Festivals / Events

Kelowna's Center of Gravity is BC's hottest sport and entertainment festival.
The COG showcases the Okanagan Valley at its very best. Three days of live music, fashion, and world class sports along the lake in Kelowna’s City Park, July 31st – Aug 2nd (August long weekend).
Sports events include beach volleyball, freestyle mountain biking, basketball and wakeboarding.
Great music from the following bands ~ Kardinal Offishall, Danny Fernandes, Bif Naked, Spit 36, Malibu Knights, Bucknife, Devon and Kevin, Enterlude and Mobadass.
DJ's include Gizz Lee, Cain, Disco Dave, J Pod, Sticky Buds, Toddy Rockwell, John Byrnes, DJ Invisible, Colin Syck and more.

The Festivals and Special Events Development Society of Kelowna (Festivals Kelowna) was established as a non-profit society in February 2007 for the following purposes:
* To deliver and manage five Kelowna festivals and events including:
~ Kelowna Music & Arts Festival
~ Parks Alive!
~ Arts Alive!
~ The Kelowna Buskers Program
~ Celebrate Canada Day – Kelowna
* To provide strategic advice and guidance to the City of Kelowna regarding local festivals and special events
* To enhance local festivals and special events through collaborative processes in order to attract increasing levels of tourism to Kelowna.

The Nakusp Music Festival has established itself as one of the top Rock Events in all of Canada.
The show always serves up a high energy feast infused with a massive dose of high echelon 'rockers'.
This successful event demonstrates how a production company, a society, a band of community volunteers and a creative town combine their efforts to produce memorable music extravaganzas while generating significant economic activity which benefits so many ~ A true testament to the spirit of community.
Check out this year's 'killer' lineup by clicking on the link above.

August 21st and 22nd
The first ever Foodconnect.com's Okanagan Food and Drink Festival is upon us. This is The Okanagan's premiere food and drink festival and will showcase hundreds of different types of beer, coolers, spirits, scotches, wines (both from The Okanagan and abroad), and food! Walk in to the tasting hall and excite the senses with tantalizing aromas, vivid colours, and delicious tastes.
Guests can learn why craft beer is different from beer that is not craft, why The Macallan scotch whisky is different from Potter's Canadian rye, how delicious the food is from some local Okanagan restaurants as well as so much more. This is the festival that will offer you the opportunity to sip, savour, learn, and enjoy. Join us!

May - September
Arts Alive! offers an excellent venue for artisans and crafters to sell their original handmade items and enhances the overall ambience of the parks and Kelowna experience for both visitors and residents

Art Walk is a highly successful annual arts festival which provides an excellent opportunity for over 250 Okanagan artists to exhibit & sell their work!

Each person is born with unique gifts and talents. There are those who have been given the gifts and talents that bring healing to our bodies and/or souls. From this collective group there are remarkable abilities to bring healing and wellness in each aspect of our lives. There is a tremendous array of afflictions both physically and spiritually, yet for each one there is a healing that can be given. The purpose of the Body and Soul Wellness Fair is to connect the two.

Caravan Farm Theatre is a professional outdoor theatre company based on an 80 acre farm, 11Km NW of Armstrong BC. Hailed as a national treasure, Caravan Farm Theatre is one of Canada's premiere professional outdoor theatre companies, and has been entertaining audiences young and old, from near and far, since 1978.

July 1
Celebrate Canada Day - Kelowna is a one-day community festival dedicated to celebrating our Canadian pride through music, food, and art.

Commuter Challenge is a national program that encourages Canadians to walk, cycle, ride-share/carpool, tele-work or take transit instead of driving alone to work. Individual Canadians can participate in addition to workplaces. We encourage you to give your car some time off in June and make a difference!

The program is based on a friendly competition between workplaces and communities across Canada to see which has the highest percentage participation rates during the week. By recording participation online, Canadians are able to see how their healthier commutes affect greenhouse gases reductions by tracking kilometers traveled.

his June 8th, & 9th, comedown to Waterfront Park and take part in the premier Children's Festival in the Okanagan!!!
This year's festival promises to be bigger and better than ever before. Instead of one afternoon of fun, the festival will be two days long. Full of engaging activities for kids of all ages, local youth entertainment, and exciting headliners mingling through the grounds and performing on one of three stages throughout the event.
The best part - the festival is still FREE for for everybody to enjoy!

In the spring of 1997, Oliver's place at the very hub of Canada's best wine and grape growing region, prompted the Oliver and District Chamber of Commerce to organize "Festival of the Grape" and it was a huge success! The Festival has continued into the new century attracting wineries,vendors and visitors from all over North America and possibly the world!

All year long.
The Kelowna Buskers Program offers citizens and visitors to Kelowna a unique entertainment experience through a diversity of performers, while adding an animated flare to the downtown core.

The 2008 Kelowna Clay Festival will be our fourth festival. It is an international event with participants and presenters coming from across North America and Great Britain. Our presenting artists join an illustrious group of master potters who have delighted us with their demonstrations and workshops at the past three festivals.

The Kelowna Dragon Boat Festival has grown to be one of the most popular summer events in all of Canada. The festival presents exciting dragon boat races and inspiring teams combined with impressive community participation, live entertainment, delicious food and fun activities for all ages.

Hello race fans!! Welcome to Hydrofest the premier outdoor event in beautiful Kelowna, BC. Hydrofest is the largest professional boat racing series in Canada and is the pinnacle of British Columbia's summer events calendar.
Using Kelowna as the amazing backdrop to Hydrofest this year's races will play host to some of the fastest boats in the world, with the best drivers and some of the NHL's biggest names to provide you the best entertainment on the planet.
Hydrofest will without question be the fastest weekend in British Columbia.
See you there!!

The Kelowna Music & Arts Festival is July 24-26, 2009 and is an annual professional arts festival for the Kelowna Community that entertains and enlightens, with live entertainment and visual arts. Kick off the festival at the exclusive Opening Night Party event.

Get ready to be Moved! – Shaked! – Quaked! into a Higher Realm of Music & Dance under the Open Skies of Komasket Park in Vernon, BC! 32 hours of Live Music & Dance by over 150 performers!!

The Meadowlark Festival on the May long weekend is a celebration of the unique wildlife and habitats found in Penticton and surrounding areas. More than 100 distinct types of wildlife habitat are home to some of the most diverse and rare assemblages of plant and animal species in BC and Canada.

2009 Aug 7 - 8
2010 Aug 5 - 7
The Annual Okanagan Fall Wine Festival is an experience for all who love fabulous wine accompanied by great food and unique events. Autumn in Okanagan Wine Country is the perfect time to watch the grapes ripen in the sun and indulge yourself in the harvest celebrations. This is the only wine festival in North America that takes place during the heart of grape harvest.
This festival continues to be ranked in the top 100 events by the American Business Association.

OFS is a community choir of auditioned singers from the Okanagan Valley centered in Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada. We generally perform two major concerts of our own per season as well as participate with other organizations throughout the Valley in choral or civic events.

The OFFS board is currently compiling a program of fantastic Canadian and International films, as well as numerous short film programs.

The Okanagan Jazz and Blues Society was formed in 1990. The society presents a series of jazz and blues concerts, The society's aims are to: Nurture an appreciation for jazz and blues music in the Okanagan, inform and educate the public about jazz and blues music and encourage and develop Okanagan jazz and blues artists.

The Okanagan Spring Wine Festival is a perfect marriage of wine and culinary tourism.
For the first ten days in May each year, it offers a tantalizing experience for anyone who loves fabulous wine accompanied by fine cuisine.
And what better way to announce the grape growing season than to hold a Festival during bud break!
Guests can choose an incredible 100 plus events throughout Okanagan Wine Country at a time of year when it is absolutely delightful to savour Spring in the warm sunshine. The Okanagan Spring Wine Festival has been described as "one of Canada's best small festivals" and it is no wonder that its success continues to grow.

2010 ~ April 29 - May 8
The Okanagan Summer Wine Festival is held every second weekend in August at Silver Star Mountain Resort in Vernon. Come and treat yourself to an intimate weekend of wine education, arts, music and mile high outdoor recreation.
The summer wine festival offers unique wine seminars, great evening entertainment, a foot stomping musical outdoor wine tasting and wonderful presentations by local artists.!

Parks Alive! is a community oriented program with a mandate to maximize the potential of Kelowna’s community and lakefront parks by stimulating a vibrant arts and culture presence.

August 14, 15 and 16 2009
The Salmon Arm Folk Music Society is a non-profit charitable organization that presents year-round concerts as well as the Annual Roots and Blues Festival the third weekend every August.

The Rotary Okanagan International Children's Festival invites you to join us on a wild and wonderful adventure into the world of music, theatre, dance, storytelling, circus arts and lots of hands-on fun!

The first annual Si-ca-mous & Shu-swap Lake Wild Mushroom & Food Festival was held in Beautiful Sicamous B.C. Sept 19 - 25, 2005. Participants enjoyed identifying and picking wild mushrooms, watching evening presentations and attending workshops.
The 2008 Festival will guide people to identify & actually pick wild mushrooms and have a gourmet experience in the Shuswap area. The festival week will provide exciting guided tours every day Monday to Sunday. These tours will range from Walking Tours, Boat Tours, and The Grand Camping Tour.

Ski2Sea : Since 1980, the event has grown from four categories to seven, and now to nine. Participants can choose to compete in open, open mixed, women's, masters, recreation, corporate, junior, solo (mens) or solo (womens). This range of categories provides an opportunity for both super competitive teams as well as fun loving race enthusiasts to compete in a fun and challenging event.

Enjoy the best Blues 'n' BBQ party you'll have this summer. Get ready for a weekend of fabulous music & fun in a no-hassle family atmosphere.

Join us as Summerland's downtown is magically transformed into a magical winter wonderland!
Feel the energy in the air as thousands of people gather on Main Street with anticipation as the Mayor, dressed in Old English attire, and the Towne Crier light up the streets. Timed perfectly, thousands of lights illuminate the packed boulevard full of festival goers.

The Summerland Folk Festival is a non profit event held with the goal of increasing the public’s participation in music, dance, and other folk activities. Over twenty artists perform on three stages around the Festival site throughout the weekend. The festival is very much an event that all ages can enjoy. Situated in the downtown region in the fabulous Memorial Park, one can bask in the sun or cool down in the shade of the large maple trees surrounding the park. In the family area, kids rule and imaginations are set loose. Laughter and singing can be heard, while in the activities area everything from juggling and stilt walking to fabulous craft-making can be enjoyed. Food and craft vendors participate giving the crowds a wide selection of culinary delights and crafts to enjoy.

Wakeboarding, Freestyle Motocross, Live Music, Bikini Contests, Wakefest has it all. Check out the schedules for all of the details!