Land Servicing well underway at Osoyoos Airport   

Major Conference Hosted in Osoyoos

This year's Destination Osoyoos AGM was set in the NK'MIP Desert Cultural Centre, with a buffet lunch enjoyed in open art gallery space.

Osoyoos is increasingly becoming a destination for business meetings and organization conferences. The latest evidence was the April 29-May 1 annual conference of SILGA, the Southern Interior Local Government Association. SILGA is the grouping of 36 local governments in the Southern Interior region of B.C. and includes the councils of Kamloops, Princeton, Merritt, Lillooet, Vernon, Kelowna and Penticton.

The conference was hosted by the Town of Osoyoos at the Sonora Community Centre, and Mayor Stu Wells says the three-day session brought about 175 people to town, including delegates, their partners, and conference speakers and sponsors. “The feedback from the delegates was fantastic – they just couldn’t say enough about the warm welcome they received. They just loved Osoyoos!” Wells says. The mayor says about 35 resolutions were debated, and those which passed will be fast-tracked to the floor of the next Union of B.C. Municipalities convention.

Mayor Wells, who was elected to the SILGA Board of Directors, says delegates and their partners were treated to a social program which included wine tours, the NK’MIK Desert Cultural Centre, and other area attractions. He notes that Destination Osoyoos helped to reserve local accommodations for SILGA participants and provided information materials. The conference included a golf tournament and welcome reception at the Osoyoos Golf & Country Club and a gala banquet at the Sonora Centre.

Destination Osoyoos Acting CEO Glenn Mandziuk says the local hosting of SILGA was an exciting development. “We are trying hard to position our community as a place to host major conferences and meetings – and this shows that we are making good progress,” Mandziuk says.

D.O. sees 'Gunless' movie as opportunity to promote Osoyoos

DO Chief Executive Officer Glenn Mandziuk says he welcomes the planned filming of the movie 'Gunless' in the Osoyoos area by two major Canadian film companies, and starring well-known Canadian actor Paul Gross. In fact, Mandziuk told DO's annual general meeting on March 30, that Destination Osoyoos helped to bring the $10-million production to this community -working closely with the Okanagan Film Commission and providing support for activities such as the scouting of area locations for filming.

Mandziuk says details remain to be confirmed, but he can announce that Destination Osoyoos will be involved with 'Gunless' in a number of marketing-related ways. "We see it as a way to support a significant production in Osoyoos and an innovative way to leverage this production to enhance our own marketing of the community," he says.

"Our marketing association with 'Gunless' will emerge over the coming weeks, months and years as the movie is launched, plays in theatres, and is then released and distributed on DVD," Mandziuk says, adding DO will have a long-term relationship with 'Gunless', providing ongoing benefit for Osoyoos.

As announced to the region's news media in late March, 'Gunless' will be filmed in Osoyoos and area, with the shoot expected to begin in early May and last for at least a month or more. Brightlight Pictures, of Vancouver, and Rhombus Media, of Toronto, are teaming up for the film, with Stephen Hegyes (Brightlight) and Niv Fichman (Rhombus) serving as the producers. Hegyes and Fichman attended the DO annual general meeting today to give the Osoyoos community more details about the upcoming movie production.

'Gunless' will be a comedy western with Paul Gross playing the lead - an American gunslinger itching for a fight, who is thwarted when he finds himself in a peaceful Canadian town. Gross is well-known for his lead roles in the recent war film 'Passchendaele', the curling comedy movie 'Men With Brooms', and the TV series 'Due South'.

A movie 'town' will be built for filming, and a large crew is expected to stay in Osoyoos, spending up to $100,000 per day for hotel rooms, restaurant meals, and other supplies and services. Osoyoos was chosen for the movie because its landscape was considered perfect for the movie's western setting.

Dynamic new D.O. Website will promote Tourism and Economic Development

DO Chief Executive Officer Glenn Mandziuk told the Destination Osoyoos AGM that the new website being launched in April will fully incorporate Osoyoos' brand as Canada's Warmest Welcome. He says its design makes it the fastest, most interactive "front door" Osoyoos has ever presented to prospective investors, new residents, and visitors to this South Okanagan resort community.

"The images and structure of this site will give Osoyoos a compelling new presence on the web, and provides a real boost to tourism and economic development for our community," Mandziuk says. "It gives people around the world a fast, easy-to-navigate presentation of all the beauty, attractions, activities, businesses, and opportunities that we have in Osoyoos."

Mandziuk says potential business investors will have a number of new web features they can use to find opportunities in Osoyoos. These include an internationally standardized "site-selector profile" for the Osoyoos area, providing comprehensive economic profile information, and a section highlighting the key strategic industry sectors that Osoyoos has recognized as priorities for development.

Potential visitors to Osoyoos will now have full-feature directories to all area accommodations and businesses.

The Accommodations Directory gives web visitors a fully searchable database of all hotels, motels, B&Bs, campgrounds, and RV parks in the Osoyoos area. Visitors can search for accommodations that meet their amenity needs by requesting certain categories like air conditioning and hot tub/pool in order to find the most suitable accommodations for their stay. The listings provide contact information, a full property description, an amenities checklist and photos where available.

The completely searchable Business Directory allows web visitors to find any local business or search by business type to find what they're looking for. The website will also feature a new dynamic events calendar, displaying upcoming Osoyoos events. A new Media Resources section will give travel media, business and investment media, and other news media professionals the story ideas and resource materials they need in order to showcase the Osoyoos area in publications and other media. The website will also manage distribution of the organization's electronic newsletter to its current 3,100 recipients and will allow users to subscribe to it.

The site even includes an interactive "e-postcard" feature that allows visitors to send a postcard from Osoyoos via email. And, coming soon, the website will include an online store allowing web visitors to order Osoyoos products such as bottled water and t-shirts.

DO Chief Executive Officer Glenn Mandziuk says the videos present compelling images of the vibrant people, activities and natural beauty of Osoyoos and area. He says the use of fast-cuts, aerial shots and a soundtrack with no narration gives a powerful presentation of the popular South Okanagan resort town.

"These images truly show the essential nature of Osoyoos as 'Canada's Warmest Welcome', and they include new visuals of our friendly people, our vibrant community, and our activities and attractions throughout the year," Mandziuk says. "They include stunning images of not just our great summer features like golf courses, wineries, orchards, the lake and beach - but also our great winter activities like downhill and cross-country skiing, snowmobiling, and even enjoying our gorgeous winter scenery from a hot tub."

Mandziuk says the video package has been produced by the well-known Vancouver-based production company Ace Film, headed up by award-winning Osoyoos native Allen Jones. With more than 20 years of film and video experience, Ace Film's productions include B.C.'s 2010 Olympic bid video and TV commercials for IKEA, Kokanee, Coca Cola and General Motors.

Jones says the video is leading-edge because it is produced in the top high-definition format and because it includes a comprehensive set of specially themed video segments.

Destination Osoyoos and Town of Osoyoos officials were among the first to register for their Shop Local membership cards Thursday at the first registration event, held at the BC Visitor Centre @ Osoyoos. From left, Destination Osoyoos board member Rob Webster, DO staff member Evelyn Yuzik, Osoyoos Town Councillor Margaret Chadsey, DO board member Derek Noske, and DO board member Chris Jensen sign up for their Shop Local cards, at a kiosk staffed by Local Benefits staff Tanya Hood and Michelle Johnson. Destination Osoyoos photo

Destination Osoyoos announced earlier this month it has teamed up with Local Benefits - a company which recently began a discount shopping program in the region - to launch Shop Local, an 11-month discount program designed to boost local retail business and give an immediate stimulus to the town's economy.

Destination Osoyoos will provide up to 1,500 Osoyoos households with one free membership each. The program ends on Jan. 31, 2010. Destination Osoyoos Chief Executive Officer Glenn Mandziuk says he is pleased to see the strong kickoff for the local shopping program. "We will set up four more one-day registration kiosks around town between now and April 30 - and I hope hundreds of residents will come out to get their card and support their local business community," Mandziuk says. The four remaining one-day Shop Local registration events were scheduled for:

• Thurs., March 26 (9 a.m.-5 p.m.) at Shoppers Drug Mart
• Tues. April 7 (7 a.m.-5 p.m.) at Smitty's Family Restaurant
• Wed., April 15 at the Sonora Community Centre
• Thurs., April 30 (Grand Finale) at an outdoor downtown location on Main Street (to be decided).

   

  Shop Local program information, as well as a list of all participating Osoyoos businesses and their discounts, can be found on the Local Benefits website at www.localbenefits.ca. A wide range of businesses are taking part in Shop Local. Some of the discounts are for specific products or 'buy-one-get-one-free', but most are dollar or percentage discounts, such as 10 or 15 per cent.
  

Tourism Trends

• Visitor entries to Canada via B.C. inched up 0.2% (seasonally adjusted) in January, following a 2.2% decline in December. Statistics Canada reports that U.S. entries increased slightly (+0.3%) as a higher volume of Americans on same-day (+7.7%) trips outweighed a slump in those on overnight (-3.0%) stays. Travel from overseas countries fell (-0.2%) for the fifth straight month, pulled down by a decrease in the number of Asian visitors (-3.2%). On the other hand, entries from Europe were up (+2.1%) for the first time since October of last year, as were those from other countries (+2.5%).

Events around Osoyoos

• April 8, the Osoyoos Desert Society will hold its Annual General Meeting at 7 p.m. at the Osoyoos Golf & Country Club. Guest speaker Don Gayton, author and ecologist. For information call 250-495-2470.
• April 10, the Osoyoos Concert Society presents 'August ', at 8 p.m. at the Osoyoos Secondary School Mini-Theatre. Four talented B.C. female singer/songwriters share an evening of clever lyrics, guitar stylings, music and laughter with their songs that depict the ups and downs of modern living
• April 11, Easter Eggstravaganza will be held in town - including morning breakfast, children's Easter Egg Hunt, bike decorating, and Main Street parade at 1 p.m.
• April 18, Breakfast & Fashions with the Soroptimists will be held at the Osoyoos Golf & Country Club, from 9-11:30 a.m. Full breakfast buffet, door prizes, raffle & silent auction. Tickets $15 available from local merchants.
• April 19, the Volunteer Fair will be held at the Sonora Community Centre from 12 noon-4 p.m. Contact Joanne at 250-495-6964 or email joannem@volunteercentre.info for information.