OSOYOOS 2010 VISITORS GUIDE LAUNCHED EARLIER THAN EVER
Osoyoos dignitaries and members of the community launch the 2010 Official Osoyoos Visitors Guide at a ceremony at the BC Visitors Centre @ Osoyoos on Dec. 11. (Destination Osoyoos photo)
Destination Osoyoos has wasted no time launching its annual campaign to market Osoyoos as a first-class, four-season resort and tourism destination.
On Dec. 11 the organization launched its 2010 Official Osoyoos Visitors Guide at a public ceremony attended by dignitaries and a number of community representatives. It was the earliest launch ever for the annual promotional booklet, and one of the earliest launches of any 2010 visitors guide in British Columbia.
Destination Osoyoos Board Chair Derek Noske says, “B.C. will be in the spotlight in 2010 and we want to make the most of it, letting people know about the tremendous attractions in our unique desert area and the wonderful experiences for visitors here year-round, where we offer Canada’s Warmest Welcome.”
Jo Knight, Destination Osoyoos Director of Tourism & Visitor Services, adds, “Being strategically located less than five hours’ drive from Vancouver, and on the route between Calgary and the west coast, our resort community is a natural stop for people going to or coming from the Olympics. And at that time – in mid-February – visitors to Osoyoos can ski, golf and visit wineries all on the same day. Where else can you do that?”
Knight says the 2010 Visitors Guide is a key tourism marketing tool for the community. It pulls all the information about Osoyoos together in one package, and it is available both in printed form and online.
“Living in a fragile desert ecosystem, we always work hard to be responsible stewards of our environment,” Knight says. “So, we have printed just 75,000 copies of the Visitors Guide this year – and each year more people are going to our website to look at all the features of the interactive online edition.”
The 2010 Visitors Guide is a glossy full-colour booklet that includes features on Osoyoos’ history, desert ecosystem, golf courses, spas, wineries, tours, shopping, agri-tourism, First Nations culture, and accommodations. Knight says this year’s Guide includes additional content about local hiking, food-and-wine pairings, community events, area fishing, and what to see in the sparkling clear Osoyoos night sky. Twelve people from the community – the ‘Faces of Osoyoos’ – are pictured on the cover and many more are featured throughout the book.
SHOWCASE OSOYOOS DISPLAYS THE COMMUNITY
Hundreds came out to see information booths at Showcase Osoyoos 2010. (Val Johnson / EastLink Television photo)
The McKinney Nordic Ski Club informed Showcase attendees about their activities.
A perennial favourite, the Osoyoos Arts Council, was on-hand at Showcase again this year.
Osoyoos Mayor Stu Wells and DO Chair Derek Noske handled the raffle-draw duties.
DO Communications Contractor Lawrence McMahen interviewed DO Director of Tourism & Visitor Services Jo Knight and many other Showcase exhibitors, for broadcast on local TV cable Channel 18. (Val Johnson / EastLink Television photo)
The eighth annual Showcase Osoyoos winter exhibition of local businesses and services was held on Sunday, January 17, with hundreds of local residents and visiting Prairie ‘snowbird’ winter residents stopping by to check out what is new and exciting in Osoyoos.
Organized by Destination Osoyoos, this year’s three-hour afternoon Showcase included about 25 display booths spread throughout the gym at the Sonora Community Centre, and it included a comfortable seating area and complimentary coffee from the local Tim Hortons restaurant and cookies from Buy-Low Foods.
Osoyoos Mayor Stu Wells brought greetings from the Town to all participants and guests, noting that Showcase is a great way for the community to show off its many activities and services to the many ‘snowbirds’ who are in town for two or three months each winter from Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba.
Destination Osoyoos Board Chair Derek Noske emceed the event and handled raffle-draw duties, which saw about 30 prizes of coupons and gift baskets of various local goods and services given to Showcase attendees. Val Johnson and Martin Nyhus, community programmers for the local EastLink Television cable company, which covers the Osoyoos-Oliver region, also attended and shot video footage for broadcast on Channel 18 in the coming weeks. Osoyoos Secondary School students involved in the local Royalty program also came out to greet the Showcase crowd, as part of their ambassadorial role for the community.
Participating organizations at this year’s Showcase Osoyoos included: OK Desert Country Realty, Osoyoos Sailing Club, Osoyoos Seniors Centre, Tim Hortons, Walnut Beach Resort, MJO Tours, Citizens on Patrol, Pioneer Walkway Volunteers, Watermark Beach Resort, Desert Gem RV Resort, Breeze Bar & Grill, Friends of the Osoyoos Library, Flood Stopper, Cactus Ridge Retirement Residence, Best Western Hotel, McKinney Nordic Ski Club, Paddleout Training Services, Destiny Beach Resort, Sunshine Valley Chiropractic, Buy-Low Foods, La Stella Winery, Passatempo Restaurant, and the Osoyoos Arts Council.
THE TORCH IS ALMOST HERE!
Osoyoos is ready for the Olympic Torch! Plans have firmed up for the local celebrations when the Torch arrives in town on this Sunday evening, Jan. 24. The highlight will be the two-hour 6-8 p.m. multimedia show on the VANOC stage which will be set up at Gyro Beach, downtown.
The Olympic flame will wind its way down Anarchist Mountain, coming from the east along Hwy 3. Former Olympic snowboarding gold medalist Ross Rebagliati will run the leg of the Olympic Torch Relay at the base of Anarchist Mountain. Later, torchbearer Chantal Gilbert will pass the torch to featured Osoyoos torchbearer Tony Batista across from SuperValu on Main street just before 7 p.m. and Tony will enter the Celebration stage area and will light the cauldron at approximately 7:15 pm.
The two-hour celebration stage show will be emceed by former Osoyoos mayor Tom Shields. The community entertainment portion of the show, organized by Shields, will include performances by the 7 Grand Show Band featuring Jace Netherton, a ‘touch of Elvis’, and sax player Stu Dawson; local vocalists Diane Ball, Rick Wood, Maureen Terill, Miranda Froese and Kansas Hatherley; the Dance Oasis troupe; the local School District Band; and a song by Shields.
The Celebration show will also include multimedia presentations and speeches by representatives of VANOC, Osoyoos Mayor Stu Wells, and representatives of Torch Relay sponsors RBC and Coca-Cola. The show will be followed by a fireworks show from local resident Frank Zandvliet, the producer of the major annual Osoyoos July 1st Canada Day fireworks show.
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.
That day, former Olympic speedskating silver medalist Ye Qiaobo, of China, will run with the Torch from Osoyoos. Last summer a film crew hired by the Canadian Tourism Commission (CTC) filmed Qiaobo touring through the Osoyoos area, for use in pre-Olympics promotional videos. The CTC will also be filming her during her Torch Run at Osoyoos, for further videos. Qiaobo is a big star in China and the videos will be made available to media and broadcasters in China.
OLYMPIC PROMOTION AT THE VISITOR CENTRE
The British Columbia Visitor Centre @ Osoyoos is revved-up for the 2010 Winter Olympics and the Olympic Torch Relay’s Jan. 24 stopover in town! Besides carrying a large selection of Olympic clothing, Visitor Centre staff have set up a display just inside the front door promoting the upcoming Olympic Games in Vancouver and Whistler. From left, BCVC@Osoyoos Assistant Manager Millie Jarrett, Olympic mascot ‘Quatchie’, and Visitor Experience Specialist Kelly Paziuk show off the flags, brochures, temporary Olympic tattoos, Olympic pins (pictured at right), and other symbols that urge everyone to “Share the Excitement” about the Winter Olympics.
A (BRIEF) BIT OF WINTER BEAUTY IN OSOYOOS
While Osoyoos is having a very mild winter, with temperatures well above zero, no snow, and golfers playing rounds at the local Sonora Dunes Golf Course in mid-January, winter does makes its presence felt once in awhile. These photos by Jenn Knight show the beautiful effects of a recent short-lived Osoyoos snowstorm on the B.C. Visitors Centre @ Osoyoos and on a local viewpoint bench.
WATCH FOR “OSOYOOS” IN THE ICE AT THE SCOTTIES TOURNAMENT
The popular brand for this resort community – “Osoyoos: Canada’s Warmest Welcome” – will be on display to millions of television viewers from Jan. 30 to Feb. 7, when the country’s top women curlers vie for the championship of the 2010 Scotties Tournament of Hearts, in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.
When the rocks thrown by curlers glide down the ice-sheet, they will pass over the Osoyoos logo and brand slogan, providing high-profile publicity from coast-to-coast through the televised broadcast on TSN.
Destination Osoyoos (DO) arranged for the in-ice promotion as part of its “diamond” level sponsorship of the curling tournament, which also provides for publicity through official programs, newspaper ads, and other Scotties Tournament marketing vehicles.
DO first arranged for in-ice logo promotion at last year’s Scotties Tournament, held in Victoria. It has since done similar promotion at other major men’s and women’s curling events in recent months – and DO Director of Tourism & Visitor Services Jo Knight says the move has paid off with heightened interest in Osoyoos by the large national demographic of curling fans.
“Our phones were ringing off the hook during and after last year’s Scotties Tournament,” Knight says. “This gives us a marketing touch-point with a large number of people who are good potential visitors to our community. Through curling promotions we have had inquiries from across the country, and it allows us to make contact with them, send them our Visitors Guide, and interest them in coming to Osoyoos.”
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