Ryga Arts Festival

Ryga Arts Festival Celebrating The Arts in Summerland BC, the heart of the Okanagan Valley. The Ryga Festival is inspired by George Ryga, 1936-1987.

Considered by many as Canada’s most important English-language playwright, Ryga was a prolific author of radio, TV and film scripts, novels, short stories and novellas, critical essays, travelogues, music and song lyrics, and poetry. The Ryga Festival showcases artists' works in all creative media, including storytelling, poetry, theatre, music, and much more. Most of Ryga’s creative output origin

ated from his home in Summerland, including "The Ecstasy of Rita Joe," which was published to critical acclaim in 1967 and remains the best-selling Canadian play of all time.

Although our events are FREE this year, we will be collecting non-perishable food items for the Summerland Food Bank. If...
09/07/2026

Although our events are FREE this year, we will be collecting non-perishable food items for the Summerland Food Bank. If you have a few cans to spare, please bring them along with you. See you in a week!

We are still working out the details, but we hope you will join us in Memorial Park on Saturday September 19th as we gat...
09/05/2026

We are still working out the details, but we hope you will join us in Memorial Park on Saturday September 19th as we gather to celebrate the amazing community of Summerland, say thanks, share the arts and listen the South Okanagan Big Band. Speakers start at 5pm, band starts at 6pm. This even is drop-in and free, with the opportunity to donate to a couple of causes if you're able, including a drop-off bin for the Summerland Food Bank. More details coming soon.

We have decided to go very casual with this year's closing event and just make it about community, karaoke and having fu...
09/04/2026

We have decided to go very casual with this year's closing event and just make it about community, karaoke and having fun. Pick your own karaoke song that had some influence on you growing up, no matter what age that happened! Tell us about why you chose that song, and then sing it for us. No poetry required this year. This will be a first come first served event, with sign ups available at the door starting at 6:30pm. Please come prepared with your story and limit your time telling it so we can squeeze in as many people as possible. Please don't hestiate to reach out if you have any questions. Singing along is highly encouraged.

If you don't feel like you get enough author time with our Outspoken: a South Okanagan Author Spotlight, there is plenty...
09/04/2026

If you don't feel like you get enough author time with our Outspoken: a South Okanagan Author Spotlight, there is plenty more to take in at the W**e Country Writers' Festival.

Final venues are confirmed! We hope you will join us for this year's completely FREE Ryga Arts Festival. Please share wi...
09/03/2026

Final venues are confirmed! We hope you will join us for this year's completely FREE Ryga Arts Festival. Please share widely and let us know if you have any questions about the programming.

We’re very excited to announce a special edition of Outspoken!The Okanagan is home to so many incredible writers, and we...
09/02/2026

We’re very excited to announce a special edition of Outspoken!

The Okanagan is home to so many incredible writers, and we wanted to shine a spotlight on some of the talented authors working right here in our region.

Join us at SummerGate W**ery (**ery ) on Tuesday, September 15, as we welcome six South Okanagan authors. Each author will share a short reading from their work, followed by a Q&A, book sales and plenty of time for conversation.

Come discover some wonderful local voices, have a glass of w**e and perhaps find your next read.

We would like to extend a sincere thank you to the Spanish Villa on Okanagan Beach for offering us the gift of housing. ...
08/31/2026

We would like to extend a sincere thank you to the Spanish Villa on Okanagan Beach for offering us the gift of housing. They will also be offering a special discount to anyone visiting for the festival who would like to stay at the motel. A discount code will be available soon. We look forward to staying with you in a couple of week,s Spanish Villa Resort

In recent weeks, Summerland and neighbouring communities have faced tremendous disruption and loss as a result of the wi...
08/26/2026

In recent weeks, Summerland and neighbouring communities have faced tremendous disruption and loss as a result of the wildfires. Many people are still displaced, grieving, rebuilding or supporting loved ones and neighbours through an incredibly difficult time.

After careful consideration, Summerland’s Ryga Arts Festival will proceed this year in a smaller, revised form. All events in our revised schedule will be offered completely free of charge. We hope they can provide welcoming spaces for people to gather, connect and experience the arts together without any additional financial barriers.

To make the remaining events free, we had to make some difficult decisions about what we could realistically offer this year. Unfortunately, this means we have cancelled both sGaanaGwa and Outspoken. We are deeply disappointed not to present these events and grateful to the artists and partners involved for their understanding.

We have also made the difficult decision to postpone the 2026 Theatre Trail. The Trail requires significant rehearsal time, and our community was displaced for too long to make that possible this fall. We will hold a private read-through this year, with the intention of presenting the postponed Trail in spring 2027 or alongside next year’s festival, in addition to the new 2027 Theatre Trail.

On October 9, we will partner with the Dream Society to host a special Ryga fundraiser in Penticton. A significant portion of the proceeds will support a wildfire relief organization. More details will be announced soon.

This is not the festival we originally planned, but this is not an ordinary year. We are deeply grateful to our artists, partners, funders and community members for helping us reshape the festival with care.

Please see our revised schedule in this post. Anyone who purchased tickets to a cancelled or postponed event will receive a refund as soon as possible.

Do not hesitate to reach out if you have any questions.

08/11/2026

Like so many across British Columbia, our hearts are heavy as we witness the devastating impact of the Bald Range wildfire on Summerland and surrounding communities. Our thoughts are with everyone who has been affected or displaced, and with the firefighters, emergency crews, volunteers, and community members working through this ongoing emergency.

Right now, the safety and well-being of the community come first. As this situation continues to unfold, Summerland's Ryga Arts Festival is taking some time to step back and allow the community to focus on the immediate emergency response and the difficult work that will follow.

We will continue to follow the situation closely and will share further updates when the time is right.

For now, we encourage everyone to follow local emergency directives, stay safe, and look after one another.

- Trista Bassett, General Manager

Address

9525 Wharton Street , Unit #101 PO Box 1217
Summerland, BC
V0H1Z0

Telephone

+17785593233

Website

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