Popular Grove Wine Club Appreciation Bash Blues: Friday, July 20th!

The true civilization is where every man gives to every other every right that he claims for himself. -Robert Green Ingersoll, lawyer and orator (1833-1899)

Tummler, [1. any lively, prankish, or mischievous man. 2. a male entertainer, as formerly employed by resorts in the Catskill Mountains, who combined the duties of a comedian, activities director, and master of ceremonies to keep the guests amused throughout the day.], your name keeps popping up on the inter-webs. Let us know

how you are doing. We are thinking of you guys and are concerned for the forest fire danger in your region. We have been hunkered down here in the garden with a serious of international visitors coming and going. Jane is off to Ontario next week to visit her mother. I will join her for a week in early August. Let us know when you are coming to the Republic. In spite of your tarnished past I will do my best to get you a visa. Fond regards to all, W&CJ y Morita

Some very interesting sunsets with all the wildfire smoke of late!

Hello Salish Sea Folk! Terrific to hear from you and know all goes swimmingly. You both sound busy as ever. I do apologize fro not being in touch sooner but things have been rather busy with our lives, as well, not to say hectic, of late. Most recently, we went to the Folk Fest at Jericho Beach last weekend and had a wonderful time. Sarge joined us but Flamin' was back in Nova Scotia for a friend's retirement party.
 

On Monday we drove back to Penticton and Colleen/Stanchion Man came up from Sunshine Valley to spend night with us, even though we don't have a kitchen and house is a mess! Lady Dar decided to completely remodel kitchen while I was away in Europe so all the other rooms are filled with boxes of kitchen utensils, furniture, etc. This on top of the fact that our place was already stuffed to the gills with all of Chloë's furniture/possessions that we have been storing since she moved to Penticton, last September. Big news here is that she had a call from developer, building her townhouse, a few days ago, and she will be able to move in on August 8th, as opposed to the end of that month as originally projected. Once this happens we will be able to put our house back in order as we trust the kitchen will be finished by then as well. Any thoughts, Reno Man?

Tuesday we drove down to Osoyoos, with Colleen and Al, to spend three nights at our "fractional condo", [A recreational property we bought last November, in a resort called Spirit Ridge, which allows us two weeks occupancy every six weeks, if we choose to stay. If not, suite goes into rental pool and we receive revenue based on total occupancy rate for entire resort over the fiscal year. Chloë, and three of her girlfriends spent the weekend there while we were at the Folk Fest.] Lady Dar celebrated her 71st birthday on Thursday and we had a wonderful, wonderful lunch at Kismet Winery, not far from Osoyoos. Winery and restaurant, Masala, are owned and operated by an East Indian family from the Punjab so food was terrific. Both Lady Dar and Chloë had been there before but this was my first time and I was greatly impressed with both food and a number of their red wines.

On Friday, Colleen and A left to visit more friends near Salmon Arm, and we drove back to Penticton as we had a meeting with our bank to arrange mortgage for Chloë's place. We will co-sign loan as she does not have the financial resources to qualify for mortgage on her own. Even bigger news on this front is that two weeks ago she passed the Strata Management exam, [on-line course was through UBC's Sauder School of Business], that she requires for her job, working for a property management company, Pacific Quorum. She is now a licensed property manager and hefty increase in salary, as a result, will certainly help with mortgage payments and porch-climber/chain-cleaner purchases for dwindling malt cabinet stock!

In addition, we wanted to attend the wine club appreciation party thrown by Poplar Grove tht night. It was a wonderful affair with two live bands and about seven or eight food stations serving all sorts of dishes paired with their marvellous wine. Gorgeous setting and loads of fun seeing friends and meeting new people while wine flowed freely. Funnily enough, over the course of the evening Lady Dar met Dana Chen, a classmate of mine in Library School. She knew Dana as she was in the year behind us. Anyway, she and her husband, Wayne, [We'd never met him before.], were on shuttle bus back to town when we left event and we invited them back to our "construction zone" for a drink and a visit. They will be back in September for another event so we invited them to stay, hoping our house will be in order by then. Anyway, party was more than a delight and the fact that we were able to connect with someone from over forty years ago was an added benefit.

Spent much of Saturday trying to tidy up house. Strolled downtown to Farmers' Market to buy some vegetables and visited with vendors we know. Last night was another wine club appreciation party, this time at Upper Bench Winery so Morita should have been along to play with Bella nad Emma. It was a much smaller event than one at Poplar Grove but Shana and Gavin, as you know, are simply such tremendous people, along with all their staff, that it was a great gathering. We will head back down to Osoyoos, later this afternoon, until Wednesday. Clan Sutherland are already there, all three children with spouses, Ryan/Megan, Nicole/Marvin, (both live in Kamloops now), and Rebecca/Corey, [They are currently waiting for their house to be built in Sendero Canyon, just half a block from where Chloë's townhouse! As I think you know, they are both RCMP officers and were transferred from Lower Mainland to Penticton this past April.] Not to mention five grandchildren, with Nicole's second child expected in December!

Anyway, that is a quick overview of life over last few weeks. Every day, since returning from Berlin, I've  begun to feel stronger, as pneumonia really saps one's strength, and I will start to ride a stationary bike as soon as I can set up apparatus, in our so-called Rumpus Room, after Chloë's boxes are removed. Used the elliptical machine at FCCC when staying at Harbour Terrace, over Folk Fest weekend, and more recently, at gym at Spirit Ridge, so my comeback has started! Lady Dar sends her fondest regards to you both. Chloë is away for weekend, at a "stagette" in Kelowna, but I know she would send her best wishes as well. Until next we chat, take care of yourselves. Travel safely and trust all goes well with family back east, Calamity. Cheers, Tummler/Patrizzio!

 

Pics: Happy times at Folk Fest, with Kathleen and Steve, friends from Melbourne, and Sarge. Pool at Spirit Ridge with Chloë, Colleen and Al, last Tuesday. On patio at our condo in Spirit Ridge, that evening. At Culmina Winery, looking back towards Osoyoos. Lady Dar's birthday lunch! Poplar Grove and view over Okanagan Lake. Wayne and Dana back at our place after event. Upper Bench Bash!

Since the City of Vancouver announced their approval for a $375,000 grant, to help The Vancouver Art House Society #SaveTheRio, our deadline to purchase the property was extended by the current owner to August 31st 2018, to allow time for processing.  

With the help of the grant from the City and the increased mortgage from Vancity we have raised the $7.5 million needed to buy the property! The Vancouver Art House Society is also in advance discussions with the Federal Government to match the City's grant through the Canadian Cultural Services Fund.  If the Federal grant is approved the funds will help the long term sustainability of The Rio, by reducing the mortgage debt. We are extremely grateful for the support from both the City and the Federal government, but we still have not heard back from the Province regarding any funding contribution to help #SaveTheRio
 

To help us Save the Rio we have asked for an exemption from the increased Property Transfer Tax imposed by the Provincial Government. PPT is a one time tax that is owed when you transfer the land title from the previous owner to the new owner. This tax has been increased recently by the Provincial Government in an attempt to reduce the buying and "flipping" of properties.

We feel that since we are purchasing The Rio Theatre property to save it from demolition and ensuring it lives on as a cultural institution, it would be helpful if the Province could assist us. With a premium purchase price of $7.5 million that was set by developers, the PPT comes to an additional $207,000 on top of the purchase price. If the Province were to grant us an exemption from paying the PPT it would be a huge relief for all the hard work and contributions made by the community to save the theatre.

To achieve this goal we are asking the community to join us in our letter writing campaign to ask the Provincial Government to waive the PPT for the purchase of The Rio Theatre property. We saved the Rio with the help of over 30,000 contributors. We know that the support of our community is strong.