Tuesday 31 May 2016



West Meets East at the Third Annual 

Okanagan Military Tattoo


On July 23 and 24 Vernon’s Kal Tire Place will again be the site of the unique summer music and entertainment extravaganza, the Okanagan Military Tattoo 2016. This year’s theme is “West Meets East”



The experience of a military tattoo goes beyond the patriotic stir triggered by marching brass bands, the stirring skirl of the bagpipes, thumping of drums and a touching tribute to our veterans.  The Okanagan Military Tattoo is also a huge variety show with international flavor. This year’s diverse line-up, extends from Calgary to Korea!  

Producer/Director Norm Crerar confirms the attendance of the popular Calgary Stampede Band of Outriders with its repertoire of swing tunes and Western favourites. This energetic forty-piece ensemble is comprised of Calgary Stampede Showband Alumni and other musicians from the Calgary area. Versatility is a key characteristic of the group. Members have performed at diplomatic events, weddings and for raucous crowds in football stadiums and rodeo arenas.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41oauihrA40 

  

The OMT is hosting its first international performers this year with the appearance of the exotic Korean Traditional Military Band who have performed at the Virginia Arts Festival, the Bosel and Edinburgh Tattoos.   With its colourful drums, traditional horns, pipes, stringed instruments and dancers, it stretches our  concept of  traditional  militaristic music!  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHd2LmDfnzA





The Band of the 15 Field Artillery Regiment from Vancouver will join the valley’s 5 regional bagpipe and drum bands proudly continuing local tradition by supporting our local militia, the British Columbia Dragoons.  The OMT Dancers and the Vernon Army Cadet Camp musicians will delight and inspire, giving the performances that patriotic spirit that is part of every tattoo.



Guests of honour this year include our BC Lieutenant Governor, the Honourable Judith Guichon, who is a patron of the OMT, along with senior military officials.  The Minister of Defense, Harijit Jajjan has been invited.  Our Vernon SADOK Ukrainian dancers and the Sikh Cadet Corp from Surrey will add some ethnic flair. 



As the show dates approach more entertainers will be confirmed.  To stay tuned and to buy your tickets: www.okanagantatto.ca




Friday 8 April 2016


Two Seasons in  One
 

Last week I went skiing (Wednesday, March 30).  There had been plenty of fresh powder the previous week.  But the weather had changed.  The sky was cloudless and the sun was more than warm.  The forecast for Vernon that day was a high of 20 degrees C. 

Skiing on the back side of Silver Star on March 30
Usually for a day of spring skiing, it is best to start a bit later as the snow can have a crunch to it first thing.  But last Wednesday was a different story.  We took our first run about 0930 hrs.  There was good corduroy (aka well-groomed) snow on the back side.  Our first  few runs were glorious.  But, by 1100 hrs, the snow was transformed to the consistency of mush.  You would breeze through a shaded section and then hit a sunny patch and be stopped in your tracks. So, we decided to quit for the day and went for an early lunch. 
 
Skiers and Boarders enjoying lunch on Red Antler's outdoor patio
 
The Village was full of skis and snow boards propped up on racks and railings and all the restaurants and cafes with outside seating were full of happy folk soaking up the rays as they tucked into plates of food and jugs of beer.  The smell of grilled meat filled the air.
Lots of snow left up at the Village
The Okanagan Valley is known for its early spring weather.  The hills turn green by March and the golf courses open.  The tennis courts are busy and kayaks and canoes are in the lakes.  But the ski hills are still open because, above 1500 metres, the snow keeps falling.  It is my absolute favourite time of the year!  One day we'll go biking, the next day skiing.  Where else in the world can you have such a variety of outdoor activities on the same day and so close to your door?
 
The wharf at Kal Beach March25
 
Paddle boarding at Kal Beach March 25
It's been an exceptional ski season.  The snow at Silver Star/Sovereign Lake  has been  amazing.  Cumulative snow was 778cm.  And last Wednesday there was 145cm base in the Village.  But the valley was full-on green, with blossoms waiting to burst.  There had been more rain than is usual in the early spring and the thermometer was telling us summer temperatures.  Where was spring?
 
 
 
 
 
 
We have been bike riding since Easter weekend (March 25-28) and went on the first VOC ramble on March 29 to Goose Lake.  This is a popular early season ramble and 40 members showed up to walk through the grass lands and over the hills just west of Swan Lake.  The winter grass, softened by recent rains and mixed with the hopeful green of spring, felt springy under our boots.. Delicate bunches of Western Spring Beauty,  swayed in the gentle breeze and vibrant mini yellow Buttercups blanketed the sunny slopes.  .And to my utter delight the first of the Arrowleaf Balsm Root (aka Okanagan Sunflowers) had stretched their bold yellow faces up towards the spring sun.
 
Western Spring Beauty    Suzie Sims picture
 
 
 
 
First Arrow-leaf Balsam- root blooming   Suzie Sims picture
The Vernon Outdoor Club is well into its season, with weekly rambles, bike rides and hikes. Check out the web site for details: www.vernonoutdoorsclub.org.
VOC ramble to Goose Lake March 29 Colin Baxter picture
Last Friday we drove down Westside Road to West Kelowna in our little Miata.  It was a warm day so we put the roof down and cruised along the narrow paved road with its curves and hills that follow along the west side of Okanagan Lake, calm and silent under the noonday sun.
 
A view north from Westside Road
Then on Sunday, April 3 we headed up to Silver star for the last time this ski season.  The draw was our free burger, offered to all season pass holders.  The ski runs looked quiet but the Village was full of hungry skiers lined up to have the top brass of Silver Star Mountain Resort flop a burger onto a bun already loaded with the works.
 
Silver Star's Managing Director, Ken Derpak serving bugers
Picnic tables were set out in the snow beside a "snow bar" serving ice cold beer.  The mood was relaxed and festive.  What a day and what a season!
 
 
Monday we woke to a cool rainy day.  The web cams up at Silver Star showed the "champagne bottle" poking out of 38 cm of fresh snow.But it was too late for us.  Skiing was over.
 
Monday morning, April 4.  38 cm fresh snow at Silver Star
The rest of this week we have gone out on bikes rides most days, out to the Coldstream Valley, around Swan Lake and up to the Commonage.
 
Snow covered Terrace Mountain stands behind VOC cyclists on Bench Row Road  Colin Baxter picture
The thermometer has bounced back to plus 20 temperatures.  Even though the mountains shine white in the background, the grass is brilliant green and trees wear  white and deep pink blossoms, that have literally appeared overnight. 
Neighbourhood flowers
The hillsides glow yellow with Okanagan Sunflowers.  There is no question, ski season is over!


 


Friday 26 February 2016


The 2016 Carter Classic
 

18 Teams signed up for fun and racing in support of Silver Star Adaptive Snow Sports and as nearly always seems to be the case... for a bluebird day on the mountain race course.
 
 
 
The event raised OVER $17,000.00 in support of SSASS!
It was a very exciting day.  It lived up to its logo, a tremendously successful FUNdrai$er!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 



The "Bear Essentials" pose for a last picture.  Watch that bear, someone might decide to chase him down the mountain!
 


Moving up to the gates.  Watch that sit skier, Blake Harper, he's going to shred powder and flap those gates!


 
"Edison's Swashbucklers" wait for the first run
 

And won first prize for team costume!

Energizer Bunny races tot he finish!
All abilities and all ages!



 

Thanks so much to all of the many participants, sponsors and organizers to again made this SSASS day at Silver Star and who supported our efforts and providing snowsports experiences "without barriers" for local, regional and students from afar who visit the star.

Thursday 25 February 2016



Meg's Story: How SSASS Set her Free
 

Meg McIntrye skiing in this year's Carter Classic
The first time I saw Meg McIntrye ski, I was surprised to learn she was a student with SSASS (Silver Star Adaptive Snow Sports).  She’s your quintessential Aussie: energetic and friendly, with a sunshine smile, and a twinkle in her eye.  A multi-coloured tuft of hair extends out from the front of her helmet.  And she is a very good skier, with that smooth style of someone who grew up with skis on her feet.

Meg started skiing at age 7.  He father had been a pioneer in the early days of skiing in Australia.  He and his buddies had built a back country lodge in 1950/51, in the Perisher Valley, located in the Snowy Mountains, a major ski area today.

The family loaded up the 5 kids with their wooden skis and hand-made jumpers and mittens and made the 8 hour journey from Sydney to the lodge every opportunity they had.  This made for an idyllic childhood and resulted in Meg developing a deep passion for skiing which has never waned.

 She was an athletic kid taking up track and field, cricket and field hockey.  At age 10 a sport injury introduced her to the world of sport medicine.  This experience gave her the inspiration to become and Physiotherapist.  During Uni, she only accepted student placements in the south so she could ski as much as possible but then, after graduation she accepted a ‘short-term’ position up in Port Macquarie Base Hospital in northern New South Wales where she morphed from a big city girl to a small-centre country girl.  This transition involved participation in local sports.  And soon she was both a participant and the official (or unofficial) team physio.  To this day she calls Port Macquarie home.

Her skill both at sport and as a physio became noticed and soon she was participating at a state level.  When she was asked to become the Physio for the Australian women’s cricket team she decided she needed more knowledge and returned to school in Perth to take sports physio.  Not long after she expanded her role, becoming the physio for the Women’s National Australian field hockey team.  That role took her to the Atlanta Olympics in 1996 where the Australian National ‘Hockeyroos’ won gold.

After the Atlanta Olympics, she returned to University to obtain a Master’s degree.   Around this time she was asked to become the Deputy Director of the Physiotherapy Centre for the 2000 Olympics/Para Olympics in Sydney.  While continuing her job in Port Macquarie, she took on this huge new challenge which encompassed ensuring physiotherapy services were available for all sports, training venues and for every participating country.

“My involvement in sport has taught me important lessons for life”, she tells me.  “You need to learn to work within the rules and with a team and to work under pressure.  You need to learn to win and to lose”. Life has presented Meg with many challenges and she’s needed all these life skills.

 The hectic pace continued until the end of the Commonwealth Games held in Melbourne in 2002.  Then she settled back into life in Port Macquarie and a full time private practice.  She also had to come to grips with the annoying and bizarre symptoms she had been experiencing for some time: occasionally losing sight in one eye, tingling hands and numbness in herlegs.   The diagnosis was Multiple Sclerosis.

Meg a few years ago with SSASS Instructor Colette Laplante, and outriggers
 
The hot weather of Australia is not tolerated well by persons with MS.  So when Meg heard that one of her clients was going off to BC to ski all summer (winter in BC) and she discovered the unique relationship of house swapping between Port Macquarie and Vernon/Silver Star, she and her partner Judi were over here by the next ski season.

That was 9 years ago and they have returned every year since.  The first couple years Met felt so well that her skiing improved despite her diagnosis.  But MS being the erratic and progressive condition that it is, presented more challenges with the passing of time. 

When she arrived here 4 years ago, she was unwell and very discouraged.  She worried that she did not have the strength to stand long enough to do one run.  Someone mentioned SSASS to her, maybe they could help…
 
“It was not easy to show up at SSASS and ask for help”, she tells me.  But she found her initial visit and conversation with SSASS instructor Colette LaPlante to be encouraging.  She learned to use outriggers (essentially ski-poles with little ski-blades on the bottom).  She found they took a huge load off her legs, and she could get down the mountain with less effort.  But most of her SSASS training has focused on technique, to make her a more efficient skier. She has joined the SSASS race team to work on her technique and says that on good days she actually skis better now. But all days are not good and she has to cope with her MS symptoms which bother her much more when she is not on skis.   “Skiing has always given me a sense of freedom and SSASS has set me free again”

Meg, proud member of the SSASS Race Team

Meg is a huge supporter of the Carter Classic Memorial Dual Slalom, SSASS’s annual FUNdrai$er.  Most years she mobilizes several teams to participate as well as participating herself in the recreational race which is open to skiers/boarders of all ages and abilities.  This year’s Carter Classic was held last  Saturday Feb 20 and Meg was busy enjoying the special comradery of getting local and visiting, old and young, able bodies and disabled skiers together. This year, in conjunction with the Carter Classic, SSASS held  a ‘disAbility Awareness Day’ in the Village where the public could see and try out some of the equipment SSASS uses with its clients.  The day with finished with the draw for the No Barriers raffle.   For more info:  www.ssass.bc.ca

 

 

 

 

Wednesday 3 February 2016

Best Ski Day of 2016
 
A month ago yesterday, January 2, was our BEST ski day for the whole year.  Regardless of what  will happen over the next couple months up at Silver Star Mountain Resort nothing can compare with the thrill of January 2.  That was the day Jen went skiing.

 
Its not every day that we get a visitor who has taken an all-day flight from Halifax to Edmonton, followed by an 11 hour road trip just to ski at our mountain.  But then there is not a lot that is  ordinary or conventional about Jen.
We've known Jen since she was twelve. We moved in across the street from her family in a small Alberta town and soon she was our go-to baby sitter for our girls who were five and two years old.  We've been friends ever since. 
She was bright, precocious and talented and we instinctively knew she would be someone who would have a full life, someone who would make a difference.  Her early teen years were busy with piano lessons, ballet and Ukrainian dancing.  She was on the school basketball team and a top academic student.  After high school she registered at U of A, took a year of Physiotherapy.  Then, due to personal circumstances, she transferred to King's University College.  After completing a degree in social sciences, it was time to leave her comfort zone and head off by herself to the other side of the country to complete a journalism degree at The University of King's College in Halifax. After a short stint back in Alberta, Jen moved back to Halifax and, to this day, she calls Halifax home.  
She held positions at a couple social agencies but realized that she could not engineer the social changes she wanted.  So she returned to school and completed a Master's degree in Urban Planning. She then worked for the Ecology Action Centre in Halifax for five years first as the sustainable transportation coordinator and then started the Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM) Alliance, a network of community groups from rural  and urban parts of the municipality working to make Halifax more sustainable.

Jen and her boyfriend Tom enjoying a horse-drawn sleigh ride early New Year's Eve at Silver Star Mountain Resort
In recent years she has completed her Masters degree in Fine Arts and has written a book, a memoir about her experience with Multiple Sclerosis. 
At age 15 Jen was diagnosed with MS. Now at 38, due to the extreme aggressiveness of this disease, she has advanced to full quadriplegia.  However the progression of the disease has not stopped her from living a vital and productive life or having a wicked sense of humour!  Currently she continues as a member for  the Halifax Community Health Board and the President of Rainbow Refugee Association of Nova Scotia

Jen surrounded by a wreath of bras  Photo credit Jordan Blackburn at The Coast 

When she discovered that there were opportunities for persons with disabilities to ski she was more than interested.  She found two small local hills but wanted to try skiing on the 'real' thing, at a Western Canadian mountain resort. So she jumped at the chance to visit Silver Star Mountain Resort and go out with a couple of  'stage-coachers' with SSASS (Silver Star Adaptive Snow Sports)

Jen and Tom New Year's Eve 2015 at Brewers Pond, silver Star Mountain Resort
Early on Sunday January 2, we drove up to the Star, through the dull valley cloud into a bright sunny day.  The spruce and pine were laden with fresh snow and the ski runs were laid with smooth corduroy.  It was -5 degrees.  A perfect ski day!

 
 Jen's 'ski team': stage-coachers Paul Lawson and Rob Vat, physio Marnie Melnyk and photographer Richie Leslie met Jen outside  the NATC building to help pull/push her 370 pound wheelchair into the SSASS room.  There they transferred her into a MountainMan sit-ski.  This involved harnesses, a neck brace, multiple pieces of foam, a sleeping bag, a helmet with mini-bungee cords to connect it to the frame of the sit-ski and a bit of duct tape.  After a spin around the Village and a couple trial runs on the Magic Carpet the team was off to catch a ride on the Comet Chair.
The snow was butter-smooth and the crowds were sparse.  Jen gave the okay to speed things up and we streaked down the mountain shredding powder. Four  times up the Comet chair, twice up Silver Fox chair and once up Silver Queen chair.  Then down the mountain at exhilarating speed.   It was awesome. A smile was glued to her face for the whole two and 1/2 hours. 
Hands down the best ski day ever!

Celebrating a successful ski trip with lunch at Sparkling Hill on Jan 3

Jen's home now in Nova Scotia and on a mission to find an adaptive ski program closer to home.  If she comes up with no options, she's invited back to SSASS to do it again!

Jen has a blog; check it out at :    www.jlpowley.com

Here's a short video clip from Jan 2...  https://www.dropbox.com/s/8jdb9b426clgjpf/Jen%20SSASS%20Jan%202016%20v2.mp4?dl=0
                                



 


Monday 28 December 2015

Merry Christmas from the Sylvia
 
Welcome to the Sylvia, our home away from home
Vernon is located about half way between Calgary and Vancouver.  It is about a 6 1/2 hour drive from Calgary to Vernon and about a 6 hour drive from Vernon to Vancouver.  This works well for us, as we can go to  either urban center easily in one day.  And its good news for our family and friends who may be commuting from Calgary to Vancouver or vice versa.  We are situated ideally for an overnight stop.  But most of the time we convince our visitors to stay for an extra day or more. 
This year we are celebrating Christmas in Vancouver with our two daughters, one who lives there and one who lives in the Eastern States and her partner has extended family in Vancouver.  We are staying at the same hotel, the Sylvia, where we stay every time we visit Vancouver.  We have dubbed it our "home away from home"
 
My sister-in-law first told me about the place about 11 years ago when our girls were attending UBC and we lived in Alberta.  She described it as an older hotel located overlooking English Bay, "a bit run-down but under going renovations and the price was right".  My first stay was with my mother, who is quite discerning about most things but also appreciates a good deal.  It passed the test and has been our go-to hotel ever since.





Remnants of the Medieval Theme of the 50's


Built in 1913 as an apartment building by a West End resident, Mr Goldstein, and named after his daughter Sylvia, it has witnessed many changes throughout its century.  It was the tallest hotel in Vancouver when built and continued to be the tallest building in the West End until 1958. It suffered bankruptcy and abandonment through the Depression, becoming an apartment-hotel during WWII to house crews of the merchant marine.  In 1954 it opened the first cocktail bar in Vancouver and, at that time, the lounge was called the "Tilting Room', as in medieval jousting.  Remnants of this theme can still be found today.

Names such as novelist Malcolm Lowry, poet Robert Service and actor Errol Flynn can be found in old registries, but possibly the most celebrated resident was a cat called 'Mr. Got To Go' who wondered in one day and stayed long enough to become the character in a couple popular children's books.
View of English Bay from our 6th story window
Sylvia herself was quite the character.  As a girl living in the West End she was known as an excellent swimmer under the tutelage of  Barbados-born Joe Fortes, Vancouver's first lifeguard.  A well-known business woman and socialite in later life she was active in several Jewish organizations and was still volunteering well into her 90's. She lived until age 102.  On the day she passed away the Sylvia flew its flag at half mast.

The lounge at the Sylvia with its view of English Bay
Now the hotel has been somewhat modernized, with renovated rooms but some of the older charm remains, including its older clunky elevators.  The lobby and the stair foyers on each floor are adorned with pictures of bathers at English Bay, the old Alexandria Pier,  and the grand old dame on Beach Avenue, The Sylvia.

English Bay view from Second Beach

This year we booked a one-room suite.  It is about 600 square feet, has a good sized bedroom with a king sized bed and windows that look out to English Bay and Point Grey.  There is a full kitchen, sans dish washer, a good sized living room with a hide-a-bed, three closets, and bathroom with a tub/shower.  All we need!  The price is $165 per night. (without tax) with an $18/day fee for parking.
 
Our one bedroom suite with our decorated tree
The first night we had family and friends up for drinks and snacks. We put up a Christmas tree and settled right in! The place is built like a bunker so no worry that things got a bit noisy.
You are as likely to meet a four legged guest in the elevator or lobby as a two legged one, The Sylvia takes pride in having being the first pet-friendly hotel in Vancouver, a reputation that guarantees a full house much of the year. 
 
Oscar waiting for his master in the lobby
All those guests simply cross Beach Avenue and are on the sea wall.  Directly in front is English Bay Beach. To the left are dozens of kilometers of walking/biking trails that take you around False Creek and to the ferry terminals for the False Creek Ferries. Little tubby boats scoot passengers tot he Science Centre, the Maritime and City Museums, Granville Island Markets and Kitsilano Beach.
Ferry terminal across from Granville Island
 
Every day we have taken a walk.  Our first day we walked to the ferry terminal and took the ferry over to Vancouver City Museum.  The next day we walked down Denman Street to Robson, the epi-centre of downtown Vancouver shopping, and eventually walked ourselves between the trendy new condos of Yaletown to False Creek.  Somewhere along the way we found a little Italian coffee shop for a cuppa.  Today we walked on the Sea Wall around Stanely Park.  It was a bit misty and cool so we stopped at the Stanely Park Pavilion, a grand old building where we had a bowl of hot turkey soup beside a roaring fireplace.
 
Walking on the sea walk around Stanley Park on a misty day
 Christmas morning we went down to the restaurant.  I had the 'English Bay' breakfast, of eggs, bacon and blueberry pancakes while looking over English Bay, quiet except for the gulls and cormorants.  It was a sunny morning, a reprieve from the cloud and rain. A dozen large bulk carriers languished in the outer bay, waiting for a dock space in Burrard Inlet. Guests joined us mid-afternoon for a glass of Prosecco before heading down to a small little banquet room for dinner.  I met the manager in the lobby.  He had been working all day, bussing tables in the restaurant,  answering phones, etc.  "If I expect my staff to work on Christmas Day then I will be here too"  he told me still looking bright and energetic even though he had been here since 7 am.  His attitude very much typifies the feel of this unique little hotel! Its a great place to call home when we visit Vancouver!
 
Mistletoe station just outside the Sylvia