It’s getting easier to tell when you’re in Lake Country.
This week, the district’s entrance signs were replaced after more than three years of planning by the Lake Country Public Art Commission.
Tonette De Vera, a Lake Country resident who has experience with design, is the woman behind the new signs, which are located at the north and south ends of the district.
“I put a proposal in and sure enough they like it… and it just developed from there,” she said.
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The design no longer contains any reference to the four wards in the district—Winfield, Oyama, Carr’s Landing and Okanagan Centre—and feature connections to the outdoors in the Okanagan. De Vera said the design was created with just Lake Country as a whole in mind because the district is seen as one entity, even though past history has identified specific areas.
It’s more about the district’s image today, and not its history, she said.
The signs new colours are blue, white and green. The previous “dirty” brown has been dropped. The signs will also be illuminated, so they’ll be easy to see in the night.
“The whole idea was what do we find in Lake Country? said DeVara. “We want something that is an art piece that makes us stand out, other than signage. We want it to be visible, so therefore, let’s make it colourful because usually signs are very flat, two-dimensional and not bright. We wanted to capture everything.”
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The signs also contain elements of Kalamalka and Wood Lakes, ponderosa pines and other elements of Lake Country.
De Vera created the design while working with interior design student Korynn Kroeskamp, who De Vera said was a crucial part of the project. Kroeskamp handled the technical part of the drawing. A local architect, Albert Van Ee, was also heavily involved in the project, De Vara said.
Materials for the signs were sourced locally.
Petrina McNeill, with the art commission, said the old signs were in place for more than 20 years.
“It was hard to see them (especially at night.)” she said. “The(new signs) bring Lake Country into the 21st Century.”
Creation of the signs was delayed in order to have them made locally.
The budget for to two signs is $110,000. However, the final numbers aren’t in yet, said district’s communications officer Karen Miller.
The budget was originally $75,000, but an additional $35,000 was added into the budget last year, said Miller.
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