We here at Habitat are mere days away from the hustle and bustle of The PEAK Performance Project which has already technically 'kicked off' with the Orientation back in June but really heats up with Boot Camp this Friday at beautiful RockRidge Canyon Resort in Princeton. Here's a little somethin-somethin from some amazing PEAK artists, a lot of these faces should look familiar to you...

"In these tough economic times, no one has been affected more than the struggling musician. Thankfully, there's a beacon of hope: A Vancouver radio station called 100.5 The Peak is doing everything in it's power to promote local music, and provide financial stability for the scene. Together, alongside some of Vancouver's favourite artists, we have reached deep into our hearts to create a tribute to this station.

This is our tribute. We hope that you will also reach deep into your hearts, find your inner struggling musician, and join us in this journey towards a world where musicians can live free from the stresses of day jobs, rent payments, and reality in general. There is still hope..."

In case you've been hiding under a rock or the shade of a patio umbrella for the past few weeks, Habitat has some amazing shows lined up for your enjoyment.

In the past couple of weeks we've announced Cuff the Duke, The Wooden Sky along with Kelowna faves Yukon Blonde, and Hot Hot Heat.

But does it stop there? Of course not. At Habitat we believe in excess so instead of stopping there, we're just going to keep on announcing the tasty treats we have lined up for you in the fall. So stay tuned to our website or join us on Facebook and Twitter to be the first to know about what's goin on!

Our friends from Maple Ridge (and the PEAK Performance Project) Familia are finally coming to Kelowna. Bets of all, they're performing for our 5th year anniversary party! Friday! Here's a taste of what's to come with the music video for "Safe and Sound."

Hey guys, we thought it was time we caught you up on what we're up to and some of the latest news we have going on!

As for Habitat, we're looking to fill our summer/fall calendar with some special events and Local Showcases. What does this mean for you? Well, we'd like to hear if you have a birthday coming up, or if you're part of a business that's just looking for a great place for a summer party for your employees and/or clients. If you're a band or local promoter, why not join in the fun of our Local Showcase's and perform at Habitat? The talent coming out for these events has been just incredible, it makes me proud to live in this town!

re: Our Liquor License
We're still waiting on our new liquor license, but we hear that it's nearly ready! Hold out with us a little longer, fingers crossed for the fall... you can bet you'll be the first to know when everything goes through.

BreakOut West
It's unbelieveable this festival is already nearly upon us! Things are really heating up here, there is a local blog focusing on the behind-the-scenes work, local bands and music events happening between now and the festival which is October 21st–24th. If you're interested in being a delegate for this event, you may apply here!

Kelowna Is Awesome
We're working with some awesome people around the community to bring you the reasons why we're still here. If you want to read ugly, bad news about this beautiful city of ours, you’re going to have to look to traditional media and other blogs; K.I.A. promotes everything that makes our city awesome, from old to new and everything inbetween. We’re like the human interest piece on the news… only different. We want to know about all the hole-in-the-wall restaurants, house parties, skateboarders, musicians, businesses, underground events, car shows, everything and anything that you think makes Kelowna awesome.

Looking to be a contributer? If you have a specific interest (hip hop, electro, art shows, visual arts, coffee) or even just a general interest in this town, please contact us and be a part of something awesome!

Radio Promotions
We're just on the verge of announcing some great partnerships with local radio stations K96.3 Kelowna's Classic Rock station and 103.9 The Juice; and believe you me, if you're a band, you'll wanna keep your ear to the ground (or this Website) for the opportunities coming up!

Come late August, we'll be heading out to beautiful RockRidge Canyony in Princeton, BC again for the sophomore year boot camp of the PEAK Performance Project where you'll be able to stay up-to-date with daily videos and blogs from all the fabulous Top 20 artists.

Phew, that's what we've got now, it's going to be a busy fall this year and we have so many things to share with you guys! More importantly, we would love to see you be involved with as much as possible, so please contact us if you have ANY questions about anything mentioned in this article!

Good Wednesday y'all,

Sorry to rain on your sunny day but we need to make such announcements. Our current ticket fee is $1.50 per online ticket sold online (the largest chunk of that going to PayPal) and prices all over are increasing. In order for us to properly serve you as an entire venue we need to raise our service charge per ticket by a dollar.

In contrast, events form Ticketmaster, Live Nation and many Vancouver venues, ticket fee's are almost $11.50 per ticket on a $35 show! We'll be selling at $2.50 for the ticket and that's to help pay for our venue improvements that you'll be seeing in the coming months between now and the BreakOut West festival coming October 21st–24th this fall in Kelowna. Don't worry, you'll be reaping the rewards of this extra dollar in every show you come to!

We're also raising it to be able to donate a little bit to the Music BC Industry Association with whom we work closely with to keep music strong in our community and province!

Hope y'all understand, and can't wait to eat, listen & celebrate with you this week!

B

As many of you already know, our Habitat is always growing and about to be reinvented! We are coming up on our five year anniversary on July 16th, 2010 and we are excited to announce a few changes.

At Habitat we recognize the importance of providing unique, forward-thinking events. So to stay inspired and refreshed we are making the following changes:

First we'd like to mention that we feel that our award winning Open Mic Wednesdays have run their course. We have hosted hundreds of artists and allowed thousands of people to connect with our local music community. With an increasing amount of Open Mic nights in the Kelowna area, we are changing our format to a monthly showcase. We have partnered with Music BC to take four of the best up and coming artists each month and produce a professional showcase to be recorded, filmed and reviewed. This will help artists create a professional promotional kit to apply for grants and other amazing industry opportunities. Our first two trial runs have been extremely well received and our team is very excited about this new format. While it's sad to see our Open Mic nights go, we are thrilled to introduce this new concept and consider it a much stronger opportunity for new bands and artists to gain recognition and to get themselves out there. If you are interested in playing, please fill out our booking form on our website.

Another change is the shifting of our Twisted Salsa Saturday nights to an earlier time slot in the evening - now occurring from 6-11pm. This will be a true dinner/dance experience. We're gearing up to launch our new menu for our five year anniversary and over the next few months we are excited to share and experiment with some of these new flavors. We love Salsa evenings; they have been truly remarkable, constantly creating avenues between Habitat and our community. We feel this will make them even more accessible to all interested audiences. A special thanks to Warren and the Latinesque team, without who, this night could never have become the success it is today!

Finally, we'd like to straighten things out in regards to our liquor license. We've officially applied for our liquor primary license and are in the initial stage of processing. This basically means our application is being double-checked by the government. We're voluntarily reducing our hours for the next few months to focus on the new opportunities ahead and in order to prepare for our license approval.

Thank you to everyone in our community for you continued support and feedback. Please stay tuned for important announcements in the coming months.

Sincerely,

The Habitat Crew

There has been a large kerfuffle surrounding whether or not minors are allowed at Habitat anymore. Well, my friends, I am here to shine a light on the subject.

At Habitat we're wishful thinkers and we thought that this whole licensing ordeal would have been put into place by the beginning of March. As you all know, the process has been much longer and so as it sits right now Habitat has been approved to be rezoned so that we can apply for the new license. The license hasn't actually been put into place yet which means the rules that will accompany the license have also not been put into place.

This means that minors are still allowed in the establishment. Once applied for, we'll know the exact stipulations that will accompany the license. When the changes do go into effect, trust me, everyone will know. There will not just be rumors floating around as to what is happening but there will be an official post (much like this one) in regards to the subject.

Thank you to everyone again for all of your support and for helping us to get to where we are today!

- The Habitat Crew

Contact: Quinn Best
Tel: (250) 763-9674
Fax: (250) 763-9614
Email: quinn@thehabitat.ca

City council’s decision to support a zoning change for the Habitat is an important step in the venue’s quest for a more appropriate liquor license, says the Habitat’s owner and director of operations, Quinn Best. However, the process is still far from over.

“This was a big hurdle, maybe even the biggest one we face,” said Best. “But we still have a ways to go. It was nice to see that council gets what we’re trying to do, which is build a premier music venue and a unique space for cultural community events.

”The Habitat mostly puts on live music shows, hosting an average off between eight and 12 events a month, along with a weekly open mike night and a bi-weekly salsa night featuring dance instruction.

It currently has a food primary license with a patron participation entertainment endorsement. That means it’s a restaurant that is allowed to have entertainment but patrons must have a meal if they want to drink alcohol.

However, in the last year, the liquor board has made it clear that the Habitat really needs a liquor primary license –which allows alcohol to be consumed with or without food- in order to host the kinds of shows and events it does.

But before the liquor board can consider the Habitat’s application for a new license, the building needs to be rezoned to allow it to be a liquor primary establishment. Council’s decision Tuesday night paves the way for the application to move forward.

The Habitat is asking for a liquor primary license as an events driven establishment which would prevent it from operating like a nightclub or bar. The license would only allow it to open for ticketed live events such as a musical act, dance performance, live theatre or presentations by live speakers. In other words, it would have to continue operating much as it does now.

Before making a decision on the license application, the liquor board will refer the matter back to city council, which will hold another public meeting before deciding whether or not to support the Habitat’s application. Without council’s support, the liquor board is unlikely to grant the license. And city council has made it clear they are only open to supporting an events driven license requiring the Habitat to close at 12:30 a.m. and limiting its capacity to 225 patrons. Its current capacity as a restaurant is 133.

One of the issues to be worked out between the Habitat, the liquor board and city council is whether there is a way within an events driven license for the Habitat to safely admit minors to shows.

“We get that the community doesn’t want another nightclub, especially in the downtown core,” said Best. “We agree wholeheartedly with that. What we are is a place where people can eat, listen and celebrate. Even if we get a liquor primary license, what we will be is entertainment primary, a place where people come and take in a great show but where they can also have food and drink if they want it.”