Free curling event at Stuart Park as Kelowna prepares to host 2025 Montana's Brier

The ice at Stuart Park in downtown Kelowna got a bit of a makeover this weekend.

Rings were painted and hacks were installed as part of a try curling event hosted by the City of Kelowna and the Kelowna Curling Club.

“We get lots of kids, but we’re finding people, as they get older, are really wanting to try curling,” said KCC general manager Jock Tyre.

“People are interested in getting out of the house to do something, so they come down, they try curling. They form a team up with some of their friends, maybe people off their slow pitch or even their hockey team, and they curl in one of our novice leagues and get started.”

The try curling event comes less than two weeks before Kelowna will play host to the 2025 Montana’s Brier. It’s the first time the city has been the setting for the national men’s curling championship since 1968.

“It allows us to be on the curling map,” says Tyre. “We’ve been doing more and more events here in Kelowna, so it’s terrific to have that opportunity to host something as big as this."

“With it being broadcast all week long for nine days, to have such good coverage of the city of Kelowna, it’s not just about curling. It’s about the entire community being showcased nationally.”

He says an announcement of another big curling event will be coming up in the next year.

“We’re going to be hosting the world again. It will be a bit of a surprise. We’re going to announce it right after the Brier.”

The Montana’s Brier goes from February 28 to March 9 at Prospera Place. Tickets are still available through the Curling Canada website.