Pianos in Parks rolling out in Kelowna

Chopsticks and maybe a bit of Beethoven or Bach will be ringing out on the streets of Kelowna again this summer.

Kelowna's Pianos in Parks program is being rolled out for the season. A few were launched late last week, and two more are now set up.

"They're accessible to anyone and everyone that just has a little bit of song in their heart," said project co-ordinator Tracy Ross. "There's people who are really experienced and sit down and put on a concert for passers-by and catch people's attention, and there's people who just have some curiosity about what it might be like to press a note or two."

A piano placed outside the Rotary Centre for the Arts was painted by Indigenous artists Coralee Miller and Barb Dawson. "They collaborated to paint a piano that represents their love of Okanagan and things they look forward to, like the salmon and the grapes, and nature. Just really representing the landscape that we live in," said Ross.

Another piano is bright yellow and features a landscape of the Okanagan Valley, by Ruth Nygard. It's set up on Bernard Ave., near the Lakehouse Home Store.

This year there will be six pianos, fewer than the usual eight. Some pandemic protocols will remain in place, including signs asking audiences not to crowd around the musicians.