12/03/2025
Those of us who run the Kelowna Community Concert Association — all of us volunteers — love to watch what happens when our subscribers arrive at one of our concerts: Friends spot old friends, leading to much laughter and hugging. Smiles and merriment abound.
It turns out we’re not just imagining things!
According to a study, commissioned by Kelowna City Hall and published on Dec. 1, the creative arts are flourishing in this city. And that’s good for our community cohesion.
The study, prepared by leading international consulting firm Nordicity, found that nearly half (46%) of Kelowna’s households show strong interest in cultural experiences. And, as we see with our own subscriber base of 1,000 strong, people here value “lower-cost, community-based
experiences that foster meaningful social and cultural engagement.”
“Compared to the BC average, Kelowna’s residents demonstrate higher-than-average attendance in arts and culture activities, such as wine festivals, concerts, and community theatres,” the study found.
That, it seems, is good for our economy: The performing arts alone account for $65 million in economic output, the consultants found, adding that, “beyond its economic contributions, the creative sector is central to Kelowna’s community well-being.”
The report also found that, in spite of recent declines in volunteerism across Canada,
Kelowna continues to benefit from a strong volunteer base that supports cultural
organizations and events.
Even so, the researchers did spot “early signs of reduced volunteer participation”, a trend we too have noticed.
And so we encourage you to visit the Volunteers page on our website, to see where you might fit in!
