From Britain to Canadian cliche in about 10 years
I was on the phone a few days ago chatting to a friend of mine, who is very British but now lives with his wife and child in Monaco, about Canada 150, Invictus Games Toronto, etc.
We use to spend a lot of time together when I lived in England, but now our lives are much more quiet 15 years later.
I asked him how he imagines my life to look like now that I have been in Canada for 10 years. He quite simply replied, “I’m sure you still the same hunting fishing party gal but you now just do it wearing a red check shirt like your prime minister wore on telly.”
I laughed because Canadians are pegged with that red-checkered uniform, yet I have never seen anyone actually wearing it.
Maybe I will go find one and start a trend again and when I go fishing in August on the Coast. I can then pose for photo and live out the imagination of what a cliche I truly have turned out to be.
Here in the Okanagan, we are blessed to have on our doorstep mountains, lakes and farmland stocked with fresh, nourishing ingredients to use for meals each day.
I am lucky to have no big allergies and I am not a vegetarian, but at times I eat like one or abstain from gluten.
This is getting to be a common practice, so I was pleased to see that there is a cooking class tomorrow, Thursday, with the theme: Greek Cooking – Gluten Free.
This three-hour class is hosted by The Start Fresh Kitchen. The class will be a demonstration in which everyone eats.
The menu is chicken and lemon rice soup, roast lamb, fava hummus, tzatziki, moussaka, pita with chickpea flour, and Greek walnut cake. The cost to attend is $60 per person and you can sign up at startfreshkitchen.ca.
They are located at 1708 Dolphin Ave. The class begins at 6 p.m.
I also see that there is a familystyle dinner on Sunday using ingredients from the wild that will be unearthed that morning.
This four-course meal also begins at 6 p.m. and only 20 tickets are available to purchase. You can visit the website for more information.
On Friday, West Kelowna will celebrate the new Annette Beaudreau Amphitheatre, located at Memorial Park, 3737 Old Okanagan Hwy.
This newly name and vamped up venue, which will hold concerts every Friday until the end of August, is named after the city’s recreation manager and long-time employee of the Regional District of Central Okanagan, who passed away in October after a lengthy battle with cancer.
Among her many contributions to her community was creating the popular Music in the Park concert series, leading the National Communities in Bloom winning entry in 2015 and acting as a passionate advocate for culture in West Kelowna.
The concert and dedication will include local talent Bjorn Kriel, Step’n Stones, James Elser and will begin at 6:30 p.m.
The park will also host games and activities for kids, food trucks will be operating during the weekly concert events.
An interesting press release was sent to me about a new historical effort to tell the story of Lord and Lady Aberdeen’s Okanagan connection.
This is a project through the Central Okanagan Heritage Society, funded by Virtual Museum of Canada’s Community Stories Investment Program, to highlight and explore the unusual circumstances of the aristocratic Scottish couple, who in 1890 purchased land in the Okanagan Valley sight unseen.
Lord Aberdeen went on to become governor-general of Canada from 1893 to 1898, and affairs of state kept the family in Ottawa most of the time.
They resided in Kelowna for summer holidays at their home which they named “Guisachan House.”
The name had been chosen because of happy associations with Lady Aberdeen’s former home in the Scottish highlands and she gives the meaning as “the place of the fir.”
Seedling Scottish firs were brought out to make the long shady driveway in to the farm house.
My research shows me that Lady Aberdeen was an amazing woman with a strong social conscience who made lasting contributions to Canadian society. An aristocrat-democrat, Lady Aberdeen was president of the International Council of Women for 36 years (1893–1936) and the National Council of Women of Canada for six years (1893–1899).
The exhibit will launch in October 2018 but there is an opportunity to find out more about the project at a community input meeting held tomorrow, Thursday, at 7 p.m. at the Benvoulin Heritage Church Reid Hall 2279 Benvoulin Rd.
If you have any information about the Aberdeen family or old photos of the land owned by them, you should definitely contact the Central Okanagan Heritage Society at 250-861-7188 or email cohs@ telus.net.
This week, I am looking forward to attending the opening night of Kelowna Actors Studio version of The Glass Menagerie, which begins its three-week run tonight.
I will review it for next week’s column. I look forward to this drama by Tennessee Williams. This play about a pushy mother and a young girl, shy and lame wooed out of awkwardness by a young man she knew long ago was inspired by Williams’ sister and is beautifully written. For tickets and more information you can visit the website at kelownaactorsstudio.com.
On Thursday I am attending the glamorous public picnic, held at a secret location we are being bused to.
The diner en blanc Okanagan is already in its sixth year and still going strong.
I got my outfit, my table and chairs, white linen and china plates, silver flat wear and a menu to rival any great picnic, yes lobster is on the menu and so is a glass or two of bubbly.
If you have always wanted to attend, you can put your name on the waiting list at okanagan. dinerenblanc.com
My sister from Ontario is visiting for a few weeks, so its great to know that there is such a variety of wonderful events and things to do. We are so blessed – and I am still looking for my red-checkered shirt.
Anna Jacyszyn is an awardwinning jazz singer. Email her at artafactevent@gmail.com.