Supporting Summerland Wildfire Relief

This week the Bald Range Wildfire in the Okanagan forced 20,000 B.C. residents around the Summerland area to flee their homes as it grew to 19,000 hectares at an unbelievably destructive pace. Many homes, businesses, animal charities, farms, and wineries have been impacted in this diverse agricultural region.

• CBC New’s ongoing coverage

Supporting Summerland Wildfire Relief

If you have been wondering how you can show support, our friends at Town Hall Brands put together a helpful guide that includes purchasing products and gift cards from area wineries and businesses to help keep them afloat during time time of uncertainty.

You can also:

• Support the members of Garnet Valley Agri-Tourism Association
• Donate through the Canadian Red Cross
• Donate through United Way’s BC Wildfire Recovery Fund
• Find information about making a financial donation by contacting the Community Foundation of the South Okanagan | Similkameen
• View the current list of needed items, which is monitored and updated daily
• Check out Help Summerland which is a volunteer-organized community resource connecting people who need help with those who can offer it. You can post what you have (such as shelter, food or supplies) or what you need.

There are also a few Vancouver businesses who have already put together some campaigns and events:

Chef Ned Bell and farmer Thomas Tumbach have launched a $20,000 campaign to buy crops from Okanagan farmers hit by the Bald Range wildfire and turn them into seasonal sauces and preserves.

Glowbal Restaurant Group is showing its support for the residents and employees in the Okanagan region who have been affected by the recent wildfires raging across the Interior by donating $5 from every BC bottle of wine sold at its five Vancouver-area restaurants throughout the month of August.

Provence Marinaside in Yaletown will donate five percent from every Tomato Festival menu sold, retroactive to August 1, to the SOS Wildfire Response Fund.

For the entire month of August, Provence Marinaside is celebrating all things tomato by offering special three-course prix fixe menu ($69). “The heirloom tomato is the ultimate summer flavor. They are the taste of the sun and remind me of long summer days when I was a child in Provence,” says Provence Marinaside’s Owner / Executive Chef Jean Francis Quaglia.

Launched by the Community Foundation of South Okanagan and Similkameen, the fund supports communities affected by this year’s Okanagan wildfires. To help raise even more, Provence has also extended their Tomato Festival through mid-September.

On August 29th, The Belgard Kitchen hosts an evening in support of five Summerland wineries they know and work with personally. The people behind these wineries are part of the BC hospitality community. They have poured their wines, shared their stories and welcomed them around our tables, and when their community was impacted, they wanted to find a way to show up for them in return. The four-course dinner at Belgard Kitchen is paired with wines from Summerland wineries. Before dinner, enjoy a silent auction featuring donations from local businesses and friends of the restaurant, with 100% of silent auction proceeds going directly to the wineries they’re supporting. A portion of ticket sales will also be donated. Reserve your spot online.

If you know of any more, feel free to send in the information and we will post it here. Our hearts are with Summerland and all fire-stricken areas of our province, which are unfortunately numerous.

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