Cindy White - May 13, 2025 / 7:00 pm | Story: 550152
Photo: District of Peachland
Sanderson Dog Park will include high-energy and low-energy dog runs.
Peachland is throwing a pooch party.
Furry friends and their families are invited to celebrate the grand opening of Sanderson Dog Park on Saturday, May 24.
The new off-leash, fenced facility features high-energy and low-energy dog-run areas for pets of all abilities.
The District of Peachland council agreed last year to invest $100,000 of a $2.76 million grant from the provincial Growing Communities Fund to set up the dog park. Another $5,000 from BC Hydro’s Community ReGreening Program paid for new trees in the park.
The grand opening is scheduled for 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on May 24 at 5900 Sanderson Avenue.
There will be training, grooming and pet-sitting experts on-site as well as activities, treats, a pet photo booth and a free doggie bag, with support from Bosley’s Pet Value Peachland.
Cindy White - May 12, 2025 / 7:00 pm | Story: 549970
Photo: Cindy White
Women practice archery during an outdoors training course at Camp Winfield in March 2022.
A popular program offered by the BC Wildlife Federation returns to the Central Okanagan next month.
Silver Lake Forest Centre near Peachland will host the BCWF Spring 2025 Women Outdoors Weekend from Friday, June 6 to Sunday, June 8.
This year, participants can learn everything from nature photography to off-road driving to archery to how to skin and stretch a beaver hide. Space is limited and the courses fill up quickly.
“We do some basic orienteering, hiking, camping, fire building and that kind of thing but it’s the harvesting wild protein that people are most interested in as an add-on to that basic skill set,” said Randy Shore, BCWF public relations & communications specialist.
He said more and more women are learning to hunt and fish because they are looking for wild, healthy proteins to feed their families. That’s where the fur handling & pelt preparation course is key because it is an introduction to field-dressing game.
“Mammal physiology is pretty similar across the board, so what you learn from handling a beaver carcass is more or less the same skills you are going to need for a deer and eventually for an even larger species,” said Shore.
Another course that comes in very handy is Introduction to off-road driving.
“If you want to be in the wilderness, you need a way to get there. Sometimes that means driving off-road, sometimes that means wrangling a trailer with a boat and it’s not as intuitive as you would hope. So it really pays to get some instruction,” said Shore.
He says there are about 20 spaces left for the Spring 2025 Women Outdoors Weekend. It costs $399.99 (+GST) for BCWF Members and $464.99 (+GST) for non-members. Click here to register or learn more about the weekend event.
Rob Gibson - May 12, 2025 / 4:32 pm | Story: 549935
Photo: Keith Thom
Peachland Deputy Mayor Keith Thom, with one of the wreaths he presented during his Netherlands trip to celebrate the 80th anniversary of VE-Day.
Peachland councillor and deputy mayor Keith Thom is back home after a whirlwind tour of the Netherlands.
Thom was on a personal mission to reconnect with the memory of his father, Major Murray Thom, who led the Royal Canadian Dragoons as a part of the liberation of the Dutch city of Leeuwarden in April 1945.
"A humbling, amazing, emotional experience. I didn't realize that my father was as well-known as he was. I mean, there were banners in towns we went through with my father's picture on it," said Thom.
Thom was in the Netherlands to share in the celebration of the 80th anniversary of VE-Day, thanks to some generous donations that helped him pay for his trip.
"It was freaking amazing," Thom said.
He wanted to take a walk in his father's footsteps and try to track down some of the people who knew his dad, including a beautiful, smiling young woman.
"No, I kept waiting for someone to tap me on the shoulder and say, 'hi, I'm your sister.' But that did not happen."
He said more people than he could count approached him and told him stories about his father and the liberation of the country.
"An author (who) had just written a book about the liberation of Holland and my father's pictures is on the front cover of his book," said Thom.
The other highlight was when he met a 94-year-old man during a celebration in Leeuwarden who looked at one of Thom's photos and remembered waving at his father.
"It was quite something," Thom said.
Thom is now back home in Peachland, recovering from jet lag and planning the best way to share his experiences with the Legion in Peachland.
"I will do a couple of free shows and give some information about the trip. I presented two wreaths I bought (with me) while I was there. One was from the District of Peachland, which I presented on April 15, and on the night of liberation, I presented the Peachland Legions wreath in front of about 30,000 people in this park."
Thom said it was the trip of a lifetime and not something that he'll soon forget.
Pat Bulmer - May 7, 2025 / 4:00 am | Story: 548905
Photo: District of Peachland
Peachland Finance director Garry Filafilo speaking to council
Owners of a typical Peachland property will pay $308.80 more in taxes in 2025.
BC Assessment calculates a typical Peachland home to be worth $887,000, finance director Garry Filafilo said to Peachland council on Tuesday. Total property taxes for the typical home will be $4,675.33 — a 7.07 per cent increase over 2024.
Council gave three readings to its final budget with the tax increases on Tuesday. Final approval will be given at a special meeting next week.
The budget includes $16 million worth of capital projects, Filafilo said, but government grants and reserve funds will pay for those.
Key projects include park improvements, a pressure-reducing station, dock pilings and boat launch works, trail building, water meters and a new child care centre, now under construction.
“Federal and provincial active transportation grants are funding a significant portion of the $1.7 million for the active transportation network — the Westside trail,” Filafilo said. “Provincial Child Care New Spaces grant is funding $12 million for the child care centre.”
“The provincial child care grant and the provincial active transportation grants are a direct result of council’s efforts to meet with provincial leaders and lobby for funds,” the finance boss said.
“The number of grants that we’ve received has increased from three to nine to 23 over the past three years. This is the result of council’s efforts, plus our grant writer [communications coordinator Kirsten Jones]. I’d like to ask council to continue that because it allows us do a lot of different things and great things for the community.”
Documents noted provincial and federal grants of $13,900,000 have been received."
Peachland will not be immune from tariffs, however.
The budget includes $42,000 for a new parks mower, but with tariffs, the cost has jumped by $25,000, he said.
“We’re going to be affected by the tariffs. We don’t buy a lot direct from the U.S., but a lot of our suppliers get their products from the U.S. For example, this mower was coming from the U.S.
“We have to look at another plan.”
The budget breakdown shows the typical homeowner will pay $2,523.96 in general, police and transit taxes, $479.75 in parcel taxes and $1,671.62 to other levels of government.
General, police and transit taxes are rising by 6.08 per cent, or $144.68 for that typical home.
Parcel taxes go up 26.69 per cent, or $101.08. That’s mostly due to a $100 rise in the protective services building parcel tax from $50 to $150. Peachlanders approved borrowing money to build a new fire hall in a 2022 referendum. The project hasn’t begun.
Taxes for other jurisdictions, including schools, the library system and regional district are going up 3.92 per cent, or $63.04.
Wayne Moore - May 7, 2025 / 4:00 am | Story: 548888
Photo: Contributed
Peachland Classic Car Show returns May 18
Classic cars are returning to the Peachland waterfront on the May long weekend.
On the heels of a very successful first event last year, the Peachland Classic Car Show returns to the community Sunday, May 18.
The show, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., takes place along the pedestrian-only Beach Avenue with the breathtaking Okanagan Lake serving as a backdrop.
More than 225 pre-1980 vehicles are expected from classic cars to tracks, hot rods and vintage boats.
Vehicles from across Western Canada are expected and, while event organizers say registration is sold out, they are looking for ways to accommodate more show vehicles.
Along with the stars of the show, there will also be roving entertainment from the Blues Bros and live buskers performing.
A 50/50 draw and silent auction are also featured.
The event, presented by the Peachland Chamber of Commerce, donated $1,000 to the Peachland Elementary School music program last year.
Car show goers are reminded parking is reserved for show cars along Beach Avenue from 1st to 6th streets.
Free shuttles will be available to take visitors from Clement Crescent to the Community Centre and back between 10:45 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.
Pat Bulmer - Apr 24, 2025 / 4:00 am | Story: 546279
Photo: District of Peachland
Peachland council has shot down a proposed secondary suite policy.
A second attempt to revise Peachland’s secondary suite policy has been shot down.
In February, planning staff presented council with language to add flex units to the policy.
Flex units are small secondary suites Peachland has been requiring in some new developments, although none have been built yet.
Councillors were unhappy with wording about grandfathering existing suites, that banned second kitchens – and questioned whether flex units will help resolve the housing shortage at all.
“I have a few things here that I think were missed,” said Mayor Patrick Van Minsel on Tuesday as the plan was presented again. “We did decide as a council that you had to look at summer kitchens and to allow them.”
The language to allow grandfathering of older suites that were legal when they were built doesn’t apply in Peachland, Coun. David Collins said.
“Right up to 2017, it was ambiguous as to whether a permit was even required …. and we wound up with hundreds of suites non-conforming,” he said. “Now people who want to bring them on board are getting stuck with fairly large bills to upgrade them."
Collins and Van Minsel both said they’d been inundated with emails from residents concerned about costs of legalizing their suites.
“One of the most frustrating things as a councillor is to constantly get emails from residents saying how difficult and onerous it is to legalize a suite,” Collins said.
“It’s having the opposite effect,” he said of the proposed policy. “People are going I’m either not even going to dare approach the district to licence my suite or I’m just going to stop doing this.”
Planning director Darin Schaal didn’t make much headway with his explanation that the policy is not creating new regulations, just stating how existing regulations are enforced.
“This is a policy document and it’s simply intended not to regulate but to provide some guidance to staff and the public in terms how we manage suite processes,” he said.
Councillors said flex suites should have their own policy.
Council voted to defer the proposed policy. It may be months before it comes up again.
Plans are coming together for Peachland's fall fair
Peachland’s scarecrow festival is returning as part of the annual fall fair.
The 106th edition of the fair, set for Sept. 6-7, is also adding zucchini races to lineup.
Peachland hosted a scarecrow festival from 2016-18. Declining entries and vandalism problems helped kill the event.
The new version will be a scaled-down model, Daniela Evans, fall fair society vice-president, told council on Tuesday.
“We’re going to run the Zucchini 500 races. We’re going to offer an opportunity for vehicles to be made from zucchinis and to race them down a track. We’re currently designing the event, which will be held on Sunday,” she said.
“We’d also like to bring back a smaller version of the scarecrow competition – invite businesses and community groups to create a scarecrow ... to use these as decorations for our fair.”
The mayor was happy to see scarecrows returning.
“The scarecrow competition that you’re going bring back is great. I was part of the first one, the second one, and we had to stop for reasons. I think it’s a very good addition to the fall fair,” said Patrick Van Minsel.
The society has 35 volunteers planning the fair, which features new events and categories every year, Evans said.
The 2024 fair had more than 798 entries, she said.
The theme this year is “Plant a Seed,” which Evans said was inspired by two young entrants, aged 3 and 6, from last year’s fair.
The event will include live music, face painting and photos with exotic animals,
The Peachland Library will host a Plant a Seed-themed event on May 3, she said. All students at Peachland Elementary will be provided with free seeds from the library and West Coast Seeds. Organizers will hold a raffle, appear at the farmers’ market and will have a float in the Canada Day parade.
The Peachland Riding Club will put on the Fall Fair Ranch Horse Classic on the same weekend. The two groups will support and promote each others’ events, Evans said.
The fair brochure with entry details will be available soon all over Peachland and West Kelowna, she said.
There will be more pies than ever for eating, supplied by Just Pies in Penticton, Evans said.
Coun. David Collins wanted organizers to create a rule that the baker of the winning competition pie be required to produce pies for eating at the following year’s event.
Debit and credit cards will be accepted this year.
Pat Bulmer - Apr 23, 2025 / 4:00 am | Story: 546076
Photo: District of Peachland
Coun. David Collins (left) and Peachland mayor Patrick Van Minsel (right) meeting with Infrastructure Minister Bowinn Ma.
Provincial support for local infrastructure projects is on hold until after the federal election, Peachland politicians have learned.
Mayor Patrick Van Minsel and Coun. David Collins recently went to Victoria to lobby provincial cabinet ministers on a variety of issues.
Last week, they also met with Housing and Municipal Affairs Minister Ravi Kahlon.
An expanded sewer system is at the top of Peachland’s priority list.
“We touched on that we have now a sewer master plan, and they were very happy that we have that because that was an impediment in the previous request for money,” Van Minsel said.
“The answer from our minister, Ravi Kahlon, was they’re waiting for the federal election to happen to know which government they will be working with,” he said.
Peachland has received letters of support for its funding bid from West Kelowna, the Okanagan Basin Water Board, Westbank First Nation and Ministry of Environment and Parks.
“Currently 55 per cent of the community is still on aging septic systems, which are projected to fail within the next five years. These failures could result in potential impacts to the environment, both within nearby streams and ultimately Okanagan Lake, as well as impacts to human health," wrote Kathryn Forge, assistant deputy minister, in the ministry’s letter.
"Expanding the sewer system is essential to protecting the environment and ensuring public health and safety.”
Peachland has some funding in place for the project. The water board has made a financial commitment, Van Minsel said. “That helps our case. We have put Peachland on the map.”
'Trophy property' devalued
Knife pulled on stranger
B.C. appoints forest council
Jury dismissed mid-trial
Preparing for possible strike
Campers staying in Canada
Asylum system suspended
Strikes kill at least 93 people
Cassie cross-examined
Brain-dead, must give birth
Hudson’s Bay brands sold
'No' to toxic environments 
Vees season ends in game 6
Leafs' ugly Game 4 loss
Vees heading to game 6
Suit could be 'dangerous' 
Diddy paid Ventura $20M
Criminal probe opened
Peachland May 13 - 4,196 views
Peachland May 6 - 11,440 views
