Penticton Festivals and Events

British Columbia, Western Canada

The City of Festivals:

World-class festivals and events happen here.From Elvis to jazz, Ironman Canada to square dancing, Penticton is alive with celebrations of the arts, the seasons and just plain fun! Plan your holiday around one of the city’s many festivals or events.

7th Annual Uller's Winter Triathlon - 12km Mountain Bike / 10km X-C Skate Ski / 8 km Snow Shoe - Winter bike a specially groomed trail, cross- country ski and snowshoe the winter triathlon course at Apex Mountain Resort.		February 11 /2006
The 2006 Freestyle FIS World Cup Finals: this elite freestyle skiing competition hosted by Apex Mountain Resort, will porbably be the biggest winter skiing event in British Columbia’s Southern Okanagan Valley. Don't Miss it!		March 16 - 19, 2006
Annual Penticton Kiwanis Music Festival: Dance and Speech Arts Festival was foundedin 1926, this event annually hosts over 1800 competitive and non-competitive young amateur performing arts entries in 9 disciplines. These include strings and guitar, piano, vocal, dance, woodwinds and brass, and speech arts.		April 4-28 / 2008
Okanagan Fest of Ale: At least 70 different brews, great entertainment, exceptional food treats and a spirit of fun are all together for what is the first of Penticton's great summer season events.		APRIL 4 & 5 / 2008
Meadowlark Festival: The weekend festival is a celebration of the unique wildlife and habitats found in Penticton and surrounding areas. There will be over 80 events and tours,most held under the open sky throughout the Okanagan Similkameen Valleys. More than 100 distinct types of wildlife habitat are home to some of the most diverse and rare assemblages of plant and animal species in BC and Canada.		May 15-19 / 2009
Action quest/Dairy Queen Classic: A weekend of biking action includes a cross- country race in Summerland and biker cross and downhill race on Campbell Mountain. Definitely one of the fastest and most exciting weekends of the summer!		May /2008
THE 10th ANNUAL BROOKS HALF MARATHON & 10K: This 9th annual race is a Boston Marathon qualifier. The route follows most of the Ironman Canada marathon course winding its way along Skaha Lake down past Okanagan Falls into the winery area before climbing into the ranch lands and then returning to Skaha Beach.		May 18 /2008
Snowbirds coming in for a landing on May 22 they will be doing a practice run at 2 p.m. and on the May 23 they will be performing with smoke at 5:30 p.m. This year their showbox will be a 3,000-foot-wide and 7,000-foot-long area stretching from Munson Mountain to the Penticton Indian Band reservation. Sponsored by Peter Bros., the Snowbirds show is free to the public and can be best seen at Okanagan Lake Park east of the Penticton Lakeside Resort or at Rotary Beach Park between the peach and the S.S. Sicamous.		August 6 /2008
The Okanagan International Children's Festival-6th Annual Celebration for young audiences of all ages, types and sizes. Performing arts for children is a wonderful investment in the cultural growth and well-being of a community.		May 22-24 /2008
South Okanagan Golf League featuring 4 different golf courses, a free cart at Twin Lakes and open to all abilities, men and ladies, ages 19 and up.		June 8-22 2008
The South Okanagan Youth Soccer Association (Soysa) promotes Soccer for Youth in Keremeos, Oliver, Osoyoos, Penticton and Summerland, British Columbia from Mini-Soccer to District Teams for Girls and Boys. Everyone is looking forward to the 11th Annual Peach City Soccer Classic this August!		August 17-19 2007.
Theos 28th Annual Art Auction: is hosted by The Art Gallery of the South Okanagan and it takes place at Theos Restaurant in the courtyard at, 687 Main St. (250) 493-2928. 23rd Annual Art Gallery of the South Okanagan Art Auction. View Theo’s permanent collection of watercolors by artist Vicki Husband from her expedition to Mykonos in 1976.		June / 2008
8th Annual Peach City Beach Cruise: You’re invited to take part in one of the most spectacular cruises in the Pacific Northwest. The cars will leave Penticton after the Saturday Show’n’Shine for a breathtaking 55-mile ride through orchards and vineyards and by crystal clear lakes.		June 20- 22 /2008
6th Annual Pacific Northwest Elvis Festival: A great opportunity for Elvis fans to have a chance to meet with the people that knew Elvis. Highlights include tributetest and a wandering band of Elvis look-alikes, known collectively as "the Elvii.".		June 27-29 /2008
S.S. Sicamous Follies: Five shows per week. Whimsical, humorous, romantic musical theatre on board the Okanagan's premiere heritage showcase. Songs of the 20's & 30's, true life stories & adventure in a classic storyline. Artistic Director & Author - Tom Kerr		to be announced late this spring
Okanagan Hockey School: Ages 7 through 17 receive professional instruction from a staff consisting of Junior “A ”, college, minor professional, and NHL instructors.One week sessions consisting of seminars, conferences,and on- ice instruction from July through August.		June 29 -August 23 /2008 The Penticton Panthers Penticton Men's Rec Hockey League
Penticton Highland Games: Highland dancers, pipe bands, pipers and drummers will be competing. In addition, the heavy events will compete for a Grand Champion Trophy and Prize. Concession stands and beer gardens on site!		July 5, 2008
Beach Blanket Film Festival: The film festival was born out of a desire to give Canadian filmmakers a much needed venue, and a vision to do all of this in a beautiful, slightly surreal setting against the backdrop of the beautiful Okanagan Valley -- Projected upon a full sized screen floating 25 feet offshore on Okanagan Lake.		July 18-20 /2008
Okanagan School of the Arts: Consider a holiday with a purpose! OSA offers courses taught by professional instructors in performing arts, music, fine crafts and visual arts. There are classes for all ages and abilities. This year OSA celebrates its 45th anniversary with a series of concerts,exhibitions and events, along with exciting courses. There are also classes available offered throughout the year.		May, June, July & August /2008
Skaha Lake Ultra Swim: How is your front crawl? Beautiful Skaha Lake is the setting for this popular 18th annual event. Participants must swim the entire length of Skaha Lake (11.8 km) beginning at “Muscle Beach ”and ending at Okanagan Falls.		pending update from event co-ordinators
26th Annual Peach Classic Triathlon and Boston Pizza Junior Triathlon: Two triathlons in the same weekend! The Annual Peach Classic Triathlon is an Olympic distance race starting and ending at Penticton ’s Okanagan Lake. A 1.5 km swim in the lake ’s warm waters, then a 40 km cycle through scenic wineries and fruit orchard country and ending with a challenging 10 km run. Interested in a triathlon for the younger folk? Your best bet is the Annual Boston Pizza Junior Triathlon.		July 20 /2008
4th Annual Peach Fest Square Dance Festival: There is in place a 10 yr commitment to have a square dance Festival in Penticton in August beginning in 2004. registration information		August 6-10 / 2008
Penticton Peach Festival: A family tradition for over 6 decades includes 5 days of festivities, including pie eating contest, peachfest parade, Miss Penticton Pageant, live bands and entertainment in Gyro Park and fireworks!		August 6-10 /2008
Jeep Jamboree: A fun-filled weekend of serious off-roading! Jeep owners from across western Canada converge on Apex Mountain Resort to test their driving skills. Trails are rated by their overall level of difficulty ranging from two through nine and feature a variety of terrain and conditions.		TBA
26th Annual Subaru Ironman Canada Triathlon: A sporting event like no other held here in Canada - 1,700 of the fittest athletes in the world testing themselves on one of the most difficult athletic challenges there is: a 2.4 mile swim, a 112-mile bike race, and a 26.2 mile marathon run. This is a race that takes the best athletes in the world just over 8 hours - the rest of the field has up to 17 hours to complete the course. Just finishing is an incredible achievement.		Aug 24 /2008
Pentastic Jazz Festival: If you are a jazz fan you might want to tailor your touring plans to take in this event. With six venues to accommodate jazz enthusiasts of all ages.		Sept 5-7 /2008
6th Annual Penticton Dragon Boat Festival: Enjoy dragonboat races from the beach. The fistival features a large village, with food vendors and beverage garden.		Sept 8 /2008
WINE FESTIVALS:		Listing of Local Wineries and Breweries>>
Ice Wine Festival features spectacular events, ranging from fun, casual grape stomps and barn dances to formal black tie events. Okanagan Icewine is a rare jewel and one of the finest dessert wines in the world. The Annual Okanagan Icewine Festival is scheduled to run at Sun Peaks Resort.		January 14-19, 2008
Spring Wine Festival heralds the arrival of spring in the Okanagan… fragrant blossoms, the first shoots on the vines and the dawn of the grape growing season. A celebration of fine local food and wine. Over 30 restaurants and wineries will participate in this premier event.		May 1-4 2008
Summer Wine Fesitval is a great way to learn about wine and taste the incredible cuisine of the Okanagan.		August 7-9 2008
Fall Wine Festival, where food and food go together and many wineries and restaurants get together and create magic. Sample newly released Okanagan wines from over 40 Member Wineries.		October 1-22 2008
Fruit Bloom Harvest Dates:		Okanagan Similkameen Cooperative Growers Association
A p r i c o t s Blossom Dates April 10 - April 25 Harvest Dates July 20 - August 10
C h e r r i e s Blossom Dates April 20 - May 7 Harvest Dates July 1 - August 1
P e a c h e s Blossom Dates April 20 - May 2 Harvest Dates July 25 - September 1
P e a r s Blossom Dates April 25 - May 10 Harvest Dates August 15 - September 30
P r u n e s / P l u m s Blossom Dates April 28 - May 10 Harvest Dates August 15 - September 10
A p p l e s Blossom Dates May 15 - May 20 Harvest Dates August 15 - October 30