The District of West Kelowna is asking the community to help define culture as the municipality works to develop its first Cultural Plan.
West Kelowna culture is rooted in events such as Westside Daze, Art in the Park and Music in the Park, which enjoyed a successful first run in Memorial Park this past summer.
The district will incorporate existing events in the Cultural Plan and develop a strategy for events and festivals, but the municipality also wants to know what else the community wants to see incorporated in the Cultural Plan.
The action-oriented document will provide future direction, a vision statement, policies, priorities and recommendations to guide cultural development in the district for the next 10 years.
The first stage of the plan’s development is to seek input from residents, business owners and stakeholders.
The first way of gathering this input is through a community survey.
Residents can visit districtofwestkelowna.ca and click on the Cultural Plan event item on the homepage to find the link to the survey. The questionnaire will take about 10 minutes to complete; the deadline to provide input is Nov. 12.
The second way to contribute input is by participating in the district’s photo contest.
Images should depict places, people, art, music, events and festivals that best represent cultural life in West Kelowna. Visit the district’s website and click on the Cultural Plan event item to read the contest rules and submit photos. That contest, which includes prizes for the best photos, closes Dec. 2.
The district’s third strategy is to host an open house Nov. 21 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at Westbank Lions Community Hall at 2466 Main Street.
West Kelowna has also engaged the services of Millier Dickinson Blais Inc. to work with staff, the community and stakeholders to create the plan. The consulting firm has created more than 30 cultural plans for communities of all sizes across Canada.
