Central Okanagan

Several Okanagan mayors will kick off the 'Okanagan Reads Mayors' Challenge' Thursday at the Okanagan Regional Library branches in Kelowna and Vernon.

Acting Kelowna mayor, Luke Stack and West Kelowna mayor Doug Findlater will be at the downtown Kelowna library while Vernon mayor Rob Sawatskly and Sicamous mayo Darrell Trouton will join Okanagan Regional Library staff in Vernon.

Aimed at promoting literacy in the valley, Okanagan Reads encourages participants throughout the Okanagan to read the same book.

Shoot!, a western novel set in the Thompson Okanagan in the late 1800s by award-winning Okanagan author and Canada’s first Poet Laureate, George Bowering, has been selected as the book for Okanagan Reads. Bowering has published more than 80 books of fiction, history, plays and poetry.

“This ‘one book/one community’ project provides an opportunity for people to read, discuss and connect,” says Librarian Fern Teleglow, coordinator of the first-time project.

“The Okanagan has a rich heritage and we hope our choice of one book will not only encourage reading, but also connect the community with the history of the area.”

Okanagan Reads runs through March 8 and features author readings, film screenings and book discussions in library branches across the region.

Readers can follow the dialogue at okanaganreads.ca and join the discussion on the library’s social media channels.