Willow Park Church "Live" Nativity

Every year Willow Park Church in Rutland on Hwy 33 puts on a live Christmas Nativity. Its in several parts. A performance in the theater, Bethlehem Village recreation, still life Christmas cards posed by live people holding very still. All in all a wonderful experience every year. Take your family there and enjoy the festivities! Check out the video after the jump.

Whatsup Wednesday

Lots of things going on tonight so I will just jump right in! (for more, see our events tab above) 

1.  Avenue has Open Mic with our pal Josh Racho ( Song below ) and many other music talents.
2.  BCHL Hockey / Westside Warriors vs Penticton , Royal LePage Place /Cameron Rd. West Kelowna Tickets : $9 - $14
3. Scott Thielmann will be playing at the Blue Gator Tonight as he does every Wednesday. Faces will be melted
4. Train Wreck Comedy Nights at O'Flannigan's Pub , 35 cent Appy Night ,  9:00pm to 12:00am- 

*birdy also told me there is a DJ battle at Cush tonight! Haven't heard much about it but go check it out! Apparently it's so underground the website doesn't even know about it. Party Safe.

Josh Racho - Lean On Back (Original) by whatsupkelowna

Kelowna Actors Studio

The Kelowna Actors Studio wants to welcome everyone to their new season in 2011. Please take the time to browse their website for upcoming shows:

Anything Goes                        January 13,2011

Brighton Beach Memoirs      February 3,2011

Sweet Charity                         March 24,2011

Into The Woods                      May 26,2011

South Pacific                          July 14,2011

Currently playing at The Kelowna Actors Studio is "White Christmas". The show plays nightly at 8PM and finishes on Sunday Dec 19. Watch a short video after the jump.

Good news for James McEwan

Enforcer James McEwan, whose recovery from off-season surgery has prevented him from practicing with the Reign, has returned to Ontario last week. James is a Kelowna boy who hustled his way through Junior "B" and into the WHL. He began his WHL career with the Seattle Thunderbirds for 2 years and finished his Junior hockey, as Captain, with the Kelowna Rockets.

The rest of the story after the jump as well as a video of his classic tilly (they had many) with Garet Hunt of the Vancouver Giants.

In a telephone interview from British Columbia, McEwan said Thursday that he has been cleared to resume practicing and expects to rejoin the team after its two-game road trip to Utah this weekend.

"I'm in awesome shape," McEwan said. "It's just a matter of getting back, getting the systems down."
McEwan had surgery in June to insert a tendon into his wrist, an unforeseen aftereffect of a broken thumb sustained in a fight last December. The initial timetable for McEwan's return was October. Even though it took a bit longer, McEwan said there were no unexpected setbacks in his recovery.

"I just wanted a little extra time because I wasn't able to train as much as I wanted in the summer," he said.

Nor is McEwan worried about his ability to fight coming off a hand injury.

"I'll be ready," he said.

Prior to the injury, the 23-year-old forward had two goals and 80 penalty minutes in 27 games for the Reign. In 2008-09, McEwan collected 227 penalty minutes for the Phoenix Roadrunners, third-most in the ECHL.

Where Are They Now?

Ever wonder where our Kelowna hockey boys ended up after their minor hockey days?  Well here is a current list of where they are now. Check out the list of Kelowna Rockets currently playing in the NHL.
Help us out by adding to the lists or advise us of any team corrections. Ok, you won't be able to add to the list so just send us an email.
The full list after the jump.

Matt Crowell	HYC Herentals	Belgium
Tyler Mazzei	Nijmegen Devils	Netherlands
Craig Eisenhut	Yorkton Terriers	SJHL (Saskatchewan)
Clayton McEwan	Trail Smoke Eaters	BCHL
Keenan Bailey	Dawson Creek Rage	NAHL
Trevor Turner	Deuil-Garges	France2
Tanner Clarkson	Kelowna Chiefs	KIJHL
Jordan Bytelaar	Kelowna Chiefs	KIJHL
Cody Sylvester	Calgary Hitman	WHL
Brendan Persley	Chilliwack Bruins	WHL
Adrian Van de Mosselaer	Edmonton Oil Kings	WHL
Ryan Harrison	Medicine Hat Tigers	WHL
Cody Beach	Moose jaw Warriors	WHL
Keith Hamilton	Portland Winterhawks	WHL
Antoine Corbin	Prince Albert Raiders	WHL
Art Bidlevskii	Regina Pats	WHL
Curtis Hamilton	Saskatoon Blades	WHL
Justin Hickman	Seattle Thunderbirds	WHL
Austin Baecker	Seattle Thunderbirds	WHL
James McEwan	Ontario Reign	ECHL

These are OUR Kelowna Rockets currently playing in the NHL

PLAYER NAME	TEAM
Duncan Keith	Chicago Black Hawks
Josh Georges	Montreal Canadians
Scott Hannan	Washington Capitals
Shea Webber	Nashville Predators
Luke Schenn	Toronto Maple Leafs
Tyler Myers	Buffalo Sabres

What's Up Matt Galina!

Matt Galina - Showing  us the sky is for more than just The Sun

If you could cram all the love, passion, dedication, and fun, of everything that is snowboarding into one person, It would be Matt Galina. A bro among bros. Not to mention a Guru, Matt can do basically every trick or line in the book. Shredding for Compatriot Snowboards , S.O.B , and a few others I'm sure. (sorry if I missed one Matty) Check back here at Whatsup for more to come from Matt Galina.

The Jersey Shore Party at Level Nightclub

Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino from MTV's The Jersey Shore makes his appearance at Level on Thursday Dec 23.

A previous show back in November featured The Jersey Shore DJ Pauly D. Check out a video of Pauly D after the jump.

For more upcoming events at Level Night Club go to www.levelclub.ca

Big White Update

Yesterday Big White got hit with 20cm Fresh! Nothing short of epic. Sure it was a little foggy but the snow more then made up for it. check out the stats below, get up there and ride, and head over to Snowshoes for a cold one afterwords. Sorry no shout out for the lad in the photo, too much snow for names.

100cm snow base
37cm last 7 days
55 runs open
11 lifts open
28 runs groomed

 Photo taken by Matt Butterworth......

Jayce Van Der Linden

Jayce is a promotional photographer in Kelowna promoting anything you can throw at him through the use of photos. This would include corporate events, bands, or product photography. Jayce is relatively new to the professional scene, and from what we see on his website, the work is awesome so far. Jayce's photos have great composition and lighting. Keep up the good work! Check out his website...www.vanstudio.ca...

Kendra Smith Art

Welcome to the world of watercolours by local artist Kendra Smith. We recently came across some of Kendra's work and we felt you would enjoy her style and composition. Kendra is also a web designer and you can check out her artwork and web design at www.kendraart.com  or www.kendragraphics.com...........