Photo: Hoodoo Adventures

Penticton’s Hoodoo Adventures is celebrating a decade in business with a gala fundraiser next week for youth recreation.

Ten years ago, Lyndie Hill started offering her services at the local community centre, taking groups of kids out for multi-day canoe trips and teaching a variety of courses.

“I grew up in Penticton, so I’m very passionate about the area and I know what it's like to be a kid here too,” she said, noting the outdoor opportunities of Penticton can often be lost on young people.

Hoodoo Adventures grew gradually at first, from buying their first fleet of kayaks to exploding in popularity in the last five years, allowing them to move into a space downtown.

Hill founded the Youth Outdoor Recreation Society last year, a non-profit that fundraises to subsidize outdoor recreation for youth.

“Ideally we would love to see it become a part of curriculum in schools, that’s our long term goal,” she said. “We’ve been working with schools already, getting kids out and active throughout the year — it is just something that can be expensive to engage in, because we work with small ratios of six kids per instructor.”

The 10th anniversary gala on Aug. 30 at the Penticton Trade and Convention Centre will raise money for the non-profit, and will feature “dinner, musical entertainment, silent and live auctions, a mystery wine pull, and some fun, grown-up adventure camp-themed activities.”

Tickets start at $30 and can be purchased here.