On February 18th, we came together to celebrate 10 years of the Niteo Africa Society and raise money to establish the 11th Literacy Centre in East Africa.  Niteo is a volunteer based, grassroots charity in Kelowna BC.  They collect recycled books from local homes, schools and libraries to be packed into a shipping container.  This container is shipped to a deserving community in Uganda or the South Sudan.  Once arrived, the container is fitted with doors, windows and shelving, it becomes their community library!  The majority of the books will stay at the literacy center, while others will be distributed to children and schools.  Niteo's mandate is to provide quality education for all children and to help break the cycle of poverty with literacy. 

The Stone Soup Gala was held at Sandhill Winery where guests experienced food prepared by the Okanagan Chefs Association.  Teams of chefs created a canape sized dish inspired by famous literature.  Each guest got to pick a clay pottery bowl made by local potter Marijanel Knight with Bowls of Hope.  This was their plate for the evening and then a memento to keep from the event.  With sponsorship, a silent auction and ticket sales we were able to raise the money needed to establish the 11th Literacy Centre in 2017. 

If you've ever been to an event with a photo booth, you know just how much fun they are.  When it comes to props and backdrops there is no limit to the ideas and designs.  At Fresh, we supply event planning as well as photo booth rentals.  The rental is 100% full service and includes:
-A host for the Duration
-Set Up and Tear Down
-A Multitude of Fun Props
-On Site Printing
- A Digital File with all the Event Photos

Check out our rental page for all the details.  Dates book up quickly (especially weekends) so don't delay! 250.864.1436

Here are a couple of inspirational ideas from DIYready.com

Always great to work with the team at The Westrheim Group! 
Venue: Eldorado Sun Room
Entertainment: Ben Beveridge
Photographer: Alisha Khan Photography
Planning and Coordination: Fresh Event Design

On January 30th, Niteo Africa in association with the Okanagan Chef's Association hosted the second annual Stone Soup for Literacy Gala at the Hotel Eldorado.  

Niteo Africa is a Kelowna based charity that collects books that would otherwise be recycled from homes, schools and libraries.  The books are packed into a shipping container destined for Uganda.  Once arrived, the container is fitted with doors, windows and shelving and becomes their community library.  The goal of Niteo's founder, Karine Veldhoen, was to provide the resources to nurture a reading culture for future generations of African children.  niteoafrica.org

Guests were impressed with dishes created by the junior members of the Okanagan Chef's Association.  Inspired by literature, the chefs set out to create an interesting small plate that would win over the crowd.  In the end, the Three Little Pigs took first place.  

A big thank you to the following community sponsors:

Okanagan Chef's Association
Fresh Event Design
Shaw TV
Bell Media
Impressions Weddings - Decor
Raudz
Sysco
GFS
Codfather's
Two Rivers Meats
Sign Craft
Secure-Rite Mobile Storage
Bowls of Hope
Month of Love
Sandrine 
Grapevines at Grey Monk
House of Rose
Urban Fare
Crescendo
Floatspace

Ageless Living Wellness Centre is about the health of men and women as they approach the best years of their lives and achieving whole health—that which involves mind, body and spirit. Thus, our vision was born.
It isn’t about trying to look, act or feel like a 20-something; nor is it about accepting what society has traditionally dictated for “men or women of a certain age.” It is about exploring and defining for yourself what it means to be you at any age—whether that is 40, 50, 60 or beyond.
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Michael Forbes is the founder of Forbes Group and Ageless Living.  His passion is helping men and women live their best life through diet, exercise and  balanced hormones.  

www.agelessliving.ca

Makes 1 pitcher - about 6 drinks


Ingredients:

1 bag fresh or frozen cranberries
1.5 cups water
2 oranges
8 sprigs rosemary
2tbs brown sugar
2 cups ginger beer
6oz. spiced rum
club soda




Directions:

In a medium sauce pan add water, about 3/4 of the bag of cranberries, 2 sprigs of rosemary, sugar and the zest of 1 orange.  Bring to a boil and allow to reduce for about 7 minutes.  Remove from heat, strain and allow to cool in the fridge. 

Add spiced rum, ginger beer and cold cranberry mixture to a pitcher.  Slice the orange and add remaining cranberries.  Allow to marinate in the fridge for 1 hour. 

Top up the pitcher with soda (Optional).  Garnish each glass with a sprig of rosemary and an orange curl. 

Cheers!!! 

There are a few basic guidelines to remember when serving wine to guests in your home. These simple rules will ensure your guests can comfortably enjoy the wine you have chosen to share. 

What and How Much to Pour:
Champagne or Sparkling Wine is a great way to start, you could also serve a light refreshing white.  When it's time for dinner the bigger, more robust reds can be brought out.  Decanting a red wine or letting it breathe for an hour before hand can allow the wine to oxidize and the flavours will be released.  Generally a 4 to 5oz. pour is appropriate. (about half of a regular wine glass) 

Basic Food/Wine Pairing Guide:

• Sauvignon Blanc – white or light fish, mild cheese, fruit
• Pinot Gris - seafood or light tomato based pasta dishes
• Gewurztraminer - spicy curry, salmon, anything with some spice
  
• Chardonnay – grilled chicken, salmon, shellfish, and grilled fish
• Pinot Noir – light meats, chicken, grilled anything, salmon
  
• Cabernet Sauvignon – red meats, bbq steak, grilled and smoked foods.
• Merlot – pasta, red meat, duck, smoked or grilled foods
• Syrah – red meats, spicy pizzas, herbed sauces on red meat, turkey

A few more helpful wine pairing hints:

• Intensely flavoured foods need intensely flavoured wines
• Acidic foods need higher acid wines
• Sweet foods need to be paired with a wine that is at least as sweet or sweeter
• Avoid tannic wines with oily fish or hot spice
• Pair off-dry to sweet wines to help counteract spice heat
• Well salted meats make red wines taste less tannic and softer
• Crisp acid whites pair well with salty food
• Pair crisp acidic whites with fatty or deep fried foods

Serving Temperature:

Temperature matters!  The temperature can dramatically alter the chemistry of a wine. 

Sparkling Wine or Champagne - Very Cold (5 to10C)
White/Rose Wine - Cold (7 to14C) Let the wine chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours before serving. 
Red Wine - Cool (15 to20C) Lighter red wines like Pinot Noir or Gamay can be served just slightly chilled, while big, bold reds should be slightly warmer.  Be careful during the hot summer months that reds are not served too hot, chill in the fridge for about 30 mins.

Ladies First:

When pouring wine for your guests serve the ladies first starting with the most mature and moving clockwise.  When refilling your own glass, ask the guests next to you if they would like a top up before you serve yourself.  If there is wine open on the table guests will be able to help themselves.  As a general rule most guests will have 3 to 4 glasses of wine during an evening, there are about 5 glasses in a 750ml bottle. 

Most of all your guests will appreciate your hospitality.  Stay calm, collected and enjoy the evening and your guests will too.  If anything does go wrong, don't sweat it, laugh it off and carry on. 

Enjoy!

Jesse East from Re/Max Kelowna treated his clients to an afternoon of fun at the Pumpkin Patch!  Fun was had by all, tractor hayrides, cornmaze, pumpkins, a bbq and of course lots of candy.