Pickers’ Paradise – Fruit Pickers in Kelowna
It’s a wrap for strawberries, and now we’re full-steam into cherry picking season. Mother Nature has it all figured out when it comes to fruit picking in the Okanagan: one fruit ripens after another with barely a beat skipped. You can almost hear the class roll-call: Strawberries – here! Cherries – here! Apricots – here! Peaches – here! Pears – here! And so on until you get to Fuji Apples in November. It’s no wonder then, that many people make a season of it and hunker down into the orchard for a summer of honest hard work and an abundance of sunshine. Here’s a snapshot of Gatzke Orchard in Oyama this summer.
In 1929, it was Alan Gatzke’s grandfather who wound up in the Okanagan after quite a journey from strife back in German-speaking Poland. He was exhausted and didn’t wake up to get off the train at his planned destination in the Prairies. He ended up in the north Okanagan. He picked fruit at a number of Okanagan orchards before finding land to buy at the Gatzke Orchard site in 1941. From then on, he hired over 30 immigrant workers from a devasted Europe to work on his orchard over the years.
Farmer Alan Gatzke and Peaches
Today, Gatzke Orchards embodies that same welcoming spirit, employing workers from all around the world. Alan tells me that 50% of his picking staff are from eastern Canada (fruit picking in the Okanagan has a long history as being a “right of passage” experience for many youth from Quebec). Then he has workers who hail from New Zealand, Australia, France, Scotland, and other places. Many international travelers have come through his farm on a sabbatical or hiatus of some sort. A trend has emerged for Australians for whom fruit picking here is a cultural experience paired with skiing in the winter.
Gatzke’s cherries!
So, you see, an orchard visit has great depth in Kelowna. You aren’t just going to bite into freshly picked fruit, shop at the fruit stand or market, or in the case of Gatzke’s, stay at the onsite cabins or campground. You are witnessing a significant cultural experience for many international travelers. These are places of personal growth and learning for many people. So the next time you find yourself at Gatzke’s Market, at Kelowna Land & Orchard Co., or at the countless other orchards that dot this beautiful valley, take a moment to find out where a picker is from. That way, you’ll be part of the storyline, too.
