Festivals undergo makeover to revitalize downtown Kelowna

Three popular Okanagan festivals are getting a makeover this year.

Kelowna’s Mardi Gras Street Festival, BreakOut West Music Festival and the Downtown Kelowna Light-Up are undergoing major renovations as part of an effort to bring more people downtown.

The Mardi Gras Street Festival will now be called the Kelowna Fusion Festival.

The festival will celebrate music and culture, as well as a new component, food.

Quinn Best, producer of the 2011 Downtown Event Properties, says the new element will help festival-goers get a better understanding of different cultures.

Meanwhile, last October, hundreds of up-and-coming artists and bands descended on Kelowna for the BreakOut West Music Festival.

This festival will be re-named Pop Okanagan and will provide participants with a more interactive experience.

Best says a film and digital media component will be added to the conference and festival.

He says the hands-on element will help aspiring musicians become better educated about the industry.

Lastly, the family favourite Downtown Light Up will essentially remain the same, however organizers want to make it more environmentally friendly.

Best says organizers will better utilize Stuart Park Rink, which only opened last year, and draw more attention to the green movement.

He says organizers will incorporate themes of conservation and sustainability to the celebration.

The aim of re-vamping the festivals is to bring more vibrancy and activity to the city’s downtown core.

Whether the changes will attract more dollars for downtown businesses remains to be seen, but organizers believe the renovations will be worthwhile.

Steve Stinson, president of the Downtown Kelowna Association, says some festivals will have immediate impacts on downtown restaurants and stores while others will help change people’s perception of downtown Kelowna.

Stinson says the festivals will help people experience the downtown core and hopefully that will encourage them to visit more frequently.