Kelowna's Fireside Festival returns for 10th year

Kelowna's homegrown Fireside Festival is returning for its tenth year.

The long-running festival will take over Red Bird Brewing on Jan. 31 and Feb. 1 and BNA on Feb. 2, with dozens of artists, both local and from abroad.

“Fireside did start as house party back in 2012 and this will be our tenth year running, first growing into BNA and now growing into a three-day festival between BNA and Red Bird,” said Fireside founder Aaron DeSilva.

With DeSilva first hosting his musician friends around the fireplace at his Kelowna home many years ago, the event has grown substantially.

While Sunday at BNA is held inside, the two days at Red Bird will see music hosted outside.

“People come to dress to absolutely impress and it's like a massive outdoor winter party,” said director of operations Heather Leslie. “It's totally unique and unlike anything you've ever seen in this area and it gets bigger and has a stronger community feeling every year.”

This year's festival will be headlined by Vancouver-based DJ duo The Funk Hunters, Ontario rapper Haviah Mighty and Vancouver Island DJ Whipped Cream.

DeSilva say that producing the event takes plenty of hard work from a dedicated team and plenty of volunteers.

“It's a lot of hard work and a lot of people dedicating time and donating time and it's just so cool to see what it turns into when everyone comes together and puts their little piece of the pie into the mix,” DeSilva said.

Leslie agrees that the hard work pays off when the festival comes together.

“The second it starts this wave of total euphoria comes over me and I go 'Wow, I'm so happy this is happening again,'” she said.

“Just seeing the community out and seeing everybody together, it's not like a business putting it on, it's a community putting it together and it's totally unique and a beautiful experience.”

For those interested in checking out the festivities, tickets and more information can be found here.