hockey after his close brush with death on ice. Three years later, he celebrated his 77th birthday and 1,091 days added to his life with the friends who saved him. (Richard McGuire photo)
Three years after ‘death’ on ice, oldtimer celebrates being alive By Keith Lacey Harold Cox counts the days – literally – since he was given a second chance at life. Not only did his 77th birthday fall on Jan. 13, but it marked day 1,091 since his hockey buddies from the Friday morning pickup skate in Oliver saved his life. On the morning of Jan. 17, 2014, Cox, then age 74, suffered a massive heart attack near the end of a twohour skate at the Oliver Arena. Five of his long-time buddies and fellow hockey players immediately went to work knowing this was a life-anddeath situation and saved his life by performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation and then shocking his heart using an Automated External Defibrillator (AED). It was estimated that Cox’s heart had stopped for close to five minutes before being brought back to life. Cox has made a remarkable recovery since that frightening incident. Not only was he back on skates in a matter of months, 10 www.oksun.ca
but he and his wife Audrie have continued to travel the world, he continues to work out regularly at the gym and still plays a ton of golf. Two weeks after the incident, Cox underwent successful triple bypass surgery at Kelowna General Hospital. Three years later, Cox said he weighs less than he did three years ago and feels in better physical condition than he has in many years, which is saying a lot because he’s adhered to a strict fitness regimen most of his adult life. To celebrate his birthday and thank all of his hockey buddies, Cox bought them beer and pizza the morning of his birthday after his regular Friday morning skate. Four of the five hockey players who worked together to save Cox’s life were at the special birthday celebration. They include Jeff Crowley, Doug Hume, Marty Whiteman and Bryan Coles. Steve Arstad no longer lives in Oliver. “I just wanted to thank these four guys and Steve … who helped save my life,” said Cox. Ironically, the day he suffered his massive heart attack
Harold Cox celebrates his 77th birthday with the hockey buddies who saved his life three years earlier. It was thanks to an Automated External Defibrillator (AED) being available that they were able to save him from a massive heart attack. (Keith Lacey photo)
the AED inside the Oliver Arena was locked inside the Zamboni room and it was only through good luck that the arena attendant was nearby to allow relatively quick access to the machine, said Cox. Cox told the roomful of his 20 hockey buddies that he truly treasures every single day since he was shocked back to life. Being able to return to playing hockey and skating on the same ice with the men who saved his life and all the others from the Friday morning crew is something he treasures, he said. He and his wife have continued their passion of travelling the world and left last month for Dubai, planning to join a large contingent from the Rotary Club of Osoyoos for an extended tour of South Africa later this week. The couple has travelled to Portugal, Spain and Mexico in the past three years and they have now visited more than 50 countries during their marriage, he said. His passion for the game of hockey is stronger than ever and it’s no coincidence the life-changing incident happened playing the game he and his buddies love. “Hockey is the reason I’m here today,” he said. Crowley said it’s very ironic that he and several friends had taken a course in Osoyoos on how to properly use an AED only days before Cox suffered his massive heart attack. On the day in question, that training came in very handy and the AED did exactly what it was designed to do as it was obvious Cox’s heart had stopped, said Crowley. The majority of players who play every Friday morning in Oliver have been good friends for many years, but this incident brought them even closer together, said Crowley. “Everybody that was here that day was part of it (saving Cox’s life),” said Crowley. “We were a close group before, but this has really brought us even closer together.” Crowley agreed it was fate that Cox’s heart attack happened on the ice where his friends were, rather than
maybe half an hour later driving home. “Hockey saved Harold’s life,” he said. Whiteman said he can remember that day like it happened yesterday. “We all knew it was serious and we had to do something,” he said. “When he hit the ice that hard, we all knew it was a heart attack. His colour had changed and he was just lying there dead on the ice. “Fortunately, we were able to get that AED on him and shock him back to life. When that first jolt hit him, his body literally jumped a foot in the air … but we had him back.” This incident has particular emotional resonance with Whiteman because he lost his father to a similar massive heart attack at the tender age of 53 many years ago. “He had this massive heart attack and just died alone on the floor, while on vacation in Calgary,” he said. “Unfortunately, he didn’t get a second chance. That’s why it means a lot to everybody that was there that day that not only was Harold saved, but he’s fully recovered and really enjoying life. “It was an experience you don’t ever forget. It’s hard to believe it has been three years already.” Cox said buying beer and pizza for the boys was the least he could do. “I just wanted to let the boys know how appreciative I am for what they did for me,” he said. “I have been able to enjoy 1,091 more days and hopefully many more because of what happened that day.” The story of how his hockey buddies saved Cox’s life went national and has helped lead to AEDs being installed in virtually every hockey arena in Canada. There was also a brief feature about how his life was saved during an intermission segment on Hockey Night in Canada a couple of years ago. Cox and his wife have also donated funding to purchase several AEDs at public buildings in Osoyoos over the past couple of years. OKANAGAN SUN • FEBRUARY 2017 • 11
From left: Jen Shiels, Gaye Horn and Brenda Dorosz originally conceived of the Osoyoos Gift Cupboard as a place people could help themselves to items they need. It’s become much more. (Richard McGuire photo)
Grassroots project is gift to community By Richard McGuire When it was first conceived by three Osoyoos women, the Osoyoos Gift Cupboard was intended to be a box where people could help themselves to personal items they might need. The cupboard, crafted from reused wood by Reagan Pain, a young man formerly from Osoyoos, but now living in Vernon, was unveiled next to the Osoyoos Art Gallery in September. Although the idea was developed with those who are less fortunate in mind, the three women – Brenda Dorosz, Gaye Horn and Jen Shiels – made a point of saying it was a resource for anyone who might happen to need an item. People were invited to contribute new items such as toiletries, laundry soap, playing cards, sandwich bags and other small, but useful items. Donation boxes were established at several local businesses. “It was very well received,” Dorosz said as she and the other women generated community support in the early days of the project. “People are surprised that we’re doing it. They’ve heard of this idea before, but they’re glad we’re taking it on.” The Osoyoos project is believed to be the first of its 12 www.oksun.ca
kind in Western Canada. It’s now been four months and the project has grown beyond the little wooden cupboard. Although the cupboard doesn’t handle food items, Dorosz said a number of people have wanted to give food and they’ve been directed to the Osoyoos Food Bank. In the colder weather, Horn and Dorosz went around town helping homeless people with items such as sleeping bags, Tim Horton gift cards, socks, toques and mitts. “People don’t necessarily know who we are,” said Dorosz. “We walk up to them and give them things.” On Christmas, the women learned about a family with a four-year-old girl who had received a hamper from the Osoyoos Food Bank, but were unable to give anything to their little girl. “We sprang into action on Christmas night,” said Dorosz. “The family was struggling. We went through the cupboards and put together some things and then on Boxing Day morning, we went.” Jamie Elder from Unity Osoyoos also stepped forward with some clothing items, just as other local businesses have generously supported the project. “They were able to surprise their daughter and the little girl had a nice Christmas,” said Dorosz.
“I admit I was crying as we got hugs from this little girl and her parents,” Dorosz wrote on Facebook, where the project now has an Osoyoos Gift Cupboard public group page. “They were so thankful that a stranger had given them the gifts for their child.” The mother later expressed profuse thanks on the Osoyoos Loop page on Facebook. “I am in tears because I’ve never had this happen,” the mother wrote. “It has truly been an amazing Christmas. This year has been a little bit on the harder side... The town of Osoyoos has been absolutely amazing and has helped us out in a huge way... I’ve lived in the Lower Mainland for most of my life and to be honest, nothing like this ever happens there.” She added that she wants to pay forward to others the generosity she received when she is able. The project has also experienced some setbacks. In early January, when Dorosz and Horn were checking on the cupboard, they were horrified to see it had been vandalized. Someone had taken a knife or wire cutters and cut down a solar-powered light and thrown pieces around. Some of the items from inside the cupboard were also damaged. The women were undetered by the vandalism and said they didn’t want to install video surveillance because this might deter some people who need items in the cupboard from using it. “We want people to know that the vandalism has happened, but we’re all going to come together as a community and watch for these people,” said Dorosz. “It’s not going to stop us in any way. We are helping a lot of people and we can tell by what’s being taken on a daily basis that we are helping a lot of families.” Other challenges have included well-meaning people putting inappropriate items directly into the cupboard, including used items like partial tubes of toothpaste. And the women have talked to one older woman and one family they believed were hoarding items from the box. Since talking to them, the situation has improved. “We seem to have it under control after we spoke to a couple of individuals,” said Dorosz. “We were very nice about it, just telling them that if they need something, take what they need and leave the rest for others.” But overshadowing the few that have abused the Gift Cupboard are the many who have donated generously. Some are businesses giving donations of cash or products. Some are individuals making cash donations or dropping off items at collection boxes in businesses such as Unity Osoyoos and the Osoyoos Times. Most of those who give contact the three women directly to donate. Beyond Beauty recently collected donations for the cupboard from customers throughout December. The Osoyoos Seniors Centre also took up a collection. Many who donate have asked not to be named. “We decided we’re going to call them ‘Earth Angels,’ all these people donating to us,” said Dorosz. The project has also generated other good deeds in the
community only indirectly related to the Gift Cupboard. When a fire at an Osoyoos home in mid-January left a family homeless, the Osoyoos Gift Cupboard project co-ordinated much of the assistance as businesses, churches and individuals stepped forward to help. The family of six, who didn’t want to be identified, were renting and they had no contents insurance. Most of what they owned was damaged by smoke and could not be salvaged. The generosity from the community was so overwhelming that after a few days Dorosz had to turn to social media to ask people to hold off, at least until the family had a permanent place to live. At first many of the donated items were stacked into a classroom at Osoyoos Elementary School, but Tara Lockerby of Sierra Self Storage stepped forward to offer storage space. “This community is unbelievable,” said Dorosz. “It’s overwhelming. So much stuff, but it’s incredible.” Dorosz said the experience with the house fire shows there is a need for someone in Osoyoos to co-ordinate emergency assistance. Dorosz, Shiels and Horn have found themselves stepping forward to fill that void as the community’s need has outgrown the little cupboard. “That’s no problem,” said Dorosz. “But it is certainly more than we intended when we started the Gift Cupboard. It’s blossomed.”
OKANAGAN SUN • FEBRUARY 2017 • 13
Paddy Head, vice president of the Desert Park Exhibition Society, was a pioneering female jockey in the 1970s. When the Mafia asked her to help fix a race, she refused. (Richard McGuire photo)
Desert Park’s Paddy Head stood up to mobsters as female jockey in the 1970s By Richard McGuire When Paddy Head was a young jockey in the 1970s, she was once offered a bribe to slow down her horse and lose. She was a rare female jockey in a career dominated by men and was the only one that day to refuse to participate in rigging the race. In the end, her horse placed third, even though she admits it should never have done as well. Head brings that same feisty determination to her volunteer job as vice president of the Desert Park Exhibition Society. Key among the plans is the return of the Lance and Tilt jousting event on the May long weekend. It made its first appearance in Osoyoos last year. “That is going to become, I believe, our big annual event,” Head said. “This year the planning has started.” Despite only three weeks of advertising last year, the event drew an estimated 1,200 people over two days. This year Head hopes for 2,000. “We’re definitely getting the news out right now,” she 14 www.oksun.ca
said. “It’s a very unique event. A lot of tourists were there.” Horseracing has, of course, been the main event at Desert Park the past four years. Head is hopeful it will return, but she admits there are challenges as it’s difficult to raise the roughly $25,000 needed for purse money. “I’m keeping my fingers crossed that we’ll have racing again this year,” she said. “If we can get it going, we would have two [days], but more than likely it would be one.” Horse racing, she admits, is in decline in North America. Osoyoos is the last community in B.C. to offer “B” circuit racing, which allows smaller stables with one or two horses to participate. B circuit racing did extend around B.C. and Washington, but five years ago, it started to dry up, she said. Less well known is that Desert Park is used for the training of race horses roughly from the beginning of February to the beginning of April. Last year 158 horses trained at Desert Park, breaking previous records, but Head admits she “got a little bit enthusiastic” and it was a lot to handle. This year a more
Paddy Head as a young jockey. modest 80 horses are expected. About three quarters of the horses come from Alberta, which is still deep in winter at that time of year. Others come from such places as Washington and Saskatchewan. She plans to run several tours this year allowing the public to see the horses galloping and allow them to ask questions of the trainers and jockeys. “I’ll probably start doing it towards the end of February because by then the horses will be doing some speed work and that’s always fun,” she said. “If you’ve never been there and seen them, they go pretty fast and it’s awesome.” While Head’s current plans for Desert Park are important for this Osoyoos facility, it’s her background as a jockey in the 1970s and ’80s that is the stuff of novels. Head was one of the first female jockeys in a male dominated field and when she chose that line of work, she didn’t expect to be dealing with the Mafia. Indeed, Head has written a novel called ‘Fixed’ which is a largely true account of her experiences with racetrack corruption in the 1970s. Fixed is available on Amazon in Kindle and paperback format and it’s rated at 4.7 stars out of five. Back in 1970, Head was working in a stable, six and a half days a week for the grand sum of $50 a week. “Horse people are a little bit crazy, but we’re passionate, I guess,” she said. Then she read a newspaper story about a female jockey, Joan O’Shea, who became the first woman jockey in Ontario and the first to win at the Woodbine racetrack in Toronto. “I remember looking at it and thinking hmmm. I don’t think I’m going too far cleaning stalls,” Head recalls. Three years later, at the age of 23, she ran her first race at Blue Bonnets Raceway in Montreal where she was from. “It was pretty rough,” she said. “Most of the trainers,
a lot of the owners and some of the jockeys weren’t too thrilled to have women there.” She recalls that often she would spend about a month galloping horses in the morning for little or no money. Then, when it came time to race the horse, she would be told by the trainer that the owner didn’t want to use her. “The racetrack was very traditional, very patriarchal,” she said. “They would say women weren’t strong enough, women were too emotional. Oddly enough, it’s a known fact that horses get along better with women generally than with men, so maybe there was a little bit of fear there.” Sometimes jockeys would try to bully her by cutting her off when they passed and forcing her into the rails – something she thinks was often directed at all new jockeys and not just women. One day, she told her trainer that she wanted to use the big black mare she was riding to send a message, even though she would probably get suspended. It would be worth it. “He said great, go ahead,” she recalls. “So I did. I think of about 11 other jockeys, I got six of them. I shut them off, bounced them off the rail.” To her surprise, she was not suspended. The steward merely suggested with a nudge and a wink that she should tell her trainer to put a little more training on the horse. “I knew that he knew what was going on,” she said. After that, the other jockeys treated her like another one of the boys. Much of Head’s jockey career was spent in Boston where she was naively unaware of the Mafia involvement in the racing industry. It was about three years into her career that a stranger approached her and offered her $300 “if I would hold my horse,” or slow it down. “I said ‘absolutely not,’” she recalled. When she told her trainer, he laughed and said she should have taken the money because her horse, named The Heckler, couldn’t win. Besides, there were eight other riders in the race and she was the only one who turned down the bribe. Head asked him if the mobsters would shoot her if she rode out in front, but the trainer said they wouldn’t. Instead, they would probably try to get her in the starting gate, because the gate handlers were in on it too. Her horse was very nervous and did require a handler at the gate. And sure enough, when the gate opened, the handler held onto the horse for a split second. The horse got upset and reared. Head managed to hang on, though she was about six lengths behind the last horse. But her older horse was so angry that he ran all the way, finishing a surprising third. “I had a wonderful career,” said Head. “Whether you’re male or female, being a jockey is a tough profession, but it’s one of those things that if you have a passion, you’re going to do it no matter what.” OKANAGAN SUN • FEBRUARY 2017 • 15
The 2017 Hayman Classic will take place in early June at various venues in the South Okanagan, including the Area 27 racetrack near Oliver. The 4.8 km track is normally used for sports car racing. (Contributed photo)
Area 27 racetrack will host junior cyclists at Hayman Classic in June By Keith Lacey The sport of competitive cycling for juniors under age 18 is going to get a giant boost when racers from across the province – and around the world – compete on the brand new Area 27 racetrack facility in late spring. Ron Hayman, the founder of the Hayman Classic Youth Stage Race, has announced he has worked out a deal with management at Area 27 to use the sports car training facility to stage a full day of youth cycling races on Friday, June 9. This will be part of a series of road races and time trials to be held in Penticton and the South Okanagan as part of the Hayman Classic, which will attract competitors from across B.C., several other western provinces, numerous states in the United States and several European countries, said Hayman. 16 www.oksun.ca
“I was talking with Bill Drossos, who is the general manager with Area 27, and he was very co-operative and very interested in agreeing to allow us to use their facility as part of our annual series of races with the Hayman Classic,” said Hayman. “When you consider the going rate to rent that facility is in the range of $15,000 an hour for non-members, it’s quite a generous offer and one we have graciously accepted.” On June 9, junior cyclists from ages 9 to 18 will race over the 4.8-kilometre racetrack. Hayman and his partners have helped organize a B.C. Youth Cycling Championships in Penticton the past two years “and the race has quickly become one of the really important events in competitive youth cycling in western Canada,” said Hayman. While there are numerous cycling events for adults spread across the Okanagan Valley and much of British
Columbia, there aren’t enough events to attract competitive junior cyclists, but he’s doing his best to try and change that, said Hayman. “It is not an inexpensive sport and there are concerns from parents relating to safety issues,” he said. ‘But that being said, we have to provide events for talented junior cyclists or we might lose them at a very young age. “We’ve proven with our event that we can attract outstanding junior racers from not only this region, but from far away if you run a quality event. These racers need to compete in meaningful events in order to make progress.” The Hayman Classic is designed to give competitors a “European style” racing experience with numerous events held on consecutive days over beautiful, but challenging terrain, he said. Other races that will be featured in the 2017 Hayman Classic include a hill climb race in Penticton before the races at Area 27 on June 9, a criterium time trial event in Penticton on Saturday, June 10 and a road race starting and finishing at Southern Okanagan Secondary School in Oliver on Sunday, June 11, said Hayman. The Axel Merckx Youth Development Foundation, which is a not-for-profit initiative established in 2011 to help develop and steward competitive junior cycling, will provide some of the funding to help stage the 2017 Hayman Classic, said Hayman. Merckx is the legendary Belgian cyclist who now lives in Kelowna and has organized the Grandfondo Axel Merckx Okanagan, which has become the one of the largest cycling events in Canada each year.
Having competitors race over four consecutive days provides them with a European-style event most will face when they move from junior into the senior competitive racing circuit, said Hayman. “We’ve designed the event to be like a mini Tour de France … where competitors must finish one stage to be able to have the chance to continue on to the next stage,” he said. “Because we will be dealing with a lot of young kids, we will try not to eliminate anyone if they can’t finish a stage, but the idea is to expose them to the type of racing they will be facing when they move on from juniors.” Hayman expects there will be between 150 to 200 junior cyclists registered for the 2017 Hayman Classic. “We should get the top boys and girls from the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island and most of the top kids from the Red Devils Cycling Club in Kelowna,” he said. “We also expect a lot of the top junior riders from the other western provinces, a large contingent from one of the top junior clubs in Quebec and many from nearby States like Washington and Oregon. “This is a pretty special part of the world and racers want to compete because it’s a good event, but also because it’s quite beautiful here.” Racers will only have to pay $150 to compete in all four events over four days, he said. Hayman said he is confident the Hayman Classic will become a bigger and better event in future years. Anyone wanting more information, can go online and visit the website at www.haymanclassic.ca.
FREE Double Movie Pass Giveaway Enter for your chance to win at www.oksun.ca under the Contests tab.
OKANAGAN SUN • FEBRUARY 2017 • 17
WELLNESS WORDS
Maintaining a Healthy Heart.
Happy Heart Month. Your heart is the strongest muscle in your body and it will beat 2.5 billion times over your lifetime. Energetically, the heart’s ability for giving and receiving is endless. Scientific studies are now proving that the heart has an innate wisdom of its own, not connected to the mind. The heart has 40,000 neurons, as many as the brain, and when the heart leads the mind becomes more focused and relaxed. When you consciously activate the intelligence of your heart, your creativity and intuition rise and your stress and anxiety decrease. Meditation works very well to reduce stress and help maintain heart health. As well, making healthy choices is the best way to protect your heart. Eat well, Get Moving, maintain a healthy weight, and reduce stress. Energetically the heart is the 4th chakra in the middle of your chest. The fourth chakra is at the centre of the seven chakras with three below and three above. This is the area where physical and spiritual meet. The fourth chakra, also referred to as the heart chakra, is located at the centre of the chest
and includes the heart, cardiac plexus, thymus gland, lungs, and breasts. It also rules the lymphatic system. The Sanskrit word for the fourth chakra is Anahata, which means “unstruck” or “unhurt.” The name implies that beneath the hurts and grievances of past experiences lies a pure and spiritual place where no hurt exists. When your heart chakra is open, you are flowing with love and compassion, you are quick to forgive, and you accept others and yourself. A closed heart chakra can give way to grief, anger, jealousy, fear of betrayal, and hatred toward yourself and others.
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Here are four ways to open your Heart Chakra �
Smile at everyone you see daily, even if you don’t feel like smiling. It’s contagious.
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Forgive and move on. Life is too short to hold grudges.
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Give friends, family and coworkers positive affirmations and feedback.
Try to go one day a week without criticizing anyone or anything, including yourself. Take any opportunity you can to foster love and loving feelings. Love is a currency and whatever you give will come back to you.
In Wellness, Kelsi Bissonnette Health and Wellness Coordinator Watermark Beach Resort 250-689-6020 wellness@watermarkbeachresort.com
YOGA • PILATES • SPINNING • TRX • STEP • SUP • MEDITATION • WORKSHOPS • RETREATS • WELLNESS
15 Park Place Osoyoos BC 250-689-6020
Sign Up Online
www.osoyoospilates.com Email inquiries contact us wellness@watermarkbeachresort.com 18 www.oksun.ca
MEETINGS
Grandmothers for Africa meetings are the second Wednesday of the month, 1 p.m. at the Osoyoos United Church.
T.O.P.S. meets every Thurs. at 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. at Osoyoos Baptist Church (lower level). We are a support group interested in eating healthy and losing weight. New members welcome. For
O’s Own Writers meet the second and fourth Wednesday of each month at 2 p.m. at the Osoyoos Arts Centre. New members welcome. Call Jody 250-4952170.
more info, call 250-495-0410. Osoyoos Elks #436, 2nd Wednesday meet at 7 p.m., Elks Hall, 8506 92 Avenue. Call Annette at 250-495-6227 or Ken Thibault at 250-495-3936. AA meetings every Monday 7 p.m. St. Anne’s Catholic Church. Every Friday 7 p.m. St. Christopher’s Anglican Church. Call Louise 250-495-1627.
OLIVER THEATRE
Osoyoos Photography Club meets the first and third Tuesday in Room 1 downstairs at the Sonora Community Centre. Informal meet at 6:30 p.m. regular meeting at 6:45 p.m. For more information, call 250-495-4960 email: osoyoosphotoclub@gmail.com.
Enjoy your evening out, taking In a movie at the Oliver Theatre!
February, 2017 Programme Visit Our Website
www.olivertheatre.ca
Regular Showtimes Sun. – Mon. – Tues. – Thurs…7:30 p.m. Fri. – Sat………….……….7:00 & 9:00 p.m. (unless otherwise stated)
Phone 250-498-2277 Oliver, BC
Sat. – Sun. – Mon. – Tues., Thurs. – Fri. Feb. 18 - 19 - 20 - 21, 23 - 24 Showtimes on Fri. & Sat. @ 7:00 & 9:25 p.m.
Thurs. - Fri. – Sat. Feb. 2 – 3 - 4 Showtimes on Fri. & Sat. @ 7:00 & 9:10 p.m.
The Multiple Sclerosis group meets the second Thursday of the month at 10 a.m. at the Interior Health office, 4816 89 Street, Osoyoos. Call Ron at 250-4984372 or Donna 250-495-5001. Oliver & Osoyoos Search & Rescue. 7 p.m. every Thursday. 100 Cessna St., Oliver (beside the Air Cadet hangar) www.oosar.org.
Nominated for 14 Academy Awards Including
Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor Best Actress, Best Original Screenplay Coarse and sexual language.
Sun. – Mon. – Tues. Feb. 5 - 6 - 7 Sun. Mon. Tues. Feb. 5 6 7
Nominated for 3 Academy Awards Best Picture, Best Supporting Actress Best Adapted Screenplay
Osoyoos Quilters meet on the 1st and 3rd Tuesdays at 9:30 a.m. at the Elks Lodge, 8506 92 Ave. at 9:30 a.m. Call 250-495-2254 or 250-495-4569 for more info. Evening quilting every first and third Wednesday of the month at 6:30 p.m. Vera at 250-495-2738.
Coarse language.
Sat. – Sun. – Mon. – Tues., Thurs. – Fri. Feb. 25 - 26 - 27 - 28, March 2 - 3
Thurs. Fri. Sat. Sun. Mon. Tues., Thurs. Fri. Thurs. – Fri. – Sat. – Sun. – Mon. – Tues., Thurs. – Fri. Feb. 9 – 10 – 11 – 12 – 13 – 14, 16 - 17 One Showing Nightly @ 7:30 p.m.
Double O Quilters Guild meets on the 2nd Monday of the month, September through May. 9:30 a.m. at the Oliver Community Hall. Contact Lynda at 250498-8804.
Academy Award Nomination for
Communities for Kids Osoyoos Table Meeting. 3rd Monday of month 4 p.m. at Sonora Community Centre. 250-4988433 for info.
Best Visual Effects
Parkinson’s Support Group meets on Monday from 1 - 3 p.m. at Sunnybank Lodge in Oliver. Call Maureen at 250495-7978 for more info. Toastmasters... “Where leaders are made”. Drop in any Tuesday 7 p.m. at 5876 Airport St. in Oliver. Contact Shauna 250-485-8465 or meandwine@ gmail.com.
Violence.
There will also be a matinee of this show on the Sat. at 2:00 p.m. All seats $6.00 for the matinee.
Programme subject to unavoidable change without notice
OKANAGAN SUN • FEBRUARY 2017 • 19
Johnny Cash and ballet should make for memorable night with Ballet Kelowna By Keith Lacey Ballet Kelowna has a new leader, a new home and a new vision to try and popularize the art form many consider elitist. Part of their efforts to bring ballet to the masses includes having members of their professional troupe play in small towns like Oliver, which is exactly what will happen on Sunday, Feb. 12 when dancers with Ballet Kelowna will perform at the Frank Venables Theatre. The show, called 150 Moves, is being held in conjunction with Canada’s 150th birthday celebrations across Canada in 2017, said Simone Orlando, the Chief Executive Officer and artistic director with Ballet Kelowna. A week before their performance in Oliver, Ballet Kelowna has invited more than three dozen dancers from the acclaimed Arts Umbrella Dance Company in Vancouver and Ballet Alberta II to perform in two big shows at Kelowna Community Theatre on Feb. 4-5. Those shows featuring the three dance companies will kick off an extended six-week tour that will see performances in Coquitlam, Prince George, Valemont, Fort St. John and Golden in B.C. as well as Fort McMurray and Slave Lake in Alberta, said Orlando. The show coming to Oliver will be a much smaller program designed to introduce ballet to a wider range of audience, said Orlando. “We want to expand our audience and make ballet more appealing to those who might never have considered attending a ballet performance,” she said. With this in mind, the performance in Oliver will feature a tribute to the music of country music legend Johnny Cash. That portion of show is called Studies of Cash, where dancers will pay tribute to the legendary American singer and songwriter that will mix Cash’s greatest hits with soulful and stylistic dance interpretations accompanying the music, she said. Country music fans are sure to enjoy the rare opportunity to listen to their favourite genre of music come to life as interpreted by professional ballet dancers, she said. The balcony scene from Shakespeare’s classic love story Romeo and Juliet will also be part of the 150 Moves performance in Oliver, she said. Okanagan-born choreographer Joshua Beamish, who has had his work showcased around the world, will cho20 www.oksun.ca
reograph the Romeo and Juliet balcony scene, accompanied by Prokofiev’s renowned score, said Orlando. Another performance called Canadian Suite will pay homage to legendary Canadian jazz pianist Oscar Peterson, she said. “People who enjoy ballet in small towns like Oliver traditionally don’t have the opportunity to witness professional dancers, but we’re making a commitment to try and bring professional ballet to these smaller communities across the Okanagan Valley,” she said. “Kelowna Ballet was the first professional ballet company to perform in the new Frank Venables Theatre last May and we had such a great reaction to that performance that we knew we had to come back with this 150 Moves performance.” Orlando, a former member with the National Ballet of Canada and longtime professional ballet dancer, has been the artistic director at Ballet Kelowna since the fall of 2014. A career-ending injury forced her to early retirement and to go back to school to obtain a business degree. The timing was perfect in the fall of 2014 as she had recently obtained her business degree and Ballet Kelowna was looking for a new CEO and artistic director, she said. “I applied and was fortunate to land the position … the time couldn’t have been any more perfect,” she said. Ballet Kelowna has recently moved into its new, spacious 3,500-square-foot studio near the Orchard Park Mall in Kelowna, which has allowed its dancers to be able to rehearse and train full-time, she said. To celebrate Canada’s 150th birthday, the federal government is offering large grants for arts groups across the country to hold special celebrations and Orlando said Ballet Kelowna wanted to do something very special, which is how 150 Moves came about. In each city and town where 150 Moves performs, Orlando and some members of Ballet Kelowna will spend time with young dancers the day before or day of performance to lead classes, give tips and answer questions, said Orlando. “We want to show these young dancers that they can consider a career in professional dance,” she said. “We will talk to them about the rigours, hard work and rewards that come with being a professional dancer.” Tickets for the show in Oliver are available online at www.venablestheatre.ca.
Colon Cancer Colon Cancer Catching colon cancer early can make a world of difference. Cancer is a breakdown in the body’s systems. Cells continue Greg Wheeler, growing and Pharmacist multiplying, creating lumps called tumors. Tumors can block the ordinary functions of the body, such as in the colon, the area of the body that passes the waste along after your food is digested. When cancer cells are located in the colon, that’s colon cancer. Colon cancer is the third leading cause of death due to cancer, however being screened early can reduce the likelihood of death by 90%. The cause of colon cancer is not certain. There are, however, risk factors such as being over 50 years old, drinking alcohol or smoking, diabetes, a high-fat diet and a family history of colon cancer. Colon cancer can continue growing for years without causing you any discomfort or other symptoms. That’s why it’s important to get screened for the disease. But for those who do experience symptoms, be alert to stomach cramping, thin stools, fatigue and sudden or unexpected weight loss. For more information on colon cancer, speak to your Remedy’sRx pharmacist or visit www.cancer.ca
105-291 Fairview Rd Ballet Kelowna performs 150 Moves at the Frank Venables Theatre in Oliver on Feb. 12. (Publicity photo)
Oliver
250.485.4007
OKANAGAN SUN • FEBRUARY 2017 • 21
Phil Harfman of Osoyoos looks for birds during the the 2016 Christmas Bird Count. (Matt Robinson photo)
Census of birds is annual event By Richard McGuire On a chilly New Year’s Eve at the end of the coldest December in recent years, 33 volunteer observers set out to count birds around Oliver and Osoyoos. The event was the 38th annual Oliver-Osoyoos Christmas Bird Count, an annual census of bird species spotted and estimates for the number of birds of each species. The Oliver-Osoyoos count was just one of 2,400 counts at this time of year throughout the Americas. It’s part of the Audubon Christmas Bird Count that began in 1900 when Dr. Frank Chapman, founder of BirdLore (which evolved into Audubon magazine) suggested an alternative to the holiday “side hunt,” in which teams competed to see who could shoot the most small game, including birds. Chapman proposed that people count birds instead. Today the information is used to monitor the health of bird populations and to help guide conservation actions. It’s also used to monitor the impact of climate change and habitat loss on bird populations. To date, more than 200 peer-reviewed articles have resulted from analysis of Christmas Bird Count data, says Doug Brown, who organizes the Oliver-Osoyoos count. The local count extends from the north edge of Oliver to Boundary Point in Washington State and from Anar22 www.oksun.ca
chist Mountain to the west end of the Richter Pass. Volunteers break off into small parties and follow assigned routes, which change little from year to year. They count every bird and record its species. Some local birders are so dedicated that they also participate in such neighbouring counts as Bridesville, Vaseux Lake and Cawston, which fall on different dates. So did the colder weather impact this year’s count? Brown thinks it likely didn’t keep too many birds away, but it did cause ones on Osoyoos Lake to pick a different spot in search of open water as much of the lake was frozen. But it may have had an impact on volunteers as two groups bowed out at the last minute due to colds, resulting in several key areas being missed in the count. In total, the local count recorded 17,200 birds of 100 species. That’s well above the 36-year average, but it’s the lowest count for total numbers and species since the turn of the millennium. The most abundant bird was the Bohemian waxwing, with 3,042 counted, followed by the European starling, at 2,656 and Canada goose at 2,346. One bird, a recent immigrant, is the Eurasian collared dove, whose number this year was 403 – up from zero 11 years ago before it became established. “There wasn’t anything really super rare this year,” said Brown, noting that observers did see some that are less common. And for birders, that’s often exciting enough.
The Osoyoos Coyotes play regular season games at the Sun Bowl Arena on Saturday, Feb. 4 (North Okanagan); Saturday, Feb. 11 (Kelowna); and Saturday, Feb. 18 (Kelowna). Games start at 7:30 p.m. The Front Street Gallery presents ‘Inspirations’ by guest artist Betty DeRoos from Feb. 3 – March 2. Join the artist at the “vernissage” on Saturday, Feb. 4 from 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. Gallery located at 60 Front Street, Penticton and is open Tuesday – Saturday 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. The Osoyoos Quilter’s Guild will be exhibiting at the Osoyoos Art Gallery from Saturday, Feb. 4 to Saturday, Feb. 25. The gallery at 8713 Main Street is open Tuesday to Saturday from noon to 4 p.m. On Sunday, Feb. 5 from 10.30 11.30 a.m. Rev. Norma Cowie of the South Okanagan Metaphysical Centre is leading Osoyoos’ first meeting at the Osoyoos Seniors Centre. The topic of the presentation is ‘Everything is Possible - Or is It?’ Phone 250-490-0654 for more information. February is Heart Month. ‘Joy & Possibilities’ at the Walnut Beach Resort in Osoyoos on Feb. 7 at 7 p.m. Tips, tools and fun activities to help you celebrate life’s magic. $15 with $5 going to the Heart & Stroke Foundation. Door prizes and a guaranteed hour of joy! Pre-register to caronkeens@gmail.com. Free healthy living presentation at the Osoyoos Library on Wednesday, Feb. 8 at 10 a.m. Eyes require special care to keep them healthy. Learn about glaucoma, cataracts and what you can do to keep your eyes healthy. Presented by Osoyoos Pharmasave along with public educator, Melissa Machial.
It’s Open Mic Night at Jojo’s Café in Osoyoos on Wednesday, Feb. 8. Doors open at 6:45 p.m. Bring your instruments and your voice and sign up to perform, or just come and enjoy the show and a beverage. No cover charge. Osoyoos Concert Series next show will feature The Travelling Mabels on Thursday, Feb. 9 at the Osoyoos Community Theatre. Tickets available at Imperial Office or Sundance Video for $23 at the door the price is $25. Show starts at 7:30 p.m. The Osoyoos Fireworks Committee is having a fundraising Valentines Dance featuring Rebel Luv on Saturday, Feb. 11 at the Elks Hall. Tickets are $10 and available at Imperial Office or from Annette 250-495-6227 or Ken 250-495-0778. There will be a buffet and silent auction. The Town of Osoyoos and Baldy Mountain Resort have teamed up to offer a two-hour guided snowshoe trek on Feb. 11. Meet at the Mount Baldy ticket office. Register in person at the Sonora Community Centre a minimum of five days before the session. $65 for one session or $45 with an annual pass, not including gratuities. The Osoyoos Desert Society begins its 2017 winter/spring program with The Ocean’s Albatross, movie and an expert, on Saturday, Feb. 11 from 2 – 4 p.m. at the Watermark Beach Resort. Join Jan Vozenilek and Ryan Cope as they share their experiences working on Midway Island. There will be a Stephen Palmer (folk singer) concert on Sunday, Feb. 12 at the Osoyoos United Church, 7814 Spartan Dr. Doors open at 1:30 p.m. and concert starts at 2. Tickets $15 at United Church Thrift Shop. The Town of Osoyoos is holding a Family Day Skate on Monday, Feb. 13 from 1 to 3 p.m. at the Sun Bowl
FEBRUARY
Arena. Free admission, free hot dog and drink. Games and prizes. Thursday, Feb. 16 the annual Oliver Grandmothers for Africa bridge tourney takes place from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the Fairview Mountain Golf Club.. Pre-registration required by Feb. 14 email bridgesocialnews@ gmail.com or call Leslie at 250-4982282. Cost is $20 incl. lunch. Chris Shortall from Nelson performs reggae in a concert a Jojo’s Café in Osoyoos on Saturday, Feb. 18. Tickets are $10 at the café. The Mainly for Women Trade Show takes place Saturday, Feb. 18 at the Oliver Community Centre. It’s organized by Women of Oliver for Women (WOW), who devote the money raised to projects in the community, such as Desert Sun Counselling. The trade show features displays of handmade jewelry, preserves, pottery, woodcrafts, fibre arts, health products, insurance, real estate, artworks and more. 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Free public admission. Feb. 19 jam session at Osoyoos Senior Centre. Sign up by Feb. 17. Spectators $5 at the door. 2 - 4:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 25 is Art and Music Night at Jojo’s Café in Osoyoos. See the work of the Osoyoos Photography Club and listen or play in the open mic show. Doors open at 6:45 p.m. No cover charge. The Osoyoos Secondary School Drama Club is holding an Academy Awards fundraising event at the Sage Pub in Osoyoos on Sunday, Feb. 26. The red carpet is at 4 p.m. and you can watch the Oscars on a large screen at 5:30 p.m. $20 tickets include appy plate and cocktail. Safe rides home by donation. Send your events to: events@osoyoostimes.com
OKANAGAN SUN • FEBRUARY 2017 • 23
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