The long-running, massive birthday party to mark Canada Day has been cancelled in the Okanagan’s largest city this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Despite our hope that we could still hold a modified version of ‘Celebrate Canada Day Kelowna’ or even a large community celebration later in the summer, it’s now clear that won’t be possible,” said Renata Mills, executive director with Festivals Kelowna.
Every year on July 1, some 60,000 people gather along the city’s waterfront for the day-long event.
The celebration includes multiple stages of live outdoor entertainment, interactive games, artisan booths, community group displays, food stations and a fireworks display.
“Our team is quite disappointed, but completely understands the importance of supporting efforts to minimize exposure to the coronavirus, and that includes cancelling large public events,” said Mills.