Kalavida Surf Shop

The Shop

Welcome to BC’s first Stand Up Paddlesurf shop – right here in the sunny Okanagan. Modeled after those quaint n’ quirky surf shop’s you’d find in tucked-away locale’s around the Hawaiian Islands, the shop’s theme pays tribute to the sport’s roots, located right across from Kalamalka Lake Beach -  The lake is widely regarded as BC’s most scenic flatwater SUP destination and with plenty of rivers including the mighty Shuswap, the region serves up all kinds of exciting places to go SUP’n.

Both shops cater to the growing Stand Up Paddleboard community and offers BC’s largest selection of boards and accessories along with surf boards, longboards, surf-wear, flip-flops, accessories, and tiki bits.

The Making of Kalavida – Getting hooked on the sport came quickly and suddenly.  Being inland, away from the ocean was tough for us as we have always felt a connection to it’s  beauty and mystery. After discovering Stand Up for the first time, we felt energized and re-connected to water…. and the story begins. The idea for a ‘surf shop’ came in the fleeting moments of summer in 2009 and after visiting the Kal Lake store repeatedly during our beach trips, we decided to check out their old produce bays.  The forelorne and long forgotten home of past produce wasn’t exactly inspiring and several months passed by before we re-imagined the space as a business.

Two months of tireless work went into the building of the shop and much of the materials were reclaimed and recycled to minimize the environmental impact.  We were blessed with the talents of Cory Ferguson and Keith Elliott who helped us imagine our vision and on May 1, Kalavida opened it’s doors – And wondered whether anyone else knew about this relatively new sport called ‘SUP’. Luckily they did!  And we’ve just added a second location in Kelowna to serve the South Okanagan.

The naming of Kalavida - Naturally, you’d think that ‘Kala’ is linked to the lake that provides us with 80% of our drinking water… but there’s a twist. Kalamalka Lake has a rich heritage in the North Okanagan and was once known as ‘long lake’ but there’s more to that story…

Digging further into the history of the region, writers make mention about a Hawaiian connection to the North Okanagan Indian Band – And what we liked best about the name was it’s Hawaiian definition; There are no limits -  There are no real boundaries between you and your body, you and other people, and you and the world. Separation is an illusion. And, there are unlimited potentials for creativity. Vida mean simply ‘life’.  Kinda cool eh?

The people of Kalavida - We come from diverse backgrounds in sport, business and spirituality with a common affection and respect for nature, the outdoors and sports.  A collection of people who like surfing, SUP, BMX, longboards, ice cream and frisbee to name a few.  Stand Up Paddle is our most recent passion and has re-energized our soul’s connection to the lakes, rivers, and oceans. It is through this passion that we’re helping spread the stoke throughout the Okanagan and beyond and proud to introduce the sport to so many great new folk.  See you at the shop.

The owners hard at play in their watery Okanagan playground.    SUP shop BC.  SUP shop vernon.  SUP Shop Kelowna. Stand up Paddle Okanagan.