Photo: Okanagan Regional Library
A Kelowna resident has started an online petition against a drag event that is in a few weeks.
Lori Baird started the change.org petition against Drag Story Time at the Kelowna Downtown Library on January 28th.
“Drag Queen events/adult entertainment are not suitable for young children, regardless of age appropriate claims. Drag queens and strippers are not appropriate role models for young children, who tend to idolize any live performer they meet,” Baird wrote.
According to the Okanagan Regional Library website, The Community Reader Story Time Series is a new program at the Okanagan Regional Library (ORL) that aims to provide diverse and inclusive programming to communities.
“We believe everyone deserves the chance to hear and see themselves reflected in the stories we share, and we’re so excited to have Freida Whales host this inaugural event,” a statement on ORL’s website
On Saturday, a group of protesters were met by hundreds of counter-protesters at the Coquitlam Public Library for a Drag Queen Story Time event for children. RCMP officers had to be called in to keep the peace.
“Failure to protect our children as a community leads to early sexualisation of children, which has been shown to lead to sexual abuse, unwanted teenage pregnancy, prostitution and drug abuse. I as a citizen of the City of Kelowna and a voting voter am asking our City of Kelowna Mayor and Council to stop supporting or funding these adult entertainment shows with our tax dollars,” Baird added.
Back in December, a small group of protesters showed up at DunnEnzies in the Mission to protest a drag show that was part of a toy and food drive for the Salvation Army in Kelowna.
Kelowna RCMP were called to the scene and the demonstrators dispersed.
The online petition has over 600 signatures.
Photo: Kelowna International Airport
UPDATE 12:50 p.m
Flights land and depart again at Kelowna International Airport.
Airport operations manager James Hall told Castanet they had to cancel 18 arrivals and departures from around 7pm on Saturday until 11am on Sunday morning due to fog.
He says the fog has reduced visibility to about 1/8 of a mile. By 11 a.m. visibility had improved to five to seven miles.
Hall says WestJet has added several additional flights between Kelowna and Vancouver and Kelowna and Calgary to help passengers whose flights were canceled get to their destinations.
Be sure to check the latest arrivals and departures before heading to the airport.
Photo: Contributed
By 11 a.m. Sunday, the fog had lifted significantly at Kelowna International Airport
UPDATE: 12:12 p.m
As of noon, five departures and six arrivals were canceled at Kelowna International Airport.
The number of delayed flights was up to nine departures and nine arrivals.
Fog advisories issued by Environment Canada remained in effect for the Central Okanagan, but were lifted for the North Okanagan.
Areas of dense fog are slowly lifting today.
ORIGINAL 9:20 am
Fog is having a significant impact on flight schedules at Kelowna International Airport Sunday morning, while visibility on local mountain highways is low.
“Due to weather conditions, we have flight delays and cancellations. Please contact your airline for further information,” says a message at the top of the YLW website.
As of 9:00 a.m. Sunday, three departures — to Vancouver, Edmonton and Victoria — have so far been canceled and one arrival has been canceled.
There are also several flight delays for both departing and arriving flights. These include Swoop, WestJet and Air Canada flights to Vancouver, Victoria, Toronto and Prince George.
It’s the latest in a string of weather-related disruptions at the Kelowna airport since before Christmas.
The Central Okanagan and North Okanagan are currently under a fog warning from Environment Canada. The recommendations cover the Okanagan Connector and the Coquihalla from Merritt to Kamloops.
Environment Canada says the fog will linger until mid-morning in the south and until noon or early afternoon in the north.
“Visibility can be significantly and suddenly reduced to almost zero,” warns Environment Canada. “Travel is expected to be hazardous due to reduced visibility in some locations.”
Photo: Contributed
Visibility is extremely limited at Kelowna International Airport Sunday morning.
Castanet Week Review for the week of January 8, 2023.
Photo: Terry Lum
A West Kelowna-based telemark ski team is sending three of its top skiers to the Canada Winter Games in February.
Breagh Bridge, Ian Mayer and Garrett Siever received the call based on their performance at the recent Teck BC Cup in Whistler.
Siever, who won the classic sprint event, taking his place at the finish line, while his two teammates did well in the distance skate event, qualifying in short order.
“We are proud of our team’s strong performance at the Team BC Canada Winter Games trials,” said head coach Chris Halldorson.
“These races were held on the same courses as the 2010 Winter Olympics and the upcoming 2023 World Junior Championships in some really grueling conditions due to wet, heavy snow and rain. Now that the trials are over, we can focus on preparing for the Brookvale event.”
Of the 37 skiers representing Team Telemark, 10 of them placed on the podium with four gold, two silver and four bronze medals.
The 2023 Canada Winter Games are being held in PEI starting February 18th.
Photo: Contributed
The City of Kelowna has received almost half a million dollars in grants through ICBC’s Road Safety Improvement Program.
Each year, the insurance corporation provides funds to municipalities for completed road projects that it believes will lead to a reduction in future collisions.
Kelowna has been an ICBC partner in the program for more than 20 years.
As a result of 15 projects completed in 2022 that were deemed worthwhile, the city received $486,600 in funding from ICBC.
The largest discount was for three sections of the Houghton Road active transportation corridor, resulting in a combined discount of $177,000.
The city also received $154,700 for a southbound double left turn at Highway 97 and Leckie Road.
“Each year the city invests in transportation capital projects to maintain and improve the city’s road network,” a staff report said.
Projects that have the potential to improve road safety and reduce collisions are identified by staff and submitted to ICBC for consideration under ICBC’s Road Safety Improvement Program.
Several projects also included improvements to bike lanes and crosswalks and crosswalk turn signals.
The money received will be applied to the city’s 2022 budget.
Photo: OSO
Chris Derksen
The Okanagan Symphony Orchestra welcomes an internationally respected local cellist and composer to the stage later this month.
Chris Derksen, a Juno-nominated artist, will play in Kelowna at the Community Theater on January 20th and at the Cleland Community Theater in Penticton on January 21st.
Derksen will perform the Round Dance, which the Okanagan Symphony Orchestra says is undoubtedly one of the most exciting and unique OSO concerts of the season.
CBC Radio’s “In Concert” host Paolo Pietropaolo had good things to say about Derksen, explaining how far music has come as people are less afraid to experiment with their instrument.
“One of those new voices that I just love is a classically trained cellist named Chris Derksen, who has sort of created a new genre for herself by taking the cello and experimenting with it,” Paolo said.
“She uses it as a drum, she plays music boxes on the strings, she sets up a microphone and runs a signal through an electronic loop station, she uses all these effects to create music that is quite different from anything you’ve ever heard. “
OSO says this performance thinks outside the box and uses music and musicians not normally associated with the symphony.
“Over the centuries, the art form of the symphony has transformed in so many ways. We continue this trend in our performance of the Round Dance,” said OSO Music Director Rosemary Thomson.
“I am excited to see how we expand the boundaries of the orchestra with such an internationally renowned artist who calls Canada home.”
Both shows start at 19:30 and tickets can be found at the box office.
Photo: BGC Okanagan
Pink Shirt Day in the Okanagan returns to in-person events this year, with activities taking place in Kelowna and Penticton on Wednesday, February 22.
Former NHL player Aaron Volpatti is scheduled to be a special guest at the Kelowna event, which will be held at the downtown Laurel Packinghouse. Telus will host a breakfast on Pink Shirt Day.
Volpatti is expected to share his story of perseverance after making it to the National Hockey League despite suffering burns on 40 percent of his body in a campfire accident. His speech will be streamed live for attendees in Penticton.
“I am extremely honored and humbled to be a part of Pink Shirt Day for the BGC Okanagan. By spreading kindness, respect and inclusion, we can truly make the world a better place,” said Volpati.
Pink Shirt Day is important to BGC Okanagan as it follows the same core values of respect, encouragement, support, working together and speaking up.
“BGC Okanagan has been leading the kindness movement in the Okanagan for 14 years, said BGC Okanagan CEO Jeremy Welder.
“We know it’s imperative to help our children and community learn and understand why being kind, caring and treating each other with respect, empathy and compassion is the way to prevent others from being mistreated.”
The goal is to reach $40,000 in donations to support BGC Okanagan in offering programs that support children in learning empathy, understanding, caring, inclusion, diversity and community engagement….
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