Penticton’s Ignite the Arts festival continues to grow and nowhere was that more clear than at the Parade for No Reason on March 29.
The parade kicks off the annual arts and culture festival’s main weekend.
This year’s parade is the third, and so far the largest, with a few hundred people joining the winding route through Penticton’s downtown.
The event was bigger than just crowd size; this year great puppets that towered over peoples’ heads were part of the parade
Returning from 2023, band Balkan Shmalkan again led the way with their music, and so did the fire dancers of Kinshara Entertainment.
The parade left from the Elks Hall in Penticton and wove through the downtown, stopping to let people dance away for a bit at Okanagan Park, before heading back.
After the free parade, people filled the Elks Hall for a free performance from Juno Award-winner Al Simmons.
READ MORE: PHOTOS: Ice sculptures, live music star at Penticton’s Ignite the Arts Community Week
Events across downtown as part of the Ignite the Arts Festival ran through the night, and more are scheduled to begin on Saturday starting at 11 a.m.
The Penticton Art Gallery will be hosting free events starting at 11 a.m., including a beading workshop with the Jack family at noon.
The Elks Hall, the Dream Cafe on Front Street, Legacy Den on Main Street, the Brit Bar on Nanaimo Avenue, Cannery Brewing and Highway 97 Brewing on Ellis Street, as well as the Tempest Theatre on Eckhardt Avenue will all have events starting between 11 a.m. and noon.
Finally, on Sunday, March 31, events kick off between 11 a.m. and noon across nine of the venues. The sole event at Brit Bar will be karaoke starting at 8 p.m.
The main events at Ignite the Arts require either a day pass or a weekend pass to access, which can be picked up at the Elks Hall or purchased online at IgniteTheArts.ca.
In addition to the free events hosted at the Penticton Art Gallery on March 30 and 31, Slackwater Brewing will be holding a free Conroy Ross concert on March 30, starting at 8 p.m. and on March 31, Cannery Brewing will host a free concert with LonelyCompany from 6 p.m. to 8.
The full schedule of performances, including start times and locations, is available online.