Canada Day events cancelled in Kelowna

Canada Day celebrations in Kelowna have been cancelled for a second year.

Renata Mills, Executive Director of Festivals Kelowna, says as part of the B.C.’s Restart Plan, larger outdoor gatherings in Phase 3 will only be permitted on July 1, at the earliest.

“The Kelowna Canada Day celebration is one of the largest in our province at over 65,000 guests attending each year across multiple indoor and outdoor venues. As such, preparing for such a sizeable, complex event requires a longer lead time than is currently available to us,” Mills explained.

Mills said after a difficult year for local restaurants, breweries, and wineries, Canada Day will present a great opportunity for them to shine and welcome guests to their venues.

“As a result, the City of Kelowna and Festivals Kelowna have jointly decided to postpone our Canada Day festival to 2022. We will instead focus on producing a celebration for this fall when our community can again gather and enjoy all the great elements of a festival including live music, games, food, and possibly fireworks,” Mills remarked.

On a positive note, Festivals Kelowna is rolling out the rest of its events plan this summer, albeit in a modified manner, including:

· Kelowna Buskers Program – underway and accepting participants

· Pianos in Parks – starting to place the first of 6 pianos this Friday, June 18

· Parks Alive! – launching our concert series on Tuesday July 6 at 6 pm on Bernard Avenue. Concerts are scheduled to run Tuesday through Saturday evenings each week until August 28. An event calendar will be posted soon on social media and our website www.festivalskelowna.com

· Arts on the Avenue – Scheduled for Thursday, July 29 on Bernard Avenue

· Valley First New York New Years – a planned return to a ‘normal’ event scale and scope