Spring is here but our new members provide services to help you year round.
Mountainview Landscape Supplies provides all the products you need for your garden overhauls.
Nailed It! Projects can help make your garden an oasis by building pergolas and patios, landscaping, installing underground irrigation and making other indoor and outdoor projects in reclaimed wood.
Originally from El Salvador, tattoo artist Erick Vasquez of Familia Tattoos spends time with his clients to work together to create a detailed, personal design.
Toni Boot, Jamberry consultant helps you create your signature style with Jamberry nail wraps, lacquers, and gel polishes!
As we look forward to this year’s local fresh fruit and vegetables OMA Goodness provides their delicious salad dressing and marinade with lemon, fresh pressed garlic and no water added.
Nomad Cider Ltd. will be wandering into local stores and restaurants this Spring with their hand crafted cider from fresh-pressed apples, grown by local farmers in the Okanagan Valley.
Ensuring your craft refreshments get to you, Direct Tap is a specialized logistics and distribution company for BC.’s rapidly growing craft liquor manufacturers.
Social You is a video modelling tool designed to develop socially confident and healthy youth through videos and resources for both professionals and parents.
To help you keep your financial records in order E.M.S. Consulting offers bookkeeping services.
We are also pleased to welcome the South Okanagan Victim Assistance Society as an associate member. SOVAS provides counselling, court support and information to men, women and children who have experienced abuse.
Businesses host children’s Easter event
On March 27, several Summerland businesses teamed up to provide an Easter Egg hunt for local children. The Easter EGG-stravaganza, spearheaded by Remax Orchard Country, took place in Memorial Park on Easter Sunday with lots of other activities.
Teaming up with Remax to support the event were Algorithm Millwork, All You Need Is One, Beauty and the Brit, BMO Bank of Montreal, Chantelle Meriam of Edward Jones, Marten’s Electrical Contracting, Master Care, Nesters Market, Par-T-Perfect, Pearce Schneiderat, Summerland Credit Union, Summerland Legion, Summerland Montessori School, Summerland Rental Centre, the Summerland Waterfront Resort, and Tim Hortons.
Bead Trails business grows
Established in 2010, Bead Trails has grown into a popular Summerland attraction. The company, which encourages people to visit individual businesses to collect unique beads, benefits Summerland businesses, by attracting visitors to Bead Trails participants and neighbouring businesses.
2015 saw the Bead Trails Experience expand from seven Okanagan communities to nine, and this year the company adds Vernon and Armstrong to Summerland, Kelowna/Lake Country, Westside, Peachland, Penticton, Naramata, Penticton, Oliver and Osoyoos.
The Bead Trails now directs tourists from as far-afield as the Merritt Visitor Centre to 164 businesses, artists and organizations in the region with 24 Summerland businesses on the trail, including the Kettle Valley Railway, the Art Gallery and Artisans of the Okanagan.
Old vineyard
given new life
Back Door Winery was opened by Pieter and Leizel Smits last August right on Highway 97 at Jones Flat Road.
The vineyard was there previously but Pieter restored it after deciding to move to Summerland from Alberta to raise a family in a more rural setting.
His parents, Ada and Arjan Smits, owners of Sonoran Estate Winery, passed on their love of winemaking to Pieter and he hopes to produce 6,000 cases of wine this year from grapes grown in his vineyard.
Restoration is another passion of the family and they feature recycled crafts and furniture in the wine store, which also benefitted from finds at local thrift stores and Habitat for Humanity’s Restore. They have plans for a patio and self-guided vineyard tours but now they are focusing on production and their daughter, Lhexie, born in January.
B and B
marks first year
Congratulations to Harvey and Eleanor Brown of Harvelle House on the first year anniversary of opening their bed and breakfast.
In their first year they “…shared in weddings, birthdays, anniversaries, family trips, first trips to Canada!, business trips, wine tours, sporting events, and simple get-a-ways for two...”
On top of all that their beautiful Clydesdales carried people around Summerland on sleigh rides, dropped children off at Centre Stage for the Good Will Shakespeare Festival, and dropped Santa off for his photos at the Summerland Festival of Lights. A very busy year.
Pink shirts brighten village
On Feb. 24, more than 100 residents and staff at the Summerland Seniors Village supported the end of bullying by dressing appropriately for Pink Shirt Day.
Mayor Peter Waterman, was in attendance along with Councillors Janet Peake and Toni Boot and representatives from many community organizations.
Bakery looks closer for ingredients
True Grain Bread, a craft bakery and grain mill with locations in Cowichan Bay and Summerland, is moving to baking exclusively with B.C. grown organic flour.
As of April 2016, everything True Grain bakes will be made with organic B.C.-farmed and B.C.-milled flour.
Todd Laidlaw, co-owner says, “We have an environmental responsibility...When one of our customers buys a loaf of our French bread at our Summerland bakery, they can feel good knowing that the organic flour used to craft it logged less than 160 kilometres. Same thing for a croissant or baguette. That is huge. A small change in behaviour can have a big impact.”
True Grain Bread has retail bakeries in Cowichan Bay and Summerland and True Grain flour is available in many B.C. grocery stores and available to craft bakeries in B.C.
Ag company adds team members
Okanagan Specialty Fruits Inc. recently welcomed two new team members, Jessica Brady and Chris Creese, to their marketing and communications team.
Jessica cites her love of baking as one of her reasons for being excited at joining the company, while Chris cites nostalgia for her childhood, picking apples with her family in Ontario.
The new staff were brought on board to help tell the story of the small, agricultural biotechnology company based here in Summerland, that specializes in developing tree fruit varieties with novel attributes that benefit fruit producers and consumers alike.
The company’s recent development of the Arctic apple varieties made the news due to their ability to keep their natural colour when they are sliced, bitten, and frozen.
Resort updates services
The Summerland Waterfront Resort is this month celebrating its ranking as fourth out of 157 “Hotels in the Okanagan” on TripAdvisor.
To ensure they continue to receive great reviews from their customers the resort has been updating its services and facilities.
In their events room they have upgraded their audiovisual system with a beautiful new projector and dedicated sound system.
In the guest rooms the resort is investing for a comprehensive telecommunications and internet upgrade to create a faster, more efficient experience for guests.
Vicky Jones is the communications and membership coordinator with the Summerland Chamber of Commerce.