Only a day into their new roles as Osoyoos Royalty, these young ladies have already perfected the “royal wave.” From left are Princess Bailey Toepfer, Miss Osoyoos Emma Fernandes and Princess Tianna Morgan. (Richard McGuire photo)
Dear Editor:
My wife and I were visitors this week for the first time to the July 1 celebrations during this week of such hot sierra winds coursing through Osoyoos.
Before heading to the coast tomorrow, we need to share our heartfelt and robust kudos to the entire town for a wonderful day’s celebration for Canada’s 148th that the town turned out to give.
From the funky parade and all its floats and cars and various ambassadors and princesses and their Queen Mum waves. Then all the horses with their quixotic behaviours followed faithfully by Vince the horse-pooper-scooper. Plus local media star Tony from Home Hardware waving excitedly out his truck or the water bottle brigades from the town’s rival grocery stores to the hosers on the fire trucks – just great fun !
Then the fireworks tonight organized and torched, I’m told, by veteran Frank Zandvliet whose team-member dad Murray was, unfortunately, struck ill during the mid-day set-up and preparations . (Best wishes to Murray !)
Gotta say, after nearly 70 years of watching July fireworks both south and north of 49 – including the 15-20 minute English Bay variety in Vancouver by visiting international countries – the 2015 45-minute local show of constant launches and starbursts under the watchful eyes of Venus and Jupiter had to be the single best version of July fireworks display ever seen.
So Thank you Osoyoos for your hospitality and pizzazz and spunk! This valley is one of the more charming and welcoming communities I have encountered in B.C. in the nearly 50 years I’ve lived in the province.
Come back? Try to keep us out!
W. Baird Blackstone
Tsawwassen, B.C.
