OLYMPIC-TORCH FEVER ON THE RISE IN OSOYOOS
Melanie Knight, who ran a leg of the Olympic Torch Relay in Duncan a few weeks ago, drops into Osoyoos Home Hardware to pass along some tips to store employee Tony Batista, who has been selected to carry the Torch into the official celebration ceremony in Osoyoos on Jan. 24.
Olympic fever is rising in Osoyoos as local plans are finalized to host the Olympic Torch overnight Jan. 24. That day, the Torch Relay will move westward along Highway 3, winding down Anarchist Mountain into this South Okanagan resort town, where major local celebrations will be held.
The Flame of the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympic Games will officially arrive at about 7:15 p.m. on that Sunday, carried by local resident Tony Batista onto the stage in the middle of a splashy two-hour show being held at Gyro Beach, downtown.
The 6-8 p.m. show will be followed by an aboriginal-themed evening event at the Osoyoos Indian Band’s NK’MIP Resort on the east side of town. The Torch and a large number of media and Relay support staff will overnight at the Spirit Ridge Vineyard Resort. The next morning, Jan. 25, the Olympic Flame will be carried north along Highway 97 to its next overnight stay in Kelowna.
Town of Osoyoos Recreation Director Gerald Davis says planning is well underway for local celebration activities that will begin on Jan. 24 even before the Torch arrives. These may include a Lions Club pancake breakfast, free skating at the Sun Bowl Arena, a 3-on-3 hockey tournament, a Family Jamboree curling event, and free public use of the Sonora Community Centre. Celebration banners have already been put on local streetlight posts, and a large banner will go up over Main Street in a few weeks.
Davis says the major celebration will be held on a special stage travelling with the Torch Relay, which will be set up at Gyro Beach. The program – to be emceed by former Osoyoos mayor Tom Shields – will include about 50 minutes of entertainment by a number of local performers. It will also feature videos and entertainment from VANOC (the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games) and the two Torch Relay sponsors, Coca-Cola and RBC Royal Bank, as well as First Nations entertainment. There will also be brief speeches by representatives of Osoyoos, VANOC, and the federal and provincial governments. The event will be capped by a bonfire on the beach and a 10-15 minute fireworks display. The highlight will be the entrance of the Olympic Torch carried by Batista, a long-time champion competitor in Special Olympics swimming events. Davis says the budget for the Osoyoos community celebration is about $40,000 – with $22,000 from the provincial government, $15,000 from the federal government, and the remainder from the Town.
Chris Scott, Chief Operating Officer for the Osoyoos Indian Band Development Corporation, says plans for the evening event at NK’MIP Resort haven’t received final approval, but OIB Chief Clarence Louie will take part, and the new NK’MIP Conference Centre will serve as a central location.
On another Olympics note, Davis says he has been selected to be a team leader of volunteers at the Vancouver Winter Olympics from Feb. 8-28, working at GM Place in the accreditation of athletes, media, and other officials.
‘GUNLESS’ MOVIE DONATES WESTERN ARTIFACTS TO MUSEUM
Osoyoos Museum Curator Gayle Cornish is thrilled with the old western artifacts ‘Gunless’ donated recently – including a washtub stand, wringer, a dining-room suite with three-leaf table, six chairs and a buffet, an oak barrel, some feedbags, and small items like facsimile old produce tins, candles and boxes.
When the 100-member cast and crew of the comedy western movie ‘Gunless’ spent five weeks filming near Osoyoos last spring, it didn’t just inject an estimated $4 million into the local economy – it also did great things for the Osoyoos Museum.
Museum Curator Gayle Cornish says one of the Gunless set designers came to her Osoyoos facility looking for authentic historical items for the movie, and rented some late-1800s farm implements including scythes, a plow and a hay-rake. Gayle got a tour of the movie set and told the crew she loved an old washtub stand and wringer and some other items. When the filming wrapped up in late-June, the Gunless producers donated a number of their old western props to the Museum, including the washtub stand, wringer, a dining-room suite with three-leaf table, six chairs and a buffet, an oak barrel, some feedbags, and assorted items like facsimile “old” produce tins, candles and boxes.
“I’ve been looking for a ‘western set’ for the Museum for a long time, and I was just thrilled to get so many of these things,” Gayle says. She also notes that on her tour of the Gunless film set she picked up some tricks of the trade for how to design some exhibits and displays.
PASSA TEMPO OPENS NEW ‘MARKET AT SPIRIT RIDGE’
Passa Tempo owner Paul LaGrange, left, and Operations Director Cory Lemiski like the great response they have received so far to their new ‘Market at Spirit Ridge’ deli-style outlet in the amenities area of Spirit Ridge’s Phase 2 development, at NK’MIP Resort.
The latest addition to the popular amenities opening up over the past few months in the new Phase 2 section of the Spirit Ridge Vineyard Resort, at NK’MIP Resort, is a culinary delight. ‘The Market at Spirit Ridge’ is an attractive new food outlet that is part deli, part takeout restaurant and part coffee house – and it is run by the people who own and operate the elegant Passa Tempo restaurant in Spirit Ridge’s main lodge. ‘The Market’ includes a 12-seat indoor restaurant area which opens onto a heated 25-seat patio next to the large Phase 2 swimming pool. In addition to providing the restaurant space, ‘The Market’ gives Spirit Ridge guests items to stock in their in-suite kitchens while staying at the resort.
Cory Lemiski, Director of Operations for both Passa Tempo and ‘The Market’, says the same attention to detail and excellence is observed at both outlets. “Everything is made from scratch by the Passa Tempo chefs,” Lemiski says. He notes that Passa Tempo also provides food for Spirit Ridge room service and for the recently opened NK’MIP Conference Centre, which is right next-door to the new ‘Market’.
The menu at ‘The Market’ includes a number of special coffees, teas and cocoa – such as latte, cappuccino and caramel macchiato – and breakfast items like waffles, fruit salad and quiche, as well as fresh-baked goodies, soup and salads, and sandwiches. It is open seven days a week from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Lemiski says ‘The Market’ has advertised quite a bit locally, distributing “free coffee” coupons to all Osoyoos households. He and Passa Tempo owner Paul LaGrange want ‘The Market’ to serve local residents as well as visitors at the NK’MIP Resort. LaGrange says, “We’ve had a great response; it’s going fabulous!” ‘The Market’ can be reached at 250-495-4660.
SHARE THE OLYMPIC EXCITEMENT!
Some of the Destination Osoyoos and BC Visitor Centre @ Osoyoos staff get together with 2010 Winter Olympics mascot ‘Quatchie’ as they gear up for the visit of the Olympic Torch in town on Jan. 24-25 and for the Olympic Games in Vancouver and Whistler in February. From left are: Keith Calder (IT & CIRO 106.5-FM Radio Technician), Jo Knight (Director of Tourism & Visitor Services and Manager of BCVC@Osoyoos), Millie Jarrett (Assistant Manager of BCVC@Osoyoos), and Evelyn Yuzik (Administrative Assistant).
D.O. ATTENDS ‘TOURISM SUMMIT’ IN KELOWNA
Former DO Chief Executive Officer Glenn Mandziuk – now CEO of the Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association (TOTA) – speaks to participants at the major ‘Tourism Summit’ conference held in Kelowna Nov. 12-13.
Destination Osoyoos (DO) continues to bring top tourism planning ideas to this South Okanagan community, as it works to take tourism marketing and visitor services to an even higher level.
Two Destination Osoyoos board members and two staff attended the major regional ‘Tourism Summit’ hosted by the Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association (TOTA) in Kelowna Nov. 12-13. Board Chair Derek Noske, Past Chair Chris Bower, BCVC@Osoyoos Assistant Manager Millie Jarrett, and Tourism & Visitor Services Director and BCVC@Osoyoos Manager Jo Knight heard messages from industry-leading speakers at the Summit’s main sessions and smaller workshops. Bower was also elected TOTA Vice-Chair at that organization’s annual general meeting, held during the conference.
Knight and Jarrett set up and staffed a DO information booth, giving the conference’s more than 150 participants a close-up look at some of the exciting tourism-related developments in town. And Knight was interviewed by CHBC-TV for a news story broadcast about the current state of tourism in the Okanagan.
Noske and Knight say the Summit provided valuable networking with other major tourism stakeholders in the region, and the keynote speakers gave them some thought-provoking ideas for the future – particularly the acclaimed UK-based tourism strategist and futurist Anna Pollock. She noted major trends in world tourism and pointed out how global factors like climate change, technology, energy and economics will affect tourism operators everywhere. She said social media such as Facebook, Twitter, blogs and YouTube are changing the way travellers are communicating and making decisions, so tourism marketers must act accordingly. The DO team also heard speeches from the Canadian Tourism Commission’s director of strategic marketing, a senior Washington state economic development official, and BC Tourism Minister Kevin Krueger. They also attended workshops on wine tourism, the travel media, and travel trade promotion.
TOTA recently changed from being a membership association, with 370 paid members, to an inclusive stakeholder association, with 3,200 stakeholder businesses and organizations throughout the Thompson Okanagan region – which stretches from Osoyoos in the south to Valemount in central BC.
BCVC@OSOYOOS ASSISTANT MANAGER EARNS NATIONAL CERTIFICATION
Destination Osoyoos’ Director of Tourism & Visitor Services and BC Visitor Centre @ Osoyoos Manager Jo Knight, left, presents BCVC@Osoyoos Assistant Manager Millie Jarrett with flowers and a certificate recognizing Jarrett’s recent attainment of national accreditation as a Certified Tourism Supervisor. Jarrett passed the certification testing under the Canada-wide Emerit tourism training program. Candidates must pass a knowledge exam and a performance evaluation, and must have the required hours of relevant experience. Knight also has the same national accreditation. Jarrett, who has worked in the tourism industry for 30 years, says not many people have this certification, and it will help her to serve Visitor Centre guests better and to advance in the industry. Emerit certification and training has been developed over the past 15 years by the Canadian Tourism Human Resource Council and it is the most recognized program in the Canadian tourism industry.
COUPLE HAVE MADE GREAT CONTRIBUTION TO TOURISM IN OSOYOOS
Carol and Ron Stephens
A couple who have played an important part in the local tourism industry plan to leave Osoyoos next year. Ron and Carol Stephens, managers of the Safari Beach Condominium Resort for the past five years, say they will move to Vancouver Island by next fall to take on new challenges.
The Stephens moved to Osoyoos from Calgary, Ron retiring from firefighting and Carol from hospital administration. They had discovered Osoyoos during a bicycle trip from Vernon to the Kettle Valley. After a few months as managers of Tiki Shores Motel in Penticton and the Desert Surfside Motel and Sandy Beach Resort in Osoyoos, they settled into their management position at Safari Beach. “The suite owners and strata directors [at Safari Beach] have been phenomenal, and we’re in the midst of a terrific renovation right now,” Ron says.
Ron became very involved in the Osoyoos Hotel & Motel Association (OHMA), rising to vice-president and then president. Besides that position, his is now also chair of the local Tourism Advisory Committee (TAC), which works with Destination Osoyoos and the Town of Osoyoos to administer the approximately $200,000 per year the community receives to spend on tourism marketing from the 2% Additional Hotel Room Tax (AHRT) levied by local accommodations. Last April, Ron joined the executive of Destination Osoyoos, to contribute even more to the area’s economic development and tourism marketing. And, he has helped to steer some of the local tourism improvements paid for from the $200,000 per year the provincial government provides to Osoyoos for being a designated Resort Municipality – improvements like purchasing a beachcleaning machine and extending the community’s hiking trail.
“I had seen that Penticton had a 2% tax and was very impressed, I saw all the things you could do with it, so when I got involved with OHMA, we pushed for the 2% tax here and managed to get it. And it has had good results,” Ron says.
Carol was the main force behind the couple’s project this past spring to bring a country western Christian music group, High Valley, to Osoyoos. It sold out the Osoyoos Secondary School’s Mini-Theatre, and Carol and Ron used the profits to build two rainwater harvesting water-tanks in Africa. They plan to bring High Valley back to town next May or June.
Destination Osoyoos Chair Derek Noske says, “Ron and Carol have been tireless in their efforts to give back to a town that they love. I have worked closely with Ron as he guided the Hotel Motel Association and the Tourism Advisory Council, bringing major changes and special projects to fruition in the community – including the new beachcleaner, sponsorship of the Tournament of Hearts bonspiel, and the Celebrity Wine Auction, just to name a few. We thank them for their selfless and untiring efforts for this town and wish them every success in their new quest. They will be missed."
OSOYOOS IS ‘REMARKABLY’ BEAUTIFUL ALL THROUGH THE YEAR
Remarkable Films, an Osoyoos-based video production company, recently captured this gorgeous fall shot of Osoyoos Lake and the surrounding hills. Osoyoos is ‘remarkably’ beautiful at any time of year!
VISITOR CENTRE RECOGNIZED FOR HELPING ‘SHARE YOUR BC’
BC Visitor Centre @ Osoyoos staff were thrilled to receive a certificate recently from British Columbia Magazine in recognition of what it called their “outstanding contribution” to the magazine’s recent ‘Share Your BC’ promotional contest. From left, Visitor Experience Specialist Kelly Paziuk, Administrative Assistant Evelyn Yuzik, BCVC@Osoyoos Manager Jo Knight, and BCVC@Osoyoos Assistant Manager Millie Jarrett show off the certificate, the contest entry box, and the displayed magazines (Visitor Experience Specialist Karen Wagner missing from photo). The magazine’s contest invited people from across Canada to write brief descriptions of their “Top things to do in B.C.” Winners of the four main prizes – a three-night getaway for two at Clayoquot Wilderness Resort, a three-night experience for two in B.C.’s Great Bear Rainforest, a four-day Rocky Mountaineer Classic Rail Vacation, and four-day BC Ferries North Coast vacation package for two by land, sea, and air – were announced recently by the magazine. British Columbia Magazine posts the ‘Share Your B.C.’ entry write-ups on their website, in a searchable Share Your B.C. adventure database of travel ideas. The magazine is continuing the contest with a monthly draw for a free year’s subscription. Adult residents of Canada, excluding Quebec, are eligible.
‘TOURISM TRENDS’
• A major conference for Canada’s tourism industry on social media marketing and related new communications topics will be held Jan. 27-29, 2010 in Montreal. ‘Canada-e-Connect – Canadian Tourism’s Online Strategy Conference’, presented by TIAC (the Tourism Industry Association of Canada), is billed as a compelling look into the online and web-based trends, tools and technology that can stimulate growth in the tourism sector. The program for Canada-e-Connect 2010 has been developed by technology experts in the country’s tourism industry to address the industry’s needs. It will present fresh insights on: social media marketing, e-distribution, the value of online ‘conversations’, e-business strategies, strategic blogging, and technology for small business. For information see http://www.canadaeconnect.travel/index.html
• LinkBC has announced its Tourism Online Resource Centre has been relaunched with a new look, to do a better job of supporting a stronger, smarter BC tourism industry. LinkBC is a service organization that works with a network of 20 college and university tourism and hospitality programs across British Columbia to promote best practices in tourism education and share research findings, tourism knowledge, and resources. Through 2009, the Tourism Online Resource Centre (TORC) got about 1,000 visitors per month. It contains hundreds of electronic documents for students, instructors, and tourism industry operators on topics including aboriginal tourism, markets, products, research & statistics, tourism planning, and sustainable tourism. TORC users go to www.bctorc.ca and select topics to browse, download PDFs and link to related websites.
• Vancouver, Coast & Mountains Tourism announced in mid-November that Gibsons has been named 2009 World’s Most Liveable Community at the annual finals of the United Nations-endorsed ‘International Awards for Liveable Communities (LivCom)’, held recently in the Czech Republic. LivCom is the world’s only awards competition focusing on best management of the local environment. The submissions were judged for evidence of: Enhancement of the Landscape, Heritage Management, Environmentally Sensitive Practices, Community Sustainability, Healthy Lifestyles and Planning for the Future. Gibsons was awarded gold in the ‘Less than 20,000 population’ category. Gibsons (population 4,000) is a small coastal community known as the ‘Gateway to the Sunshine Coast.’
• A host of community groups, businesses, governments and other organizations are jointly developing a community sustainability plan for Prince George, in a project called “myPG”. It will provide a forum to discuss issues such as energy usage, water & land, transportation networks, waste management, services for the elderly, and recreational opportunities. A series of community forums will allow for discussion of relevant issues. Prince George Mayor Dan Rogers says, “myPG will break new ground in engaging the community and gathering input from groups and individuals. A range of issues, challenges and opportunities will be explored." The initiative is paid for with $120,000 in funding from the federal Gas Tax Fund.
• Employers in tourism-related businesses are being asked to provide their opinions to a Tourism Labour Issues Study being conducted by the Canadian Tourism Human Resources Council (CTHRC), go2, and the Conference Board of Canada. While the economic downturn means it is now easier for tourism employers to fill jobs with qualified candidates, this situation isn’t expected to last when the economy recovers. To gauge the economic downturn in each region, the Canadian Tourism Human Resources Council (CTHRC) and the Conference Board conducted a survey last winter, and they now want to hear how the conditions have changed since then. Tourism employers are being asked to fill out a five-minute online questionnaire at: http://conferenceboard.checkboxonline.com/Survey.aspx?surveyid=3398. The resulting study will identify current and future labour shortages by tourism occupation and by region, and will examine the impact of the economic downturn.
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