The last weekend of summer is a busy one around the Central Okanagan, with events for everyone featuring puppies, live music, sports, and so much more.
Friday, Sept 15
Starting Friday evening, Live in Lake Country is hosting a Community Appreciation Party at Swalwell Park from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.
“We are so grateful to the Lake Country community for their resilience, cooperation and support during the wildfire that affected our area,” it states on the Facebook event. “This is an opportunity to come together and have fun.”
Included in the event is live music from Shalisa at 5 p.m. and Chick Jagger and the Rolling Tones at 6 p.m.
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It’s the last weekend of the preseason for both the Kelowna Rockets and the West Kelowna Warriors in preparation for the regular season.
The Rockets final two preseason games are at Prospera Place on Friday, Sept. 15 against the Vancouver Giants and Saturday, Sept. 16 against the Victoria Royals.
Lots of players jockeying for the final roster spots will have their chance to show coach Kris Mallette what they have in these final games as the team will be without stars Andrew Cristall, Jari Kykkanen, Caden Price and Jackson DeSouza who are attending NHL training camps.
Puck drop is at 7:05 p.m. on both nights.
For the Warriors, their final tune-up is a home-and-home series with the Vernon Vipers. Friday night’s contest is taking place at Royal LePage Place in West Kelowna at 7 p.m. while on Saturday they’ll travel up Highway 97 to play at Vernon’s Kal Tire Place at 6 p.m.
Saturday, Sept 16
The most meaningful event of the weekend, the 8th annual Kelowna Multiple Myeloma March is taking place at 10:30 a.m. at Kerry Park.
This event aims to bring awareness and raise money for Myeloma research, which is the second most common type of blood cancer and remains incurable.
Kelowna resident Kristin Weberg lost her husband, Jamie to the disease in 2015.
“When Jamie was diagnosed, neither of us knew anything about multiple myeloma,” said Kristen. “I remember being told that it had already spread, eating his ribs from the inside out and causing lesions on his skull. We were devastated.”
Kristen remains active in the event to honour her husband’s legacy by bringing awareness to the disease.
“Life is short and there are no guarantees,” said Kristin. “Myeloma doesn’t discriminate. Anyone can be affected. Never in my wildest thoughts would I have imagined that I would lose my husband to cancer at 36 years old. I want to do my part in raising awareness for this terrible disease so that other families don’t experience the same pain as ours.”
This year, the event’s goal is to raise $15,000.
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The South Asian Arts Festival is also back but this year, it’s a two-day event taking place in Lake Country and Kelowna.
Put on my Okanagan MELA, Saturday’s day one event is taking place at Lake Country’s Creekside Theatre and will feature young artists celebrating South Asian cultures and identities. Some of the musical acts include Surrey singer Cinnamon Sandhu, Kelowna’s Deepak Bhatti, and Surrey’s acoustic singing and drumming duo Gurmukh Musafir & Swaraj.
There will also be an artisan market, featuring food and drink from local businesses. The event is from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Day two will take place on Sunday at the Kelowna Innovation Centre from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and will feature speeches and an art gallery.
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Another two-day event, Global Pet Foods Kelowna is hosting its grand opening on Saturday and Sunday.
It will feature deals, giveaways, and the SuperDogs. Paws It Forward will collect donations and will have dogs available for meet and greets.
Global Pet Foods Kelowna is located at 1835 Gordon Drive.
Sunday, Sept 17
A March for Climate Action is taking place on Sunday to bring awareness to climate change in Kelowna.
West Kelowna resident Bobbi Vojtko, a school teacher with School District 23 is hosting the event, starting at 12 p.m. at city hall. The march will start from Water Street.
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An annual event around Canada to honour a legend is also taking place in downtown Kelowna on Sunday.
The Terry Fox run starts at 11 a.m. at Stuart Park and participants can register for a one-, five-, or 10-kilometre run starting a 10 a.m.
The event raises money for cancer research every year and this year in Kelowna, the goal is $35,000.
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The 22nd annual Cops of Kids bike ride around the Southern Interior is coming to an end Sunday morning as the riders return to Kelowna.
After 10 days, 26 communities, and nearly 1,000 kilometres of cycling, the 24 participants will hit the finish line at the Ramada Hotel around 11:30 a.m.
The purpose of the ride is to raise money to help children who are going through a medical, physical or traumatic crisis.
Since the non-profit charity started in 2001, it has raised more than $6.1 million and helped more than 3,100 children.
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After being postponed because of the Grouse Complex wildfires, the Dirty Mutter has been rescheduled for Sunday.
Participants and their dogs compete in heats on the 1.5-kilometre muddy obstacle course, with all proceeds from the event going to help with the cost of food, shelter and veterinary expenses for animals at the Rescue Ranch Society.
Happening at 2454 Brentwood Road in the Black Mountain neighbourhood, gates open at 8:30 a.m. with the first heat starting at 9 a.m. Participants can buy tickets here.
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From 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. at Whiski-Jacks Pub in West Kelowna on Sunday, 11 artists will be ‘banding together’ to raise money for the West Kelowna Fire Department and local artists.
Entrance is by donation with a minimum of $10.
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FarmFolk CityFolk is hosting Feast of Fields, their signature fundraising event on Sunday at Priest Creek Family Estate Winery in Kelowna.
The three-hour event ‘highlights the connections between farmers and chefs, field and table, and farm folks and city folks.’
Attendees will wander from business to business tasting some of the best food and drink from Okanagan chefs, bakers, wine-makers, brewers, and more.
Tickets to Okanagan Feast of Fields are just over $17 and cover all food and drink purchases.
The 13th annual event is from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
READ MORE: This campaign is a bold step towards supporting fire relief efforts in the Kelowna community
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@cunninghamjordy
jordy.cunningham@kelownacapnews.com
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