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No fireworks in Vernon for Canada Day, but here’s what is happening
VERNON - With many people disappointed there won’t be any fireworks accompanying Canada Day in Vernon, a local organizer says there’s still lots to enjoy, and take pride in, this year. Residents learned in May there wouldn’t be a fireworks display on Canada Day — a shock to many who assumed the longstanding tradition would,...
Local bands seek musical peak in B.C. contest
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Two bands from the Thompson-Okanagan are in the running for the musical opportunity of a lifetime. This year’s chosen dozen for the Peak Performance Project include Vernon-based artist Windmills, and Kamloops-based Van Damsel, the only musicians from the B.C. Interior. The rest of the Top 12 are dominated by artists in the Lower Mainland...
Crazy, memorable 20-year ride for Lorenzo’s cafe owner coming to a close
ENDERBY - You’d have to be at least a little crazy to run Lorenzo’s Cafe, an iconic music venue nestled down a windy, back road in the rural North Okanagan, and owner Lorne Costley comes by it honestly. He got the nickname Lorenzo in Mexico back in the 1980s, and it refers to someone who...
Live music competition to rock Kelowna
KELOWNA – A local music competition hopes to highlight just how hard the Okanagan can rock. Okanagan Rocks is an all-categories music competition that is open to solo acts, duos and bands. Six acts will play their original music for the audience and judges, with the winning act getting recording time at Big Audio Productions....
Centre of Gravity music lineup announced
KELOWNA – The music lineup for the largest sports and music festival in the Okanagan has just been announced and features some of the biggest names in music. Hit makers like Diplo, Knife Party and Flo Rida will be joined by Erica Dee, Tre Funk, Emotionz, The Funk Hunters, Delhi 2 Dublin, Kytami, SkiiTour and...
Singing the stories of the Southern Interior
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Our region has long been a destination spot in Canada, and back before the Internet made it easy to share stories and pictures of your travels, music was used to share the beauty of our land. Tourism companies put out records with a single on the region, or even a specific city, while...
Centre of Gravity welcome back but only in July
KELOWNA – Centre of Gravity is welcome to return to Kelowna for its eighth year, but only if it’s not during the August long weekend. Council received a report from the Outdoor Events Committee Monday, which looked at how the three-day festival impacted residents, the RCMP and local infrastructure. Wet Ape Productions agreed to move the...
Still no RCMP invoice for Boonstock
PENTICTON - It’s been almost three months since Boonstock weekend and festival organizers still have not received a copy of the RCMP expense report, which outlines additional costs incurred over the four-day festival. Forty officers were scheduled to work the festival weekend and racked up a $200,000 bill paid for by Boonstock. But in September,...
Local singer thinks Penticton is quite somethin’
PENTICTON - Karin Vallee's three-year love affair with Penticton was so inspiring she transformed it into a song about the town between two lakes. Last week, Vallee, 28, recorded her song “Penticton, you’re quite somethin’” and posted it to YouTube for all to see. She sings of beaches, wine and the small town vibe Penticton...
Boonstock presents Safe In Sound Music Festival in Penticton
PENTICTON - Spin tables, LED lights, floor-rattling bass, and sick beats will be pumping out of the events centre when Safe In Sound Festival rolls into town next weekend. The electronic music festival is being promoted by Boonstock Music & Arts Festival, which is offering a discount on tickets and a chance to win VIP...
Vernon woman in the running for high-stakes music contest
VERNON - She got her start playing open mic nights at the El Portillo Coffee House in Vernon. The Vernon Performing Arts Centre welcomed her to its stage, and her voice carried through Polson Park on Canada Days passed. Now, Vernon’s Jodi Pederson, 26, is one of 12 artists picked out of 250 applicants across...
HELSTON: What’s happening to summer music fests?
It starts around July—posts about dust-caked feet, late nights and dazzling concerts hurl into my Facebook news feed and I know it’s festival season again.
Electronic music festival showcases female talent
KELOWNA – A two-day music and arts festival featuring an all-female lineup is coming back to Kelowna for the second year in a row. The Female Arts and Music Exhibition (FAME) is a collection of female promoters, DJ’s, artists, musicians, technicians and engineers who share a passion for electronic music and art. It takes place...
Tent Graveyard: The aftermath of Boonstock
PENTICTON - The Boonstock grounds that held over 8,000 people this weekend is now littered with tents, lawn chairs, beer cans and confetti, leaving crews with a lot of work on their hands. The festival received mainly positive reviews about performances and artists that took the stage this weekend — even headliner Macklemore asked to be...
BOONSTOCK: Macklemore and Ryan Lewis take it home
PENTICTON - International music sensations Macklemore and Ryan Lewis closed out the show Sunday night at Boonstock, the music festival that's been rocking Penticton all weekend long. There were more attendees Sunday night than anytime over the weekend—an additional parking lot was opened up and RCMP worked as security for the long lines of people...
IN PHOTOS: Boonstock
PENTICTON - The first full day of Boonstock is over and it doesn't seem like the dust has gotten to too many concert-goers. WIth bandanas over their faces, people continued to dance, jam and party as bands and DJs tore up the stages last night. The campsite is full of people, some who've set up...
New weekend and more competition means COG not yet sold out
KELOWNA – One of Canada’s hottest beach festivals is back again this year, but Center of Gravity founder Scott Emslie says ticket sales are down compared with last year. “We sold out by May last year,” he says. “We’re 90 per cent sold out right now so tickets will be available at the gate.” The...
Music and fans sizzle in the heat at Keloha
KELOWNA – It was the third year for the Keloha Music and Arts Festival in Kelowna with the hot weather and hot acts. The festival on the shores of Okanagan Lake provided music fans plenty of chances to cool off in the water. The three day event is produced by Wet Ape Productions and included...
Boonstock releases four-day concert schedule
PENTICTON - The four-day performance schedule for Boonstock has been released, letting concertgoers know which stage their favourite bands will be performing on. Here is a breakdown of the schedule, if you haven’t seen it on Boonstock’s website already: Kicking things off on Thursday, July 31 at the Kalamalka Stage, will be performances by Candyland,...
Keloha music festival takes the stage this weekend
KELOWNA – The annual Keloha music festival is back for the third year in a row, and organizers have managed once again to secure some of the top up-and-coming names in indy, alternative and rock music today. The three day festival features more than 70 live acts, but Wet Ape entertainment director Kelly Shepherd says...
The Dropkick Murphys are shipping up to Penticton this fall
PENTICTON - The Dropkick Murphys are bringing their blended sound of adrenaline-pumping American-Irish punk music to Penticton this fall with a show at the South Okanagan Events Centre on September 28. The band was formed in 1996 and members have come a long way from where they started in the basement of a barbershop in...
Boonstock organizers say event planning on track
PENTICTON - With only two months left until Boonstock Music Festival, event coordinators say planning and construction are still on track. The festival’s main coordinator, Barb Haynes, gave an up-to-date presentation of the plans to stakeholders Wednesday. Haynes said she understands some people expected the planning to move faster than it is, but as an...
Boonstock lines up board of directors
PENTICTON — A community-based board of directors was announced this weekend for the Boonstock Entertainment and Arts Society, a group created to support and promote local arts, music and culture in the Okanagan Valley. “This board is independent with its own mandate but will work in tandem with the Boonstock Productions executive team to ensure...