Community

This is what it means to be Kelowna Made

Inaugural festival celebrates what makes community

It is a day about celebrating community, and what makes Kelowna, well, Kelowna.

That’s the driving force behind Kelowna Made, which took over City Park Saturday.

Co-Chair Lance Macdonald told Kelowna10 the city wanted to create something signature that can continue to grow over the next five years.

“After three years of COVID and everybody craving social connections, we wanted to find a way to have the residents of Kelowna come down and celebrate everything that matters to them,” he said. “The city wanted to create something that the residents can really embrace and make their own.”

Macdonald said there’s a lot that he thinks makes Kelowna a great city.

“Kelowna is made of sports, it’s made of culture, it’s made of the arts community, the artisan community,” he said. “Kelowna is made of the people from Kelowna and everything that matters to all of us. That’s what Kelowna’s made of, that’s what were here to celebrate.”

Among the activities taking place were live music, sports demos, street dances, an artisan showcase, belly flop competition, dragon boat rowing, canoe paddling, water polo, and beach volleyball.

Jamie Taverner, Managing Partner at Urban Rec Okanagan, said the community and comradery in Kelowna sport is one of the main reasons sees Kelowna as an enjoyable place to be.

“I’ve been running sport here for a real long time and the communities that have come out of the specific sports have been awesome,” she said. “The majority of people here know each other one way or the other in different leagues so I’d say just the community is what makes me proud to be Kelowna made.”

Attendees were also treated to some master sandcastle building from Peter Vogelaar. A 20-year veteran, his experience was on display, carving some impressive sandcastles and other wizardly creations.

“I like the whole setting of the park and the beach is pretty good. I’m happy to be here and I hope this becomes a regular event,” he said.

Published 2022-08-27 by Connor Chan

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