Kelowna Capital News

Chelsea Green has reached the top of WWE. The Claremont Secondary School graduate won the interim World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) women’s championship Sunday (Aug. 2), climbing the ladder to cap off a five-woman title match at SummerSlam in Minneapolis, Minn. An interim champion was to be crowned after it was determined that lineal champion Rhea Ripley would not be medically cleared in time to compete at SummerSlam. Green defeated Tiffany Stratton, Jade Cargill, Charlotte Flair and La

The Bradley Creek wildfire has shown “no significant growth” over the last two days as crews continue to battle the 2,852-hectare blaze. In its latest update on Tuesday night (Aug. 4), BC Wildfire Service (BCWS) said 11 helicopters, 98 firefighters, 104 structure protection personnel and 15 pieces of heavy equipment are currently being used on the fire. Throughout Tuesday, crews continued to establish control lines along the west flank and mop up hot spots around homes in community a

Fire crews and bucketing efforts were able to continue through the night, and into Wednesday morning (Aug. 5) at the Quilpituk Creek wildfire along Westside Road. As of Wednesday morning, the blaze remains 742 hectares in size and out of control. Additionally, all evacuation orders and alerts remain in place. In total, 2,223 properties (approximately 5,113 residents) are on order and 425 (approximately 976 residents) are on alert. For those in need after being evacuated, supports at Westbank

False Bay Savoury Pies has opened at 2640 Pandosy St. in Kelowna, next to Earthly Creations. Owned and operated by Kevin and Anita Best, who are not new to Kelowna. Kevin and Anita operated a restaurant here for several years. They then moved to the Sunshine Coast where they owned and operated False Bay Savoury Pies for the past eight years. Now back in Kelowna, they are bringing their take-out pie company with them. False Bay Savoury Pies offer a large variety of award-winning savoury pies, inc

For the past 50 years, a facility in Summerland has hosted plenty of functions and special events. The Summerland Senior Citizens Drop-In Centre, at 9710 Brown St., was officially opened on Aug. 5, 1976. At the time, it was the home for numerous events and activities for seniors. Earlier, on Feb. 3, 1969, the centre began at the IOOF Hall on Main Street. At that time, membership was $1 a month and activities included cribbage, crokinole, dances, carpet bowling and shuffleboard. Later, the centre

Get ready for five months of laughter as Train Wreck Comedy launches its concert series. The five-show subscription series will bring some of North America’s top stand-up comedians to the Mary Irwin Theatre at the Rotary Centre for the Arts throughout the 2026/2027 season. Running from September 2026 through June 2027, the series features five nights of world-class stand-up comedy starring some of today’s biggest touring comedians: Sept. 24, 2026 – Dino Archie’s K-Town C

Splatsin has rescinded evacuation orders for three properties due to progress at the Bradley Creek wildfire. The orders for 5211 and 5217 Heywood Armstrong Road and 4909 Salmon River Road have been downgraded to alerts. Splatsin continues to work closely with BC Wildfire Service, Emergency Management partners, and neighbouring jurisdictions as response efforts continue. The Splatsin Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) remains active and continues to monitor the wildfire and coordinate with respons

UPDATE: 10:26 p.m. The Quilpituk Creek wildfire remains at 742 hectares, with three evacuation orders and one evacuation alert in place. This blaze continues to move up slope and to the northwest, away from community areas, stated BC Wildfire Service (BCWS). On Tuesday, crews assessed the danger trees along the east flank of the fire, establishing a 10-foot edge on the perimeter of the blaze. Along the north flank, crews and heavy equipment moved west, extending hose lines to suppress the fire&r

It’s the ears. Wildlife Preservation Canada (WPC) lead biologist Andrea Gielens was explaining how to tell the difference between a native and an invasive species of frog during a presentation about the endangered Oregon spotted frog at the Campbell Valley Nature House in Langley. “The eardrum is right behind the eye,” Gielens said, pointing to a photo of a spotted frog, which is native to B.C. and a green frog, which is an invader. “It’s this big circle right here.

The return of hot and dry conditions in the South Cariboo is expected to increase wildfire activity this week, especially for the Pear Lake fire. UPDATE: 7:30 p.m. The Pear Lake wildfire is now estimated at 124,656.1 hectares, as of 4 p.m. Aug. 4. The eight evacuation orders and four alerts remain in effect for the area. According to BC Wildfire Service (BCWS), after a brief period of cooler, more humid weather, warm and dry conditions are expected to return. BCWS anticipates fire behaviour t

Westside Daze is off and running as hundreds gathered in the streets of West Kelowna on Saturday morning, July 18, to watch the annual parade march, featuring fancy cars, local businesses, mayor Gord Milsom and more. The city’s signature summer festival is a four-day event that brings together families from across the community. ​Running from 10:30 a.m. until noon, the parade wound through several streets in West Kelowna, starting at the intersection of Butt Road and Old Okanagan Highway,

When it comes to dancing, Penticton will be the place to be next week. The 24th Canadian National Square, Round and Clog Dance Convention takes over the Penticton Trade and Convention Centre from July 15 to 18. Close to 600 dancers from across the U.S., Canada, Germany, China, Malaysia, and Australia have pre-registered for the volunteer-run event, which happens once every two years. It last took place in Calgary in 2024. Participants will hit the floor for square dancing, round dancing and clog

Kelowna’s waterfront came alive at City Park this weekend as the fourth annual Kelowna Water Polo Classic welcomed 21 teams from across British Columbia and Alberta for two days of fast-paced action on Okanagan Lake. ​Despite a slight overcast on Saturday morning, teams wasted no time hitting the water, and tournament director Ben Halsall was beaming with excitement ahead of his first water polo game. ​“The weather is always great because the lake is beautiful and warm,” said H

The 2026 Kelowna Dragon Boat Festival kicked off at Tugboat Beach on Saturday morning, July 11, bringing hundreds of dragon boaters to Okanagan Lake for a day of competitive racing. ​More than 20 teams participated in the 500-metre event, with teams coming to Kelowna from across B.C., vying to win the top prize as the fastest team in the tournament. ​Race director Cindy Atkinson has been involved in the races for 20 years, telling Black Press Media it’s a great way to spend time on the wat

Several vehicles caught fire in an apartment parkade in downtown Kelowna on Saturday morning. ​The Kelowna Fire Department (KFD) says that at approximately 4:30 a.m., the dispatch centre received a 911 call reporting black smoke coming from the bottom floor of an apartment in the 1400 block of Bertram Street. ​Upon arrival, the severity was raised to a second alarm, and firefighters extinguished several vehicle fires in the parkade and prevented the flames from spreading into the rest of the apa

If there was any doubt that the Phillips Backyard Festival has become Victoria’s marquee summer music event, Friday (July 10) night erased it. A capacity crowd of roughly 5,000 packed the backyard of Phillips Brewing Co. as the annual festival opened with one of its biggest headliners yet, three-time Grammy Award winner Chance the Rapper. By the time his set wrapped, fans weren’t rushing for the exits, they were standing in groups, reliving what they had just watched. “Wow, I m

When a humpback whale named Pop Tart found itself in a tangle, Greater Victoria’s whale watching community sprang into action. Identified as the 2016 calf of famed Salish Sea humpback whale Big Mama, Pop Tart spent nearly a week entangled in fishing gear, described as a buoy with a rope more than 30 metres long. The Pacific Whale Watch Association (PWWA) has praised the collaboration between Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) Marine Mammal Response Team and professional whale watchers from

Penticton has activated its Emergency Support Services (ESS) for those affected by an early-morning house fire in the Wiltse neighbourhood on Saturday, July 11. Crews knocked down the blaze on Adamson Place around 6:50 a.m. Everyone in the home evacuated safely, according to the city. Smoke was visible across Penticton. “Crews remain on-site putting out hot spots,” city officials said.

Among the hundreds of towns and cities that pepper Canada’s forests, coastlines and prairies, Victoria has been named one of the best. Travel + Leisure recently released its 2026 World’s Best Award, which annually ranks the best places to stay, eat and explore in Canada and beyond, as decided by its readers. This year, Victoria was voted the second-best city in Canada, behind Quebec City. Victoria received an 83.77 score, while Quebec City took home an 86.99 ranking. Scores are calcu

Daily FIFA World Cup soccer match updates and news for Black Press Media publications. Spain is heading to the semi-finals after defeating Belgium 2-1 on Friday (July 10). It is a busy day at the World Cup today (July 11), with two quarter-final matches. Norway will take on England at 2 p.m. PT in Miami, followed by Argentina vs. Switzerland at 6 p.m. PT in Kansas City. QUARTER-FINALS Friday, July 10: Spain vs. Belgium at 12 p.m. in Los Angeles Saturday, July 11 Norway vs. England at 5 p.m. in