Lots to see and do in the Okanagan this summer

Okanagan events on tap

Allison Markin - Jun 26, 2024 / 11:00 am | Story: 494121

Photo: Mike Biden

The Penticton Elvis Festival, which kicks off tomorrow, is just one of many events coming up throughout the Okanagan this summer.

At the height of the pandemic, when all manner of live performances and cultural events could only be streamed online or experienced virtually, I was grateful to “tour” museums and art galleries around the world, and watch pop-rocker Gowan, jazz great Kurt Elling, and even a friend’s nephew, perform live via my laptop.

I’m even more grateful now that a number of festivals and cultural happenings made it through to get to 2024, when things may have been rather bleak a couple of summers ago.

The menu of choices ranges from the iconic Penticton Elvis Festival which kicks off tomorrow, to local musicians gracing patios, to outdoor block parties hosted in the valley’s business and shopping districts.

This weekend, Westside Multiculturalism Day will take place on June 29 in West Kelowna. Join the Westbank Museum and more than 30 cultural community groups and community partners for this is a free, family-friendly event celebrating the diversity of the Greater Westside at Memorial Park in West Kelowna.

The main events aren’t until September, but Summerland’s Ryga Arts Festival will host its annual fundraiser at the stunning Oak Estate Winery July 25, with live performances, charcuterie and a glass of wine, as well as a classic 50/50 draw. Tickets are on sale now.

While the Ryga Fest pays homage to one of Canada’s most prolific playwrights, George Ryga, the Penticton Art Gallery will welcome prolific painter Robert Bateman for Unexpected Bateman, opening July 5, and the artist himself will be in town.

Did you know dinosaurs will be among us this summer? Dinosaurs of B.C. is a travelling exhibition produced by the Royal B.C. Museum, and will be at Kelowna’s Okanagan Heritage Museum until Sept. 30. Get the kids together, sign up for a workshop and make it a “day of dinos.”

Meanwhile, there’s always an eclectic selection of shows coming to Penticton’s Dream Café, Grizzli Winery in West Kelowna is a great place for a variety of events and now has a new restaurant partner, 31 Charkay and Live in Lake Country has a packed schedule all summer long.

If you’ve never been to the historic O’Keefe Ranch near Vernon, maybe this is the summer to put one of their Family Day events – July 27 and Aug. 24 – on the calendar or, if you’ve been meaning to take a ride on the Kettle Valley Steam Railway in Summerland, book your ticket and prepare to board.

With so many places to explore, this could be a great summer to have a “staycation” in the Okanagan.

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.

Back to Homepage

Typos News Tips Forums

More Okanagan Taste articles

About the Author

A creative thinker with more than two decades of experience in communications, Allison is an early adopter of social and digital media, bringing years of work in traditional media to the new frontier of digital engagement marketing through her company, All She Wrote.

She is the winner of the Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association's 2011 and 2012 awards for Social Media Initiative, an International LERN award for marketing, and the 2014 Penticton Chamber of Commerce Business Excellence Award for Hospitality/Tourism.

Allison has amassed a following on multiple social networks of more than 30,000, frequently writes and about social media, food and libations as well as travel and events, and through her networks, she led a successful bid to bring the Wine Bloggers Conference to Penticton in June 2013, one of the largest social media wine events in the world, generating 31 million social media impressions, $1 million in earned media, and an estimated ongoing economic impact of $2 million.

In 2014, she held the first Canadian Wine Tourism Summit to spark conversation about the potential for wine tourism in Canada as a year-round economic driver.

Allison contributes epicurean content to several publications, has been a judge for several wine and food competitions, and has earned her advanced certificate from the Wine and Spirit Education Trust.

In her spare time, she has deep, meaningful conversations with her cats.

She can be reached at [email protected]

The views expressed are strictly those of the author and not necessarily those of Castanet. Castanet does not warrant the contents.

Previous Stories