From art displays to new local business offerings, this winter in Sun Peaks is set to garner excitement both on the mountain and in the village.
Art around the village
In the great hall of the Sun Peaks Centre, the displays of pictographs and artifacts from a partnership with Skwlāx te Secwepemcúl̓ecw are nearly finished, chief administrative officer for Sun Peaks Mountain Resort Municipality (SPMRM) Deanna Campbell told SPIN.
“We’ll be working on a land acknowledgement to be etched in the glass to the entrance of the Sun Peaks Centre,” she said. “That’s being reviewed by Skwlāx Chief and Council I believe.”
For the Sun Peaks Centre as well, SPMRM has purchased art from local artists for the boardroom and conference room.
These were sought through a partnership with ArtZone Sun Peaks, who also have displays throughout the village from a number of local artists for the winter.
ArtZone will be cycling through works of art from different artists at some locations, on display for about a month at a time for each. These exhibits are at Vertical Cafe and Century 21 Diamante.
Visit the Sun Peaks Grand Hotel and Conference Centre, Guest Services and Tourism Sun Peaks to see featured artist collectives.
What’s new at Ohana Deli
Ohana Deli and Market is going into their first Christmas season since their expansion last year.
The store is now larger and able to accommodate dining needs with tables and coffee service. With the expansion existing now before the holidays, the store is prepared to grow their inventory with seasonal products that they’ve ordered in advance this year.
They’ll have Christmas baskets and gift options that aren’t all food related, owner of Ohana Bobbe Lyall said.
“Think crafts and artisan things, as well as really unique food items.”
They’ve brought in chocolate items from Seattle Chocolate, a female-owned and powered company, and will continue to bring in products for Valentine’s Day and St. Patrick’s Day after the holiday season ends.
“We were able to pretty much double the amount of suppliers,” Lyall said. “So that just opened up this whole window of items that we could bring in.”
Along with providing community care kits for working residents in need of groceries, they’ve expanded dining options for customers as well.
Lyall expects there will be a lot of platter service this winter. These platters, consisting of culinary delights including sweet treats, charcuterie and sandwich platters, can be pre-ordered on Ohana’s website.
“We’ll continue to up the ante and change our menu,” Lyall added.
Their fifth anniversary is Christmas Eve and the Christmas offerings will be through the roof.
“We’ve got towers of candy canes and Christmas candies, and our in-house baking.”
Mountain Man Dogsled Adventures makes advancements
Mountain Man Dogsled Adventures is upping their sustainability factor this winter.
After working with the province and Destination BC on a sustainability evaluation, co-owner Taryn Schwanke said they received a grant for an electric snowmobile which will be featured for their lead guide.
“I imagine if some of our guests are interested they’ll have an opportunity to drive it as well,” she added.
Along with the electric snowmobile, a new fleet of eight 2025 Ski-Doo Expedition Sport models have taken the place of all the old snowmobiles for guests to drive this winter.
“Each one is a leader in fuel economy, capable of handling two people per snowmobile,” she said. With this, they’re expecting fuel consumption to drop about 80 per cent.
Not only are they lessening the environmental impact from their business, they’ll also be elevating the guest experience as well with these new models and some other new additions.
This summer, two new puppies, Cricket and Skeeter, were introduced to the community and they’re now a few months old, ready for guests to visit.
“We’re hoping also to have another litter of puppies at the beginning of December,” she said. “So those ones should be ready to be visited by our guests coming into later January.”
Additionally, an Apres tour will be offered for the first time this year.
On Fridays at 4:30 p.m., the tour will take off on snowmobiles out to the McGillivray cabin where there will be a charcuterie box and non-alcoholic drinks from Ohana until twilight when it’s time to head back.
“We’re also looking at opening up that evening tour for full moons as well.”
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