By Don Urquhart, Times Chronicle
The Oliver Sunshine Festival is set to “return” in mid-June with 10 days of events and activities highlighting the best of living in the Oliver area.
You can be forgiven for being confused as to whether this is a new event, old event or something in between, but just with a new name, as the event has a number of historical antecedents.
The Oliver Sunshine Festival, is at its core, Oliver’s summer community festival. Historically it has been held in June, then revitalized as a July event, and more recently moved to August as a harvest festival with a different name.
It’s now going retro with a return to the Oliver Sunshine Festival which originally started in June 2011 as a celebration of Oliver’s unique heritage, diversity of people, special places, and the agricultural nature of the area.
Along the way it’s been called Oliver Days, Family Days, and Oliver Sunshine Festival which morphed into Roots & Fruits in 2020.
In 2024, Roots and Fruits Expo moved from August to June to avoid extreme weather including wildfires, resulting in increased local community support, including volunteers, vendors, and attendees, according to Oliver & District Recreation.
“Organizers saw the benefit of having access to all facilities to grow the capacity to host sporting events, holding events while school is still in session, and taking advantage of the early summer weather and temperatures.”
Following the event held in June 2024, Oliver & District Recreation said staff engaged the community and event volunteers regarding the brand and identity of the event, and “overwhelmingly, the response was to return to the Oliver Sunshine Festival,” said Carol Sheridan, Director of Recreation.
Confused yet? Fear not – the Oliver Sunshine Festival is here to stay (at least this year), and promises ten days (June 13-22) of events and activities kicked off with a jam-packed opening weekend of entertainment, food, and drink.
The festival kicks off on Friday, June 13, with the Recreation department and Firehall Brewery joining forces to host the Smokeshow, a new food and beverage event at Oliver Community Park.
The Smokeshow is the major fundraiser for the Sunshine Festival and will feature small bites from local chefs, local craft beer, wine, and cider, and live entertainment from Kelowna’s high-octane rock band “Lucky Monkey”. Tickets are on sale now with advance prices from the Firehall website.
Saturday, June 14, is the first-ever Pride Picnic in Community Park, followed by the “Blow at High Dough” Tragically Hip tribute at Venables Theatre and the Sunset Soiree en Blanc at the District Wine Village.
The festival’s signature event, Oliver Family Days, will run from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Sunday, June 15, and will once again bring a full day of activity stations, local singers, dancers, and bands, plus food and market vendors for all ages to enjoy, with no admission cost.
Organizers are leaning into Father’s Day and are hoping families will come down to enjoy a great day out in the park together.
On Friday, June 20, there will be a youth-only beach party-themed swim at the Oliver Pool, and on Saturday, June 21, start the day with the Solstice Yoga Salutation before heading to Lion’s Park, where Respect Record and Skate presents the annual Go Skate Day event in the afternoon.
This will be followed by the all-ages after-party featuring four local bands that night at Oliver Community Hall. On Sunday, June 22, the Station Street Market will be in full swing to close the festival.
The Oliver Sunshine Festival also provides an opportunity for local organizations and businesses to get onboard and join in on the week-long celebration by hosting heritage, sports, arts, and entertainment events in various venues around town under the Sunshine Festival banner. Anyone holding a community event during June 13-22 can email [email protected]
A full event listing is available at Oliver Recreation.
