About Kelowna: Winery, Hotel, Golf, and Recreation Destination
Kelowna, BC, Canada’s 15 wineries draw travelers from around the world to the Okanagan Valley’s hotels to ski, golf courses, hiking trails, many other attractions. In 1859, Father Pandosy settled in Kelowna which developed as a railway community and survived the Okanagan Mountain Park Fires in 2003. On the other side of the Okanagan Lake Bridge from Kelowna is where the Westbank First Nation lived as a self-governing people until 1876. There is a lot to learn about Kelowna’s history and agricultural heritage at its museums and plenty of great places to hike, like Knox Mountain Park, virtually right in the city: remaining energy can be burned up walking the streets of Kelowna and doing some serious shopping.
Kelowna History
Kelowna was first settled by missionaries in 1859 and its name is the Indian term for ‘Grizzly Bear’. Officially incorporated in 1905, Kelowna had approximately 116,479 residents in 2007 according to BC Stats. This wonderful city on Lake Okanagan is divided into 30 real estate neighbourhoods and is the transportation, business and service hub of the Okanagan Valley. Kelowna is home to the late Premier of British Columbia, W.A.C. Bennett and is the birth place of his son, William R. Bennett, who also served as Premier of BC. Kelowna International Airport is the 10th busiest airport in Canada and offers daily direct flights to and from Vancouver, Calgary, Seattle and Toronto. Tourism is an important source of revenue for the Kelowna economy. Below are facts about the City of Kelowna released in an October 2008 demographic profile by the Economic Development Commission of the Regional District of Central Okanagan (RDCO):
- 15% of the population between ages of 45 to 54
- persons 45 to 54 years of age are fastest growing population segment
- over 95% of residents speak English most often at home
- over 37% of residents have college or university degree
- median household income is $48,859
- 27% of occupations in sales and service
- residential real property tax rates about $6.3896 per $1,000 of Assessed Property
According to the 2001 Statistics Canada BC Agricultural Profile, Kelowna has approximately 9,185 hectares of farmland on which food such as fruits, berries, nuts, and livestock is produced. Local growers of fruits, berries, nuts, and livestock supply Kelowna restaurants with a variety of food and beverage products.
The Legend of Ogopogo
Ogopogo has a 20 to 50 foot long serpent-like body and is believed to live in Lake Okanagan. Interior Salish Native people first reported seeing Ogopogo over 100 years ago. It has often been described as dark blue, black or brown with a lighter underside. Ogopogo sightings have been reported as recently as 2007 and the following three books have been written about his legend:
- In Search of Ogopogo: Sacred Creature of the Okanagan, by Arlene Gaal
- Ogopogo: The True Story of the Okanagan Lake Million Dollar Monster, by Arlene Gaal
- The Okanagan Mystery, by Mary Moon
Ogopogo is an important part of Kelowna’s culture: The Kelowna Rockets Western Hockey League (WHL) team has Ogopogo in its logo and there is a statue of Ogopogo at the foot of Bernard Avenue in the Kelowna North real estate neighbourhood. Ogopogo Media Inc.’s name is derived from the legend of Ogopogo.
