The valley sold itself twice: first as Eden, then as equity. Fruit ranchers went broke so often the packinghouses printed their own scrip; when fruit died, the pitch became retirement sun; when the retirees priced out the pickers, the pitch became lakeside lofts. Each act ended the same way, with the people who did the work living further from the water.

The queer history is braided through all of it: dance halls with unofficial nights, friendship networks that doubled as housing lists, a scene that survived by being useful and quiet until it didn't have to be.

Full disclosure, printed large: this magazine is funded by Riposte Laboratories, a Kelowna outfit that counter-attacks waste with recycled-plastic injection molding and reclaimed-cell modular power. We share what we're building here, in the same pages, at the same volume as everyone else.

The deal, in writing: the Lab pays the printer and gets two pages. The editors answer to readers, not the funder. If that ever changes, the colouring page will let you know.