My first impression of Kelowna can be described in 2 words:
ROZ HUBER
I had lived in Kelowna for a grand total of 6 hours before I met Roz. The way I see it, November Project is Kelowna’s welcome wagon. At least that’s the way it went for me.
It was Sunday. I was walking down Pandosy to meet a friend for coffee when I saw what I thought was a surfer chick standing at her car. Long curly hair, backward trucker hat, blue crop top, drinking coffee in the hot sun. Not coffee from a to-go mug, but a coffee cup resting on the roof of ther Volkswagen. This is the first friend I made in Kelowna. read more
So, I discovered November Project during one of the lowest times of my life. After going through several personally challenging events and living through, without a doubt, the hardest year of my life, I needed a change. I craved new experiences, new people, new ways to discover the city I got to call home for the past few years, and, most importantly, new reasons to smile. In my search, I came across a fundraiser for the Central Okanagan Hospice which was organized by this thing called November Project Kelowna. I had no idea what to expect, and on the night of the event, I debated not showing up. I made every possible excuse not to go, but let me tell you- I am so glad I did. read more
It’s Wednesday. It’s 5:45am. My Alarm clock is belting “Forever Young” by Alphaville. It’s minus too much outside. It’s snowing. WTF am I doing? Every part of my body and most of my brain is saying to me that the time for morning burpees was in the Alphaville days. Its not 1984 anymore. I’m not a kid anymore. It’s time to hit snooze and stay in bed. But that was only most of my brain saying that… there is that tiny voice that starts with a whisper and slowly grows with each electronic pulse belting over the speak until I can no longer hear “go back to bed” and can only hear “JUST SHOW UP!!!”. This is November Project.read more
Hi
my name is Erin Brucker, otherwise known as mini-Brucker or Gary’s daughter (as
I often live in the shadow of this guy…. its a pretty big one). But let it be
known, I am indeed my own person and also do #justshowup Wednesday mornings.
I have been apart of the NP tribe for over a year now. I stumbled upon the great Roz Huber’s Instagram a while ago and followed along where I first was introduced to something called the November Project. I had no idea what it involved except for the fact that she would post about a free workout at 6:29am. It intrigued me but, like most other people, I am not a morning person, hence I never showed up. While being pace bunnies for the Wine Country Half that year, my dad met this awesome dude named Steve Morrison who introduced him to the idea of November Project. He brought it up to me and I was like, “Yea. that’s what this cool girl Roz does. We should go.” So we went the following Wednesday together (which Gary fails to mention in his blog post). Was it easy to get up that dark, early and cold October morning? Definitely not. Was it worth it? Most definitely yes. I definitely was not expecting the loud, obnoxiousness and excitement that was THE BOUNCE. But it is still by far one of my favourite parts of starting Wednesdays. I remember being partnered with the speedy Taylor Horsting the first day and pushing to keep up. I left feeling on a high and with more friends than I had the day before. read more
Hi my names Jay, and here is my story about how I discovered November Project.
But first, a little background on me. I moved to the Shuswap in the fall of 2016 from Williams Lake for the environmental program in the Salmon Arm’s campus. After a year’s time, particular circumstances led me to the Kelowna’s campus. The transitions have been very difficult in all honesty. However, I’ve stayed true to my studies and have kept moving forward. Upon arrival here, it was an actual culture shock from Williams Lake in many regards. Further, being the new guy in town has posed challenges, and I’ve constantly found myself searching for like-minded individuals to associate with.read more
Doctors, lawyers, pilots, teachers, students, brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, doesn’t matter who you are, what you believe in, what your ‘status’ is, you are or can be a part of the Kelowna November Project Tribe…and what a tribe it is…such a community based “person loving” group that our mayor declared a special day, November Project Community Day, on November 28, 2018…how far we have come!!!read more
MICHELLE! MY NAME IS MICHELLE ANDI HAVE BEEN GOING TO NP FOR OVER A YEAR NOW AND I ABSOLUTELY CANNOT EVEN IMAGINE A TIME WITHOUT IT! LIKE WHAT EVEN WAS LIFE?? I lOVE NP IT’S CULTURE AND THE PEOPLE SO MUCH MY HEART COULD BURST! I LOVE THE CHALLENGE, THE FUN, THE COMMUNITY AND I LOVE THAT YOU CAN JUST SHOW UP AND BE YOURSELF!read more
Here in ATL, we’re big about working together with other members of the fitness community. So when our partner Mountain High Outfitters wanted us to team up with the Dirty South Yoga Fest for a run and yoga event, we were all for it!
Spring is getting closer, and with it comes plenty of free outdoor yoga classes across Atlanta, and more seasonable temps for November Project workouts. Our goal was to draw in the yogis and convince them that ANYONE can do NP (And that we LOVE yoga too!)
Day of, more than 150 people were slated to come, but cloudy and breezy skies kept our numbers lower. But Christian and Alexa were pumped that we didn’t know about 60 percent of the attendees!
We started with a point-to-point run from Piedmont Park to Ponce City Market (PCM), where yoga would happen. Our injured tribe member Sunshine Ben shuttled our mats from the start to finish, alleviating a need for people to have to carry them while running.
DCIM103GOPRO
Alexa led a 2 mile run and Christian led a 4 mile run, taking our groups through iconic sections of the park and onto the Beltline. We ended the run at our Wednesday meeting spot and told all our newbies – “here’s where to meet us! Wednesday at 6:27am!” It was all smiles, but we could tell that our people wanted yoga!
For yoga, SSS led us through some great, deep hip openers and gentle flow. After the run, we were all in need of stretching out those tight muscles. Our outdoor space right in the action of Ponce City Market was the perfect spot!
After yoga, we gathered for tasty drinks (spiked or not) from Sunshine Alchemy, a local vegan food truck, while Christian and Alexa tried to tag shirts in windy conditions. Our yoga mats came in more than one good use!
The beauty of this Movement is that we can find like-minded individuals at 42-plus cities across the world. Both Jackie and I have been to a handful of tribes, as have many of you. In fact, we had two of ours infiltrate other tribes this week. You may have noticed that both Rick and Sheri were conspicuously missing today. It turns out that Rick was in Denver (aka not as high or awesome as Flagstaff), while Sheri was in Seattle. And Liesl just returned from Iceland, which she just so happened to bless with her unique charm.
We constantly preach community and inclusiveness, but it’s often difficult to remember that we’re a piece of a much bigger family. As an example, we made a video last year for the Serbian tribe, in which we all butchered “dobro jutro” (good morning). They, in turn, incorporated a cactus into one of their workouts as soon as they stopped laughing. And I created a workout using favorite exercises from ten different tribes (DELEGATE: my go-to of the 3 D’s of Leadership), then asked you to tag those which you loved most.
We do these things not just because they’re fun, but because we want everybody to have a sense of camaraderie with our sisters, regardless of whether you’ve been or not. Our passport shirts reflect this, with many of us having more decoration than a Christmas tree despite not being East-Coast-close to other tribes. Together, we’re making the world a much smaller place.
Wisconsin Notes
September 16. Mark it in your calendars. We are getting together with NPs San Diego and Los Angeles for a Southwest Collision Course. The premise is simple: each of the three tribes will be camping and running, Ragnar Trail-style. Our camping site will be Joshua Tree National Park. We will firm up the details in the coming days, but expect a Facebook event soon, allowing you to sign up so we can begin reserving campsites.
We’ve seen some great #NPlovesAZ posts already! You guys rock, keep up the good work. For those wondering what this is all about: visit the MIM, Arizona Art Museum, Taliesin West, or the Heard Museum during the month of July; post a photo to social media using the hashtag #NPlovesAZ for an entry to win some sweet swag at the end of the month. One entry per visit, up to four for the month. Get out and explore!
