As the holidays arrive, the Minister of Tourism Arts and Culture is encouraging everyone to join with family and friends to enjoy British Columbia and support a flurry of community activities.

British Columbia's key players in the agriculture, seafood, and food and beverage industries gathered at the Sandhill Winery to attend the first kickoff event to celebrate Buy BC: Eat Drink Local.

Motorists are advised that as part of the six-laning project through Kelowna from Highway 33 to Edwards Road, the highway on-ramp by Auction World off Sexsmith Road and Old Vernon Road will be closed permanently to traffic, effective Thursday night, Sept. 14, 2017.

The addition of 48 trades training seats at Okanagan College will increase student access to skills training in a range of high-demand careers, announced Melanie Mark, Minister of Advanced Education, Skills and Training, during a visit to the Kelowna campus.

Premier Christy Clark, along with representatives of the Government of Canada and the City of Kelowna, announced the official opening of the Okanagan Centre for Innovation.

Students at Okanagan College will be encouraged to explore co-op opportunities to support their career ambitions.

The Province is contributing $100,000 to expand business training for current and potential entrepreneurs in communities throughout B.C., including Kelowna, Kamloops and Cranbrook and surrounding areas.

Westbank First Nation will explore the possibility of installing rooftop solar panels to heat a portion of its community school and building centre thanks to a $20,380 investment from B.C.’s First Nations Clean Energy Business Fund.

Skilled-trades students in the Central Okanagan School District will benefit from a three-year, $15-million investment by the B.C. government to support youth trades programs with the purchase of new trades-training equipment.

British Columbia is focusing on preventing invasive mussels from entering the province by opening two new invasive mussel inspections stations near the border at Yahk and Midway, and extending the hours of all inspection stations throughout the province.