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Lester's Okanagan Blog
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Tomato Festival, Covert Farms, Oliver (40 minutes south of Penticton) |
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| September 2: Festival of the Tomato, Covert Farms,
Oliver September started off with a very unusual festival in Oliver. Covert Farms hosted its annual Festival of the Tomato on September 2, and as we say here "it was a real hoot!!" They had all kinds of activities for both children and adults alike. For the kids, there was the tomato tug-of-war, the tomato obstacle course, the tomato fight, the tomato dunking machine, the tomato catapults as well as arts and crafts activities such as making tomato dolls and making toy horses from corn stalks and tomatoes. The adults could get good and messy too with their own tomato fight and tomato golfing. There were also local wine, beer, and food booths from the local wineries, breweries, and restaurants as well as live music all day long. I heard about the Tomato Festival and it was a last minute decision on whether or not we should go. We drove down to Oliver to see my sister and brother-in-law that day to celebrate Matthew's 6th birthday. As we were leaving they pressed us to go to the festival as they had been before and had a great time. The fair grounds were packed and we spent the afternoon trying to take in as much as possible. Next year I will have to remember to wear my grubbies and get good and covered in tomato gunk! Here is a link to the Festival of the Tomato and to Covert Farms' website. |
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Tomato Tug-of-War |
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Angela and Matthew at the Obstacle Course and Tomato Fight |
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Angela and Matthew Making Tomato Dolls and Corn and Tomato Toy Horses |
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More Impressions of life in the Okanagan - September 2007
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September 19 and 20: Overnight Stay at Paradise Lake
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Mid-afternoon and early evening shots of Paradise Lake |
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At a friend's log cabin |
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At a friend's log cabin |
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Views of the log cabins at Paradise Lake |
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Waking up to snow! |
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| This month I had the chance to experience the great Canadian wilderness! I stayed overnight with a group of ladies from Takarazuka, Japan. The group of us stayed at the B&B lodge and at private log cabin on the shores of Paradise Lake (120 kilometres from Penticton on the Okanagan Connector west of Peachland). Paradise Lake is located high in the mountains and the scenery is a dramatic change from the Okanagan. Along the way to the lake we reached Pennask Summit which is 1,728 metres – the 2nd highest mountain pass in BC next to the Kootenay Pass. In this area there are about 40 other lakes and the fishing is supposed to be great. I heard the trout in the lake are small but in July you can catch 8 in an hour. Four of us stayed at my friend’s log cabin. I expected the cabin to be a typical lake cabin but it was just gorgeous with all the modern conveniences The cabin was huge and ssssooo comfy, and I was hard pressed to leave the couch! The rest of the group stayed at the B&B which was wonderful too. After we arrived we took a 2 hour walk around the lake and then returned for a massive roast beef dinner and lots of Okanagan wine. After dinner we had a campfire and made smores and gazed at the billions of stars – a perfectly clear night. The next day we woke up to snow!!! It was so bizarre seeing snow in September and it was a regular winter wonderland. My friend told us the weather up there can change in an instant and she wasn’t exaggerating. The women from Takarazuka freaked right out as you can imagine and were panicking about us being stranded at the lake for the next 2 days. We told them not to worry and we waited until it warmed up a bit and drove out at 10:00am. Sure enough, by the time we reached the main highway the snow on the road was gone. I am dying to get back to Paradise Lake. It was so peaceful and relaxing, and a true Canadian outdoor experience. In the winter the lake is completely frozen, and people play hockey, skate, go snowshoeing, cross country ski, and go snowmobiling. In the summer, of course, there is the terrific fishing. Many of the cabins can be rented out and I would love to bring people our visitors here to this very special place. |
September 30: Festival of the Grape, Oliver (40 minutes south of Penticton)
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Wineries from the Okanagan offering their samples |
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| At the end of September through the first week of October is the
annual Okanagan Fall Wine Festival. One of the more popular events
is Oliver's Festival of the Grape. Oliver (located just
south of
Penticton) is the heart of wine country with the largest
concentration of wineries and vineyards in Canada. Each year the
Festival of the Grape attracts more than 30 Okanagan wineries as
well as local food vendors, local stores and boutiques, local arts
and crafts, live entertainments, games for the kids, and the grape
stomp competition. Last year was scorching hot and a buddy
told me
more than 5,000 tickets were sold to this event. However, this year
the weather turned
cold and cloudy and probably only several
thousand were in attendance throughout the day. Despite the weather,
we had a great time. We got there just after it opened - 12:00 noon
- and immediately headed for the food vendors and pigged out on
cheese and bread, pizza, hamburgers, and Atsuko's newly discovered
delight, French fries with gravy! At 1:00 the wine tasting began
and, of course, being the cheap guy that I am thought the wine tastings would be free. After tasting my first red wine and trying
to walk away I quickly discovered each tasting costs $1. I had a
couple of more tastings after that and decided to quit while I was
ahead - the police take DUI (driving under the influence of alcohol)
very, very seriously here! The kids had a blast at the games and
activities section of the festival, and they won lots and lots of
prizes. The Blues Brothers tribute band was excellent and belted out
some great R&B tunes. When I was growing up in Oliver in the 70s there was nothing like this, and I had to pinch myself several times to make sure I was in my old hometown. This week there are countless wine-related events up and down the Okanagan valley, and I hope to catch a couple more before the wine festival comes to a close.
Okanagan
Wine Festivals - guide to the fall, winter, spring, and summer
wine festivals |
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Blues Brothers tribute band and crowd shot |
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