The news broke last week.
The Penticton Peach Festival, the biggest and certainly most attended summer event in a town and region stuffed full of summer events, had officially welcomed a new president and several new executive and board members during its Oct. 27th annual general meeting.
It was a rather sizable overhaul.
Stepping down as boss was 13-year prez Don Kendall, a fellow whose name seems almost synonymous with the modern-day Peach Fest.
"I am incredibly proud of what the board, volunteers and our generous sponsors have accomplished during my run as president," said Kendall. "Together we were able to bring Peach Festival back as the premier event for Penticton."
Replacing Kendall at the top was Penticton resident, veteran event organizer and multi-year Peach Festival VP Shawna Guitard.
"I am confident that under Shawna's leadership, Peach Festival will continue to thrive and grow," said Kendall of his successor.
Other personnel changes included the retirement of 25-year entertainment director Bill Kolter, a familiar face to anyone who's frequented local events (or the SOEC) in the past couple decades, and Paul Borba after ten years with the festival.
On a sadder note, also saying goodbye was long-time event friend and board member -- and square dance aficionado -- Bill Morey, who passed away, surrounded by family, in September at Penticton Regional Hospital.
The new executive includes folks like Josh Shulman and Chuck Thompson, while the new board of directors includes names like Subrina Monteith, Matthew Quick and Graham Vriends.
But the big news was the unanimous election of the new president, a win that in hindsight wasn't even mildly surprising.
Guitard grew up and graduated high school in Penticton before traveling across Canada and venturing overseas. A chunk of that time was spent in Toronto, where she hosted VIP events for the Toronto Film Festival and ran prominent weddings at that city's now-renamed Trump Hotel.
She returned in 2013 and almost immediately jumped into the local event organization game.
She started with the Peach Festival a year later in 2014, where she said she's "gained incredible knowledge" ever since. She's run the Downtown Community Market and civic events such as Canada Day and BC Day. She's staged a variety of live entertainment shows at settings like local parks, and she's managed the Santa Claus Parade -- a position she still holds today.
But perhaps even more than experience and knowhow is the simple fact that Guitard goes gaga over managing events.
"There's nothing that brings me more joy," she said, "than to see an empty canvas -- whether a restaurant room, a banquet room, a local park -- and within 12 hours it's completely transformed to this incredible venue that will make so many memories.
"I think I understand what the spectators and vendors, and the entertainers, seek from an event. And my goal is to succeed with all and leave everyone involved wanting more."
But we had a more important question. How, we asked, would this new, substantially younger president and revamped (and younger) executive and board impact the festival going forward? Can modifications be expected to an event that's still wildly popular but might look better with an injection of…something?
Guitard gave us some hints, but certainly no firm answers no matter how much we asked. She did, however, admit that the new leadership is "fresh."
"It's fair to call it fresh, for sure," she said, "and I'm eager to lead the team of great volunteer directors who bring experience from past events or have been sitting on the board for a long time.
"Don made the Peach Festival the signature event it is, and I'll continue that work with the directors."
It will, she said, remain a five-day, no-charge affair that caters to families and all ages. And it's almost certain to continue to expand across the city.
"We definitely want to enhance the festival throughout the town," she said. "So we're looking for any other opportunities where we can work with community partners to host events elsewhere. I love to spread the fun all over."
As for any big immediate changes, Guitard laughed and advised us to "wait and see."
"There are some exciting ideas," she said. "I have a young daughter and nothing warms my heart more than having her thrive in an event setting and making memories that last a lifetime. I hope to bring those moments to many other families."
Finally, we asked what she'll personally bring to the Peach Festival that wasn't already there. And this time, she seemed a wee bit more illuminating.
"Again, you'll just have to wait and see," she said. "There are lots of exciting ideas. There's always room for growth."
