Over the past couple of years, we’ve been connecting with Kelowna and area residents to learn more about the people who call this region home, their favourite places, and how tourism impacts their lives. We've also highlighted the benefits a strong tourism sector creates for Kelowna and its surrounding communities.
Follow along with this ongoing series to learn more about Kelowna from those who know it best—locals.
Jodie B
Growing up in Newfoundland, Jodie B was immersed in music. She grew up singing and playing instruments during kitchen parties, started busking when she was just a toddler, and eventually graced the stage at Shambhala Music Festival and performed as an opening act for other well-known touring artists. From her roots as a performer, Jodie’s artistic endeavours have grown—she is now also a producer and audio engineer, working from the café and music studio she co-owns in East Kelowna.
“Frequency Sound 528 is a recording studio, it’s a rehearsal space, it’s a plant and farm retail, and it’s a coffee shop…it’s a lot of different things to a lot of different people, but more or less it’s a space where community connects and collaborates and grows,” says Jodie. “This space fits into the creative culture in Kelowna because it offers a bit of a different vibe; it’s smaller, so usually when there are performances here, it’s very intimate.”
Jodie and her mother, Lynn Anderson, purchased the business—initially operating as Frequency Winery, where Jodie started working in 2018—in the spring of 2022. As they transitioned into Frequency Sound 528, Jodie and Lynn focused on nurturing the existing recording studio and collaborative community while adding new products and services to make it their own.
Frequency Sound 528
Through her work, Jodie is among the growing group of people engaged in Kelowna’s creative sector, which doubled in size from 2009 to 2018, according to the City of Kelowna’s most recent economic impact study, released in July 2019. Like Jodie, 60% of those working in the sector are self-employed. As with other entrepreneurs in and around Kelowna, those working in the creative sector are partly supported by the region’s $2.4 billion tourism industry.
“We end up serving and meeting many tourists that are visiting the wineries [in Southeast Kelowna] and biking the Myra Canyon trestles,” notes Jodie. “Tourism in Kelowna provides income to my family-run business, which helps me happily raise my family here.”
Alongside these essential economic contributions, Jodie says visitors contribute positively to the region's culture, a gain for area residents. Once herself a visitor, it was through her summers as a tourist when she came to camp in the Okanagan with her family that Jodie first fell in love with Kelowna and its culture.
“It’s beautiful here! The accessibility to great ski hills, lakes, and many other amazing outdoor adventures, as well as an international airport, really sealed the deal for me,” she says of her decision to call Kelowna home.
When friends or family visit, Jodie has a few must-see recommendations: Paul's Tomb trail at Knox Mountain, the clay ovens at the bottom of Scenic Canyon Regional Park, and Meadow Vista Honey Wines. And, of course, taking advantage of the creative community she holds so dearly.
"This city is so creative, and there’s just an amazing artistic community here, which has really nurtured me as an artist."
