Unscripted ‘Canada Shore’ shows a side of Kelowna not seen in the tourism brochure

Kelowna has a reputation for wine, beaches, golf and skiing, but whether a reality TV show about 10 20-somethings having a booze-fuelled summer in the city will change its reputation is yet to be seen.

The Jersey Shore spinoff Canada Shore, an unscripted series, was shot last year in Kelowna and is still releasing episodes on Paramount+. The show features a group of 10 young people spending the summer living in a mansion in Kelowna and partying in the city.

It showcases some aspects of Kelowna’s tourism industry that the city is known for like wineries, breweries and boat tours, but also a side of the nightlife that doesn’t make it into the brochures.

Paramount+ hasn’t released any figures for the show’s success but its Instagram page has more than 10,000 followers and the first episode on the streaming service’s YouTube channel has 34,000 views.

The show’s cast went to the Ok Corral, Red Bird Brewing, spent a day on a Tiki Time Tours boat and more.

Adam Semeniuk, the owner of Red Bird Brewing, told iNFOnews.ca the cast wasn’t as crazy as they might seem in the show.

“They just kind of were sitting around our fire tables, having drinks and filming it like nothing crazy,” he said.

Red Bird isn’t as much of a late-night party destination so Canada Shore isn’t the ideal advertisement, he said.

“Hard to say. I saw the trailer for the show and I don’t think it’s our best foot forward because it looks like a mess a little bit,” Semeniuk said. “I’m not interested in that kind of television or that kind of behaviour… that’s not our best representation, I would say.”

It might not be as picturesque as wineries and kayak tours, but people do come to Kelowna for the nightlife.

Lizzy Peare is the manager for Carte Blanche Parties, a company that plans bachelor and bachelorette parties in cities all around Canada including Kelowna. Carte Blanche arranges things from brewery tours, a “sexy golf caddie”, snowmobiling and more.

Peare said it seems like the show is hitting the mark for the type of attractions that people are looking for on her side of the tourism industry.

“It hits everything. We work with the tiki boat rentals, we work with those bars, we work with Liquid Zoo,” she said.

She said a lot of people come to Kelowna for the “western, cowboy, country” party scene, especially bachelorette parties.

“We absolutely love Kelowna. So much to do and offer to our clients there,” Peare said.

Kelowna has some major events coming up like the Memorial Cup in May and the BC Summer Games, but for some reality television fans, their idea of Kelowna might be more mechanical bulls and day drinking on a boat.