Richard Kamphuys – Ancient Hills Winery
A hill overlooking Kelowna International Airport may seem an unusual site for an estate winery, but for Dutch native Richard Kamphuys and his wife Jitske, it’s a perfectly sensible spot to grow quality grapes and make fine wine. When the couple first immigrated to Canada in 1992, they bought the property that then hosted a 19-hectare apple orchard. “We were seeking a change from a big city environment,” Richard says. After running the orchard for a few years, he... Read More
Think About It
“I think, therefore I am.” Is this statement false or true? Last year I wrote about an author who claimed to know the happiest region or city in which to live. I wondered out loud if the Okanagan might be it, or if it could ever be that place? I concluded it could—but only if we corrected a few things. Think back to when you were in Grade 3. Did your teacher ever ask, “Did you think about that—before you did it.” Has your boss ever enquired, “Did you think... Read More
Chairman of the Board
Derek Frechette was intrigued by the rich, red piece of Australian jarrah. It’s a wood not often seen on this side of the Pacific because of its rarity and the fact that it’s hard on tools, dulling them quickly, even in the hands of a highly skilled woodworker. But Derek had a plan. The jarrah would form an integral part of the design for one of his graceful longboards. Whenever Derek takes a longboard land-paddling along the waterfront in Kelowna, he turns heads. These aren’t... Read More
Installation Art
A giant metal hand sits on a track that runs along the ceiling. A hard push sends it lumbering across the room, the forged knuckles almost dragging across the cement floor. Down the hall, bushels of hair, severed and splayed, fill a darkened room. Down the hall, bushels of hair, severed and splayed, fill a darkened room. Around the corner sits a huge pile, torn from books or ejected from a nearby typewriter. Visitors tread softly past. Their footsteps create a current.... Read More
Top Community Lawyers
Get the inside story on the people behind the legalese. Richard Enns – Compass Law | Tessmer Law | Nadine Casey French Law | Robert O. Levin Law Office | Okimaw Law | Blakely & Company | Thompson Rivers University Faculty of Law | William Clarke – Courtyard Law Read More Read More
18th Annual Best Restaurants
Our readers choose their favourites in a host of categories and Okanagan Life brings you the results. Welcome to the 18th Annual Best Restaurants issue. Perhaps above all others, this is the keeper magazine of the year. Readers try new restaurants all the time and you can expand your dining experience by referring to these listings throughout the year. Get ready to dine—Okanagan Life style! Read More Read More
John & Mary Theberge
Renowned ecologists, authors and activists, John and Mary Theberge have spent a lifetime studying nature, working to increase understanding and seeking to protect endangered environments through the national park system… Before you start talking to them, John and Mary Theberge look like another pair of comfy grandparents from the south end of the Valley. But beneath that thin veneer of age lies the chain mail of their just cause—nature. John and Mary are ecologists living... Read More
