Hoping to learn a new skill or tune up an old one before the year is done? The RCA is excited to offer a wide range of new and exciting programs for all ages! From visual arts to dance, to music to stand-up comedy, the Rotary Centre for the Arts is your go-to place to express your creative side this fall.

We’ve got plenty of youth workshops for your creative young ones looking for some extra curricular activities. This includes a brand-new Embroidery Workshop, led by our Youth Programs Coordinator Kaylyn Hardstaff. On Tuesdays from September 19 to October 10, youth 13 and older can learn the fundamentals of embroidery, sketching their own initial design, transferring their drawings onto fabric, and using a needle and thread to bring the drawing to life on fabric using embroidery techniques. New to BC, Kaylyn is excited to join the RCA team and teach with us. Help us give her a warm welcome by registering for our Embroidery Workshop! 

Always a fan-favourite here at the RCA is our After School Anime art workshops for teens. This fall, we’re offering an extended version of this class taught by local Anime-style artist Brock Gratz, Anime Art Extended, running Thursdays, September 21 to November 9. By the end of the class each student will have created a manga style piece for an exhibition showcasing and highlighting the rising talents of teen artists in our community. 

Through our work this summer in the RCA Summer of Arts program, it became clear that youth are looking for more visual arts workshops in the Okanagan. We are thrilled to be able to provide a space to make this happen! Instructor and artist Angie Marchinkow is back in a new teen workshop, Abstract Adventurism, Wednesdays from September 27 to October 25. Discover new ways of creating and experiencing art. Teens will get to experiment with different artmaking techniques, being given the unique opportunity to explore layering, painting, drawing, and use both fine art and everyday materials to create expressive and experimental works. Angie Marchinkow is a Canadian multidisciplinary artist and writer based Kelowna, BC. To her, "painting is about seeing before you, what is felt or seen within."

Don’t worry grown-ups, kids don’t get to have all the fun. We’ve got workshops for you, too. Another favorite at the RCA is Beginner Bellydance with Leona from Kelowna, and we’re bringing it back Wednesdays, September 6 to 27. Put your dancing shoes on and get ready for Leona to lead you through the beautiful art of bellydance. Then, if you’re ready to take your skills to the next level, Continuing Bellydance starts October 4. Leona will help you build the steppingstones to become an even better dancer.

Beginning Wednesday, September 20, Beyond the Music will return as an inclusive and empowering space to connect, share, and express yourself through a shared musical experience. Led by a certified Music Therapist, these workshops are perfect for those living with disabilities and diverse abilities. It has been wonderful to see that, through singing, music-making, group songwriting, and movement, participants build connections and gain confidence. Learn more about the impact Beyond the Music has had here. 

Always wanted to learn guitar or fine tune your skills? Group Guitar Lessons for adults, each Wednesday from September 20 to November 8, will allow students to learn in a relaxed and informal atmosphere. We’re excited to bring back Peter Raszka to instruct this course, a guitarist, keyboardist, composer, performer, recording studio musician, and a teacher from Kelowna. During his 30-year career as a musician, Peter had the pleasure to share the stage with many great musicians including guitarist Les Paul, and has performed at numerous jazz festivals and concerts as a part of a band and as a solo artist. 

In need of a good laugh? Our Stand-Up Comedy Workshop returns every Tuesday from October 3 to 24! Join Kelowna comedian, Kate Belton, in this judgment-free workshop to hone your comedic skills. If you’re always told you should try stand-up, or that you’re the 'funny one' in the group, this class is for you. Kate has performed in comedy clubs across the country, showcased at Yuk Yuk’s in Vancouver, and recorded her first comedy album in Winnipeg in October 2019 – so rest assured she knows how to make people laugh! We chatted with Kate when this workshop was first introduced last year, and what she says about comedy still rings true.

“At the end of the day”, Kate says, “everybody just wants some laughter and lightness in their lives, and the purpose of this course is to help each other find that. Whether or not they ever get up on stage to tell these jokes is up to the participants, but they can be assured that in this course they'll be surrounded by encouraging peers.”

If you’re in the mood for more flamenco dancing after our Flamenco Festival, happening September 28 and 29, than we’re offering a new Flamenco Dance class with Tascheleia Maragoni every Tuesday from October 3 to November 21. This amazing, passionate dance form has a complex history and the movements are not for the faint-hearted. You’ll get to experience stretching and drills, learn new techniques, practice, and culminate in a traditional flamenco choreography. 

So whether you're a youth looking to delve into the world of embroidery, or and adult hoping to learn a new dance, the RCA is the place for you this fall. Stop in and get creative!