Here and there

The Kelowna Jaycees are proud to announce that the 3rd Annual Smoke on the Water BBQ Festival will be bigger and better than ever before. The event runs from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Father's Day, June 21st in Waterfront Park. The festival is free for the public to attend and will feature an array of events to keep everyone entertained.

The centerpiece of the festival is the Pro BBQ Competition, which draws teams from across Western Canada and the North-Western United States. Competitors start cooking Saturday night, to submit dishes in five categories on Sunday afternoon. The teams are competing for bragging rights and $2750.00 in prize money.

Smoke on the Water will also feature the 1st annual BCRFA “Best Burger In Town” Competition, which will award the title and a $650.00 advertising package from Castanet to the restaurant judged to have Kelowna’s best burger. This contest will be decided by local celebrities including Castanet Creative Director, Robin Jones Wine Columnist/Consultant, Jim Martin AM 1150 Radio Host, Phil Johnson and Wine/Food Columnist, Juliana Hayes from the Daily Courier.

The Smoke on the Water Festival is a family event that has attractions for just about everyone.

The hungry members of the family can treat themselves to a plate of authentic Southern BBQ or more standard local fare like Kelly O’s Pachos or a Smokie. If the sun gets too hot festival goers can cool down with a cold drink in the beverage garden right on tugboat beach, or grab an ice cream cone from Marble Slab Creamery.

Where do you think Kelowna Dads are going to want to spend Father's Day?...

What do you think of the warranty programs we are being offered by just about anyone who can in retail these days? I was told about a situation where the company cancelled the warranty and gave back some of the money. I was buying a battery the other day and when I was offered a warranty for the battery the manager of the store said it was a wise move to take the warranty.

Let's see, that battery was a little over five bucks and the warranty was $1.49 and I get free batteries. First of all what is the first battery really worth? The warranty games have become a big profit source for these businesses, a cash cow as they say. There is a lot of money being made.

One should check on the extended warranties they already have with their credit cards. If something breaks down call your credit card company. I understand they are not difficult to deal with. Here is your chance to finally read that agreement that comes with the credit card when they are issued. Where did I put that?...

It must have been two or three years ago when I first got the story on some changes being made in France as the wine industry looked to screw caps because too much of their fine wines were being “corked.” Some were undrinkable because of the damaged, aged or just plain bad corks. Isn’t that why the waiter pours a small sample of wine to be assessed by the customer?

Back then I called a friend when I was putting the story together and his disgust in even discussing such a thing was immediate. “They will ruin the wine experience if that is true. It is an emotional experience. It’s tradition.”

Wine makers all over the world are switching to screw caps because as they say the screw cap closure was selected by the wineries to ensure freshness and that means the wines tastes the way the winemaker intended it to taste.

For years the wine corks have been made in places like Spain from cork trees grown especially for that purpose. We have a cork tree in our backyard. It is probably twenty years old and just when I was getting ready for cork production. So I waited too long again.

I know it won’t stop there at the screw cap because I saw a wine show on TV the other day where one winery has introduced glass stoppers. One had a glass as part of the package over top of the wine bottle...

What are we doing differently in the supermarket as we shop these days? First of all we have a list and prior to going grocery shopping we have checked the fliers. I now carry mine with me. The store house brands have become popular and sales are up thirty percent. We trust them and the quality is good. It certainly does disturb me some days when I check where some products sourced from and find out things like a jar of pickles has come from halfway around the world.

Grocery industry studies have shown that between 50 percent and 60 percent of all supermarket purchases are made on impulse, and that figure can jump to nearly 70 percent when shoppers go down every aisle.

Supermarkets do what they can to take advantage of that fact - stores are full of displays designed to tempt you to spend a little more, including advertising messages on the shelves, the floors and broadcast over the sound system.

Supermarkets want you to buy their own brands, because they make more money on them. They put their products next to the brand name versions on the shelf, and use compare and save signs to show the price differential between the two.

In this case you should go along, because you'll generally save money without sacrificing quality. New research by a trade group for the makers of such products suggests that consumers can cut their weekly grocery bill by 30 percent if they buy store brands instead of the better-advertised national brands.