KELOWNA – It’s a music and sports festival that brings tens of thousands of locals and visitors to Kelowna’s downtown core. But organizers of this weekend’s Centre of Gravity aren’t the only ones gearing up for the event. Police will be on the look-out too.
“It’s a significant draw on our resources, we have to make sure ultimately the community is safe and that is what it’s all about,” says Kelowna RCMP Superintendent Nick Romanchuk.
At a news conference Wednesday morning, Romanchuk said it’s all hands on deck this weekend to make sure the weekend is safe for everyone coming downtown. Every year extra police resources are put in place to reduce any potential criminal behaviour.
Centre of Gravity used to take place on the B.C. Day long weekend, but two years ago, it was moved to the last weekend of July, a decision police say proved to be a wise one.
“We saw quite a significant reduction in calls for service and other issues around Centre of Gravity having it moved off of the August long weekend,” says Romanchuk. The city of Kelowna is jammed full on August Long as it is, so moving it to a weekend earlier certainly had a big impact for us.”
The impact has been significant. Police say last year’s Centre of Gravity saw a 40 per cent reduction in police files from 2013 when the festival took place on the B.C. Day long weekend.
This year’s Centre of Gravity starts Friday and runs until Sunday.
Comments