Happy Holidays from all of us at the RCA! 2024 has been an extraordinary year for arts and culture in the Okanagan, and we’re thrilled to have shared it with you. From inspiring art exhibitions to groundbreaking performances and exciting new programs, we’ve worked hard to make the year unforgettable for our community. 

As we look ahead, we’re excited to unveil what’s in store for 2025. But first, let’s reflect on a remarkable year at the RCA filled with creativity, connection, and artistic celebration. 

Now in its fifth year, our partnership with UBCO continues to enrich RCA programming while providing valuable experience to practicum students. Key contributions this year included: 

• The Arts Discovery Curriculum Guide, which integrates RCA programs with BCTF learning outcomes, enhancing their educational value. 

• The Leadership in Training Program, equipping youth volunteers with skills to lead effectively in camps and children’s programs. 

• Looking ahead to Spring 2025: The development of an Instructor Orientation Course to help RCA instructors deliver participant-responsive, dynamic programming tailored to diverse learning styles 

Let’s talk numbers – here’s a snapshot of our incredible year at the RCA: 

• Welcomed 230,000 patrons through our doors. 

• Hosted 1,800 rentals, from dance classes to cultural events. 

• Engaged over 2,000 students in our Arts Discovery programs. 

• Launched over 15 exciting new youth, family, and intergenerational workshops. 

We kicked off our year with RCA Presents performances from renowned musicians, Mi’kmaq fiddler Morgan Toney and jazz duo Sienna & Bill. Morgan Toney brought his unique blend of Celtic and Mi’kmaq music to the Okanagan and left the audience dancing in their seats. Award-winners Sienna Dahlen and Bill Coons enchanted listeners with their collaborative album, Balladextrous, delivering timeless jazz melodies with effortless charm. 

We were lucky enough to be the chosen Kelowna venue for Maryna Krut, a famous Ukrainian singer, songwriter, and bandura player. The evening was unforgettable, filled with raw emotion and incredible passion, as every note resonated deeply with the audience. With candles illuminating the stage, the atmosphere was both poignant and powerful. This special concert was dedicated to raising funds for Ukrainians on the front lines. 

The RCA was excited to co-present performances with Kelowna’s iconic Living Things Festival alongside Inner Fish Theatre Co. and Push International Performing Arts Festival. The 8th Annual Living Things International Arts Festival was a spectacle of live theatre, performance art, dance and music. This year, we witnessed unique performances from artists from Montreal, Vancouver and Romania, Madagascar, and Germany. 

Later in February, Juno winner Dominique Fils-Aimé brought the Mary Irwin Theatre to life with her sold-out jazz soul performance. Her seamless fusion of jazz, soul, and R&B captivated the audience, creating an unforgettable experience. Backed by a stellar band, Dominique’s commanding stage presence and vocal brilliance left attendees in awe, making her performance a true highlight of 2024. 

We were thrilled to be a finalist at the BC Tourism Industry Awards for Remarkable Experience. Our Executive Director Colleen Fitzpatrick and previous Events Coordinator Chelsea Boan traveled to Victoria to represent the RCA’s Indigenous Resilience Festival, held in March or 2023 at the RCA. Congratulations to Nimmo Bay Resort for taking home the well-deserved win. 

The RCA exhibits artworks throughout the year, and with that comes many opening receptions to celebrate our local artists. Our March gallery opening featured activism art to the Turkish art style of “Ebru”, and we were so excited to shine the spotlight on the many talented artists in our community. In the Alex Fong Galleria, UBC Okanagan students, led by Tania Willard, presented Hummingbird Spirits, a powerful series of relief prints honouring the memories of children lost to Residential Schools. Featuring linocut prints with a hummingbird motif, the exhibition symbolizes beauty and love while calling for justice and healing in Indigenous communities. 

Looking to add a personal touch to your space or find a one-of-a-kind gift? Many of the incredible artworks featured in our gallery spaces are available for purchase! Explore unique pieces that support local artists. More details about what's currently on display in our galleries here.

We celebrated St. Patrick’s Day with Juno Award winners, The McDades. Their lively performance brought a fresh twist to traditional Celtic music, blending high-energy Irish melodies with jazzy flair, creating an unforgettable party atmosphere in the Mary Irwin Theatre. 

In April, we were honoured to announce that the Indigenous Resilience Festival was nominated for another award, Festival of the Year, in the 2024 BCTC Awards! The ceremony was held at the Laurel Packinghouse, where the Coldsnap Festival in Prince George took home this prestigious award.  

April continued to be a busy month, as we served as one of the host venues for Pacific Contact 2024. For it’s first time held in Kelowna, this 4-day conference saw hundreds of performing arts professionals who gathered to plan their upcoming seasons (including ours!), network, learn, and develop lasting relationships extending into communities around the province. 

A huge thank you to our community for voting for us in this year's Best of Kelowna Awards. We are honoured to take home the silver medal in Best Arts Company or Organization for our 10th year, and the bronze medal for Best Building - a new award for us! This achievement would not have been possible without the support from our patrons and the RCAs hard working team. Congratulations to everyone in these categories, including gold winners Kelowna Actors Studio for Best Arts Company or Organization and The Laurel Packinghouse for Best Building. 

May saw two sold out shows with local legends Under the Rocks and comedy powerhouses, The Comic Strippers. Under the Rocks delivered an outstanding folk performance proving their status as one of Canada’s leading bluegrass bands Meanwhile, The Comic Strippers brought their signature wit and outrageous humor, leaving the audience in stitches with their clever improvisation and hilarious antics. 

At the beginning of June, the RCA’s Youth Arts Council hosted their Art Market Fundraiser in support of Upstream Canada. The group sold unique hand-made pieces or art such as tote bags, printed photography, customized notebooks, and more. Upstream Canada is a response to the staggering reality that so many youths in Canada experience homelessness each year. This initiative is a preventive approach to the problem that works to offer support to youth ages 12-18 who are identified as at risk of homelessness and school disengagement through a universal screening tool called the Student Needs Assessment (SNA). The Youth Arts Council and the RCA were thrilled to be able to donate to this amazing initiative. 

We unveiled more amazing artwork in our gallery spaces, including works from The Thursday Group, the Orchard Valley Quilters Guild, the 5th Grade Eco-Art and UBCO Land-Revitalization Initiative, and Gerald Siemen. A special part of our summer exhibition was the unveiling of the RCA Youth Mural Project. From December 2023 to May 2024, a team of youth were hard at work creating a large-scale mural that was installed on the RCA Outdoor Art Wall on June 7. After receiving generous funding from the Tony Quo Vadis Foundation, RCA staff teamed up with local Syilx artist, Sheldon Pierre Louis, and students from School District #23 to create this breathtaking work. The themes of environment and nature were presented to the students, and an open discussion was had on what these themes meant for each of them. The youth mural is a testament to the vibrant spirit of our community, and we are incredibly proud to showcase the talent and collaboration that went into this project. Stop by the RCA and view this mural for yourself!  

Behind the scenes, our team worked tirelessly this year to prepare for the 2024-25 RCA Presents season. We invited our funders, members, patrons, and community to celebrate the unveiling with us on June 24 in the Mary Irwin Theatre. Guests enjoyed a gift basket raffle, sneak peeks of the upcoming season, delicious refreshments, and live performances by nightshades, the Craig Thompson Trio, and comedian Kate Belton. It was a vibrant evening setting the stage for a phenomenal year ahead! Take a look at some upcoming shows here. 

Along with the new season, we announced our new Theatre Memberships. For just $39, you can now have access to exclusive benefits like 20% off tickets, early access to performances, priority seating, free exchanges, and special promotions—all while supporting Kelowna’s vibrant arts community. Your membership helps fund future upgrades and professional arts programming, making a lasting impact on the cultural scene in our city. To purchase memberships, please visit our box office or contact us at [email protected] or 250-469-8940. 

Everyone say happy birthday, Alternator! On July 12, the Alternator Centre for Contemporary Art celebrated it’s 35th birthday. The Alternator has been a longtime tenant in the RCA, and we’re honoured to be a part of its history.  

Lights, camera, action - again! Phase 2 of the RCA’s new theatre lighting upgrade was completed in July, marking a major step in modernizing our space. The enhancements include 9 moving spotlights, new LED cyc lights, and other advances to elevate your theatre experience. This project was made possible thanks to the generous support of the Government of Canada and the contributions of our patrons, enabling continuous upgrades to the theatre as a proud non-profit organization. Read more about Phase 2 here. 

The RCA’s Jazz Camp returned this summer for another week of unforgettable musical exploration. Led by Craig Thomson alongside Joe Auty and Bob Rogers, students learned how to develop their musical creativity by improvising over several styles of music. You can read a few testimonials about this years Jazz Camp here. 

RCA’s Arts Blast Summer Camps had another successful year, bringing a whole new world of creativity to your little ones. With fun themes like Animal Planet, Circus Week, Mad Science Week, and more. Every spring and summer, we are here to keep your 5- to 10-year-old entertained, engaged, and energized through a variety of artistic activities, including drama, music, dance, painting, sculpture, and more. Registration is now open for our next camp instalments, so register your little artists now and secure their spot. We are grateful for the generous support from the Stober Foundation to help send children from Mamas for Mamas families to art camps. 

We continue to offer free events to the community throughout the year, such as School of Blues and Jazz Jam. For the third year, two $1000 scholarships were presented to select students who participate in our weekly Jazz Jam and are continuing their post-secondary education in music. Read more about The Jazz Jam Scholarship Program here. 

The RCA developed a new program aimed at businesses looking for ways to foster creativity and provide a fun outlet for their staff - Wellness Through the Arts. This new program offers businesses a unique way to boost creativity and strengthen team bonds. Designed to enhance well-being, it combines rhythm, movement, and sound healing to create an immersive experience. This program provides a refreshing approach to workplace wellness, helping teams reduce stress, improve connections, and leave feeling rejuvenated and energized. Learn more and book a session here. 

Fall was off to a fantastic start – from new and exciting workshops to the film screening of award-winning local film, The Founder Effect (partnership with Okanagan Society of Independent Filmmaking), the building was a buzz with post-summer energy. To kick off our 2024-25 RCA Presents season, Canadian blues legend Harry Manx performed some incredible blues tunes, with an Indian music flair.  

Prism by the Canadian-Swedish duo Tentacle Tribe brought extraordinary talent and illusions to the stage. With five dancers moving across a reflective floor and manipulating mirrors, they created mesmerizing kaleidoscopic visuals, merging and multiplying their forms. Their performance captivated dance enthusiasts, and we were thrilled to bring such a unique experience to our community. 

Thanks to the Department of Canadian Heritage’s Canada Arts Presentation Fund, the RCA is proud to offer community arts outreach alongside its RCA Presents series. We were able to bring the legendary Jeremy Ledbetter Trio to Constable Neil Bruce Middle School this year. Passionate music students got to experience a jam session with members of the trio before their sold-out Mary Irwin Theatre performance. We were thrilled to bring these world-renowned jazz musicians not only to the RCA but directly to youth in our community who share a passion for jazz. Read more about the band’s experience with the students here. 

Our season continued in November with the enchanting music of Seffarine - a vibrant mix of Mediterranean music styles coupled with breathtaking flamenco dance. The duo, Lamiae Naki and Hulskamp, met at a coffee shop and were engaged the same day – and this chemistry radiated on stage. Their soulful melodies and rhythmic mastery left the audience spellbound, creating an unforgettable evening of world-class music and dance. 

World-renowned spoken word artist Shane Koyczan delivered an unforgettable performance, leaving no dry eyes in the house with his both vulnerable and humourous poetry and stories. Shane’s ability to speak boldly and authentically in a way that connects with people is unmatched, and we were honoured to have him as part of our RCA Presents season. 

As the holiday season approached, we welcomed The Comedy Department for their Holiday Comedy Rumble: Every Elf for Themself improv show. The evening kicked off with a lively pre-show party and the show was filled with laughter as a cast of mischievous elves competed for Santa's job after he jets off to Cabo. Not long after that, the theatre was filled with classic holiday tunes from award-winning jazz vocalist Anna Jacyszyn and her quartet. Anna’s energy and charm provided an evening of festive fun and cheer, just what we needed as we headed into the holidays. 

What a year it’s been at the RCA! We’re so grateful to everyone who made it special by attending shows, joining workshops, and engaging with the arts. Your support helps keep arts and culture thriving in our community.  

As a non-profit, donations play a crucial role in what we do. If you’d like to help us continue providing meaningful arts experiences, please consider donating today. Every contribution makes a difference. Click here to donate today. Thank you for an amazing year, see you in 2025!