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Ladies and gentlemen, it is officially cherry season in Kelowna! Time to load up on the beautiful inky-red fruit and sit with a bowl full and a friend to share with – preferably somewhere shady or by the lake. Here are some of my top picks of places to find great, juicy cherries here in Kelowna.
Hillcrest Farm Market – tucked away at the “T” intersection of Highway 33 and Springfield Road, this family-owned and run orchard and farm market offers so much! Their cherries are big and bold-flavoured, and they are shipping them all over the world, but keeping a helping for us in town, too. They sell veggies and preserves from their farm market while their café offers a range of goodies from mouthwatering baked goods made by an in-house pastry chef to some seriously addicting Butter-Chicken Pizza. Just make sure that these temptations don’t distract you from the star of the day: Hillcrest’s cherries.
Sun City Cherries – On Lakeshore Road as you climb the hill toward the wineries, you’ll find Sun City Cherries on the left side of the road. I recently stopped in at this market to pick up a bag of plump, sweet Silvia cherries as I was heading to Bertram Beach to swim, and the market was already buzzing with patrons. It was a tough call, as I stood deciding which bag to get… they also have those delicious yellow cherries, and then there’s the ice cream!
Don-O-Ray Vegetables – I love visiting Don-O-Ray and seeing the cornucopia of veggies and fruit available at this market! And yes, my friends, they have cherries too! Stop in at this market on Benvoulin Road, just past KLO, and pick up some of these summer treats along with any of your other vegetable requirements for the week – you just can’t go wrong!
Arndt Orchards and Kempf Orchards – Tucked up in the scenic Belgo bench of Kelowna (Teasdale Road), Arndt Orchards has been growing cherries since 1946 and their neighbours, Kempf Orchards have been growing cherries since 1966. These orchards offers already-picked cherries or u-pick cherries. Make a morning or afternoon of the excursion, and then you get to really enjoy the fruits of your labour (pun intended) once you get back to your hammock.
Kelowna Farmers and Crafters Market – Our farmers market is in full swing and overflowing with all manner of fruit and veggie at this time of the year. With over 165 stands, it’s the biggest farmers market in the province, and you can be sure to find a whole variety of cherries at the various stands in this season.
And just because Everyone Loves Pie… here is a fabulous cherry pie recipe from Paynter’s Fruit Market in West Kelowna – another great place to find sun-kissed fruit picked by the dedicated hands of Jennay Oliver and her team of worker bees. And yes, of course – they have cherries! (And so many other wonderful fruit, including some of the best melon I have ever tasted, enormous peaches, and loads of other produce. Oh, and ice cream!)
There are many other great spots to find this tasty superfood here in Kelowna. To search for locations close to you, check out our Farm Markets and Fruit Stands page on Tourism Kelowna’s website.
This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.
