Today is Giving Tuesday! Giving Tuesday is a special day dedicated to building support for the organizations and causes that matter most to you. 

“Our community charities need your support today and every day. Whether it's supporting the arts or another favourite charity, consider giving today if you are able. Let’s dig deep and invest in all the things that make our community vibrant, resilient, and engaging’” says Colleen Fitzpatrick, RCA’s Executive Director. “The RCA is asking our community to help us build towards another twenty years as Kelowna’s arts and culture hub by humbly asking for your donations. Big or small, as a non-profit organization, every contribution helps us continue providing exceptional programming to our community”.  

For the past two decades, the RCA has played a leading role in fostering a vibrant cultural scene in Central Okanagan. Working with local art instructors, we run a wide range of youth and adult art education programs that help aspiring artists of all ages explore their creativity. We program engaging live performances in our 325-person Mary Irwin Theatre, featuring local and touring musicians, amateur and professional theatre groups, and diverse dance companies. And we also maintain enriching community programs like School of Blues and weekly Jazz Jam, which help make cultural experiences accessible to all. We’ve introduced new accessible community programs such as Draw Your Art Out and Dance & Move, expanding our initiatives for those looking for a space to express themselves.   

As we continue to build back from the pandemic, it has been truly inspiring to see our community coming back to the theatre, supporting community programs, taking art classes, and experiencing the art and culture the RCA has to offer again. Even as this growth continues, the pandemic has taken a serious toll on Canadian arts and culture organizations. Statistics Canada estimates that not-for-profit performing arts organizations saw a nearly 61% decline in operating revenues in 2020, a hit compounded by a 22% contraction in salaries, wages, commissions, and benefits for workers in these organizations. The RCA is no exception to this rule. This Giving Tuesday, your contributions will help us build back from two very difficult years.  

But they will also do more than that. November 2nd, 2022, marked the RCA’s twentieth anniversary. Our staff is hard at work imagining an exciting new year of innovative arts and culture programming. We’re planning a new season of bold events, ambitious audience experiences, and compelling storytelling—all designed to help our community reconnect and to chart a new path forward for arts and culture in downtown Kelowna. Our free community programs, youth art camps, classes, theatre performances, and concerts would not exist without the generosity of donors and sponsors like you.  

Our communities are stronger when non-profit organizations have the resources they need to do their vital work. Here at the RCA, we believe arts and culture have a key role to play in building back even better than we were before. It is through creative expression that we can find one another again. Art provides a way to meet your community in joy and laughter and to feel and learn together in a fast-changing world.  

We invite you to help the RCA build toward another twenty years as we create new opportunities to experience, learn, and connect through creativity. Click here to donate today! Thank you for supporting Kelowna’s arts and culture hub on Giving Tuesday.