After two years without, Kelowna’s annual tradition of the “Valley First New York New Years” celebration returns to Stuart Park on Saturday, December 31st for the 9th time as a way for families to ring in an early New Year.
“After cancellation in 2020 and an ‘almost’ event in 2021, we are stoked to be holding this community party again,” enthuses Renata Mills, Executive Director of Festivals Kelowna. As we did before those crazy 2 years of the Pandemic, this all -ages New Year’s Eve celebration will offer our community a fun way to gather and welcome a new year full of possibility.If past year’s experiences are any reflection we expect to welcome thousands of people to Stuart Park between 6:00 and 9:00 pm for a short but sweet evening of revelry and fun”.
Thanks to the generous support of the City of Kelowna and multiple sponsors, the event is always free to attend and will feature a variety of outdoor activities including skating on the ice rink, carnival games and activities in the “Kid’s Snow Zone”, free glow sticks, and other goodies given out by the event sponsors. Keeping your bellies full and energy up, there will be 3 food trucks onsite from 4:00 to 9:00 pm serving “glove friendly” portions of warm beverages, little donuts, hot dogs, smokies, fries, and more. Feeling especially festive? Drop into the face painting booth for some creative face flair and then stop by the Telus photo booth to capture the moment. A lucky few will win a “golden ticket” that nets them a free caricature by Kelowna artist Monte Barwick.
When skaters hit the rink, they can move to the music of high-energy, live musical performances starting at 6:00 pm from Kelowna Alt Rockers “Sad Tom and The Noodles”, followed by Classic Rockers “3/4 Crush”, DJ “Hotel Zero” spinning tunes between the band sets, and Vernon’s “Lindsay May and the Mayhem” at 8pm featuring both covers of some of the most iconic country artists of all time as well as a few of their own originals.
Rounding out the evening will be an extended fireworks display at 9:00 pm to ring in an early New Year for Kelowna. Started by a countdown with His Worship, Mayor Tom Dyas, the fireworks will be shot from the North West point in City Park and visible along the waterfront from The Sails to the Kelowna Yacht Club.
“After two years of ups and downs in the events world, we are even more appreciative of the tremendous support given by our event partners and sponsors this year including our longtime title partner Valley First, the City of Kelowna, the Province of BC, Kiwanis Club of the Central Okanagan, NHP Audio Visual, and our new radio partners 104.7 The Lizard and Beach Radio. We certainly couldn’t make this event happen without the help of these great corporate citizens and partners in our community,” explains Ms. Mills.
For more information about the event, check out www.festivalskelowna.com, the “Valley First New York New Years” event page on facebook, follow along on twitter @FestKelowna, search hashtag #NYEKelowna..
Festivals Kelowna produces community focused, arts-based festivals and programs. With a family-friendly approach, we strive to enhance the lifestyle of our residents and visitors through positive cultural experiences.
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