The RCA has the privilege of being a host venue for this years Pacific Contact. Pacific Contact is the BC Touring Council’s annual showcase festival and conference for the performing arts. Pacific Contact 2024 will be held April 10 to 14 for the first time in Kelowna at the Rotary Centre for the Arts, Kelowna Community Theatre, Metro Hub, and The Laurel Packinghouse with accommodations at the Delta Grand Okanagan Resort. 

This 4-day conference will feature hundreds of performing arts professionals who gather to plan their upcoming seasons, network, learn, and develop lasting relationships extending into communities around the province. Each year, the event is attended by presenting organizations from across North America, as well as artists, agents, government funders, arts advocacy, and service organizations. 

Pacific Contact features juried showcase performances by approximately 42 different artist groups, a trade-show style exhibit hall, networking events, panels, meetings, and workshops.  

This conference is an opportunity for performers and art professionals to get inspired, experience live performance, discover new artists, make connections, network with colleagues, discuss issues facing the arts, and of course, have fun! 

Held on stage at the RCA will be Short 5’s - 5-minute showcase opportunities for performers. Juried Showcases will also be taking place on the Mary Irwin Theatre stage (as well as the Kelowna Community Theatre), each lasting 15 minutes. Pacific Contact 2024 will present music, theatre, and dance showcases, as well as a family showcase with school students in attendance and a cabaret style showcase featuring music and variety acts. 

We are excited to see talent from around the country come together for this prestigious event. Learn more about Pacific Contact here. 

The Rotary Centre for the Arts was recently announced as a nominee in this years BCTC Awards for Festival of the Year. This nomination is in recognition of the Indigenous Resilience Festival, held at the RCA in March of 2023. This festival was a cross-cultural day of learning for the community on Indigenous narrative told through performance, visual art, and storytelling. We are humbled to be recognized in this category and receive this nomination. Congratulations to our fellow nominees in this category; the Coldsnap Festival in Prince George, the Nelson International Mural Festival, and the Roots and Blues Festival in Salmon Arm! 

Thank you to those who nominated us and to the BCTC Awards Committee, and to Canadian Heritage for the grant funding in support of the Indigenous Resilience Festival.