Tips for smoky skies, therapeutic horses, Soberfest, WLA championships and should Canada give the ambassador from the U.S. the boot?

You know Kids Count! supports children in our community through things like the breakfast program, but we’re also supporting other things that are key for their development – including things like mental wellbeing. Ryan spent much of his mid-day with horses yesterday so to learn a bit more about horse therapy and access for children. Victoria Theraptic Riding Association executive director Liz Gagel is joins to share more. This year’s long-awaited Soberfest is happening Saturday, with headliners including Bif Naked, Tyler Shaw, Caleb Heart & Friends and Snack the Ripper. It’s a family friendly space where people can enjoy the music festival community without being around intoxicating substances. Founder and recovery advocate Mike Manhas joins.  As we’re seeing more hazy skies around Vancouver Island as volatile wildfires continue to blaze on the mainland, some of us may start to feel the negative effects of this exposure. Anne-Marie Nicol is an SFU associate professor of professional practices in the health sciences department who leads the university’s BREATHE Project, which offers resources to the public on building a do-it-yourself air cleaner. She’s joins to talk smoke exposure and mitigation. Frustration over U.S. relations has boiled over into a petition headed to the House of Commons which calls for the ambassador from the U.S., Pete Hoekstra, to get the boot out of Canada. It’s something our own listeners weighed in on in a news poll this week, with 85 per cent of you saying you agree with the idea. But what would the diplomatic fall out of such a drastic move be? Jeremy Kinsman is a retired diplomat based here in Victoria, and we always appreciate his insight It’s official, the Victoria Shamrocks are set to take on the WLA championship series on Saturday, and we can see the action here at the Q Centre.General manager Chris Welch is joining us to talk about what we can expect.