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Sixteen Kelowna businesses have something new to hang on the wall this week.

The Consumer Choice Award has named its 2026 recipients for the Kelowna region — a list chosen through independent market research, not an online popularity contest.

The winners span the breadth of the local economy: a foot clinic, a college, a wedding photographer, a property manager, security and scaffolding firms, architects, builders, inspectors, a solar company, a landscaper, a real estate brokerage and even a licensed insolvency trustee.

What they have in common is the part nobody gets to fake: customers who keep coming back and tell their neighbours.

A1 Foot Care Nails & Wellness, Career City College, Draht Photography, Dwell Property Management, Flash and Frame Photo Booth and Hero Security Company all made this year's list.

So did Hex Scaffolding, Kelowna Curb Appeal Services, Novation Architecture, Odette's Skin Care and MediSpa, Okanagan Home Inspections and Sands & Associates.

Rounding out the honourees: Serenity Aesthetics, Solos Energy, Vantage Real Estate and VitaNova Landscape.

Here's what the awards quietly confirm: Kelowna's economy runs on small and mid-sized businesses that win by serving people well, not by lobbying governments.

Nobody on that list got where they are because of a grant program.

They got there by showing up, pricing fairly, and fixing their mistakes — the unglamorous work that keeps a city running.

That's worth more than applause.

It's a reminder of where prosperity actually comes from.

So when you're choosing who to hire for your next project — the wedding photographer, the home inspector, the landscaper — start with the list that earned its reputation one satisfied customer at a time.

Congratulations to all sixteen winners.

Kelowna is better because you built it that way.