Local Entertainment

The Eyes of the Tigers on the 2021 Beer Run on June 19. (Brennan Phillips - Western News)

Penticton Beer Runners take trip around local beaches and brews

Over 160 people signed up to come back after the 2020 run was cancelled

Jann Arden will embark on Canada-wide tour Spring 2022 with a stop in Penticton at the South Okanagan Events Centre on June 13. (Contributed)

Jann Arden coming to Penticton in 2022

The Jann Arden Live! tour has been rescheduled for 2022

Chilliwack’s Matt Johnson was strapped into a straight jacket and hung by his ankles upside down, and had less than two minutes to free himself before two spinning saw blades fell. (America’s Got Talent video)

VIDEO: Chilliwack escape artist Matt Johnson dazzles judges on America’s Got Talent

Johnson brought a packed auditorium to its feet with a death-defying stunt

Stephanie Perry’s quail is part of the square mural project displayed at the Cannery Brewing taproom until the fall. (Monique Tamminga Western News)

PHOTOS: Mini murals art project fill Penticton brewery walls

Penticton Art Gallery and Cannery Brewing partnered to support local artists

Stephanie Perry’s quail is part of the square mural project displayed at the Cannery Brewing taproom until the fall. (Monique Tamminga Western News)
Vernon local Ryan Lazar – who specializes in 2D background design and 3D animation – is ready to start his career after a tough yet rewarding two years of studies. (Contributed)

Okanagan College students get animated at graduation

‘The pandemic has resulted in more video consumption and the animation industry is so hot right now because of it’

Vernon local Ryan Lazar – who specializes in 2D background design and 3D animation – is ready to start his career after a tough yet rewarding two years of studies. (Contributed)
The Okanagan Symphony Orchestra presents New Beginnings May 1, the final performance of the season. (Judy Burns photo)

Okanagan Symphony stages season finale

New Beginnings closes unusual 2021 season with music to evoke spring’s promise of hope

The Okanagan Symphony Orchestra presents New Beginnings May 1, the final performance of the season. (Judy Burns photo)
Armstrong MetalFest co-founder Jesse Valstar performs with Odinfist during the annual event at the Hassen Arena and IPE Grounds in 2019. (Jennifer Blake - File)

Province backs Armstrong MetalFest

Metal festival organizers announce support from BC Arts Council will keep them ‘on their feet’

Armstrong MetalFest co-founder Jesse Valstar performs with Odinfist during the annual event at the Hassen Arena and IPE Grounds in 2019. (Jennifer Blake - File)
Roch Fortin, owner of the Okanagan’s only maple syrup store Maple Roch in Summerland, shows some kids how tapping the maple trees at Nomad Cider will be turned into syrup. (Lorena Klammer photo)

Summerland syrup celebrated this Sunday at Nomad Cider

Maple sap tapped from trees will be boiled and made into syrup at the Sunday celebration

Roch Fortin, owner of the Okanagan’s only maple syrup store Maple Roch in Summerland, shows some kids how tapping the maple trees at Nomad Cider will be turned into syrup. (Lorena Klammer photo)
This is the second year (2021) the heavy metal music festival had to be cancelled. (Morning Star file photo)

Plug pulled on Armstrong MetalFest once more

COVID-19 silences heavy metal music festival that draws hundreds to region for a second year

This is the second year (2021) the heavy metal music festival had to be cancelled. (Morning Star file photo)
Chelsea Ishizuka was borned and raised in Penticton but has now moved to Japan. When she found out there was a popular restaurant there named after Penticton, she had to go check it out. Here she is with the owner (right). (Facebook)

Popular restaurant in Japan named after city of Penticton

A Pentictonite now living in Tokyo discovered the eatery and the history behind its name

Chelsea Ishizuka was borned and raised in Penticton but has now moved to Japan. When she found out there was a popular restaurant there named after Penticton, she had to go check it out. Here she is with the owner (right). (Facebook)
Shane Koyczan spent February going to the art spaces that sit empty, breathing some life into them through his spoken word poetry which has been shared on the Chan Centre's Dot Com series which premiers March 12. (Facebook)

Penticton’s famed spoken word artist Shane Koyczan reflects on the pandemic in new show

The show premiers March 12 and features Penticton art centres hit hard by COVID-19

Shane Koyczan spent February going to the art spaces that sit empty, breathing some life into them through his spoken word poetry which has been shared on the Chan Centre's Dot Com series which premiers March 12. (Facebook)
Art honouring Okanagan’s landscapes at Nautical Dog Cafe on Skaha Lake. (Monique Tamminga Western News)

Nautical Dog Cafe serves up cakes, views and walls full of art

The Skaha Lake restaurant is featuring six local artists’ work

Art honouring Okanagan’s landscapes at Nautical Dog Cafe on Skaha Lake. (Monique Tamminga Western News)
The Okanagan Symphony Orchestra is back on stage and has two live-streamed shows coming to the comfort of your homes this weekend. (OSO photo)

Enjoy Okanagan Symphony Orchestra from the comfort of home

Musicians return to the stage with two live-streamed performances

The Okanagan Symphony Orchestra is back on stage and has two live-streamed shows coming to the comfort of your homes this weekend. (OSO photo)
Canadian comedian Ron Josol will participate in the Valentine's comedy festival. (Contributed)

South Okanagan Events Centre brings laughter to your living room this Valentine’s

SOEC is hosting the ‘Saving Our Jobs’ Virtual Comedy Festival all day Feb. 14

Canadian comedian Ron Josol will participate in the Valentine's comedy festival. (Contributed)
Jackie Del Rizzo and Stanley Zappa were on-air as just one of the programs for Peach City Radio’s first ONAIRversary in 2020. (Brennan Phillips - Western News)

Second On-Air-versary for CFUZ hits the airwaves on Feb. 6

The fundraiser celebration of two years of community radio starts at 8 a.m.

Jackie Del Rizzo and Stanley Zappa were on-air as just one of the programs for Peach City Radio’s first ONAIRversary in 2020. (Brennan Phillips - Western News)
Former Uplands Elementary School student Piers Bijvoet is set to star in an upcoming film. (Contributed)

Teen with Penticton roots to make big-screen debut

Piers Bijvoet went to Uplands Elementary School until he was eight

Former Uplands Elementary School student Piers Bijvoet is set to star in an upcoming film. (Contributed)
The En’owkin Centre, Theytus books and the Regional District of the Okanagan Similkameen (RDOS) have announced the publication of four new children’s books entitled Follow the Water. (Theytus.com)

New Syilx children’s books teach kids about the eco-system

‘Follow the Water’ will be used to teach students in Kindergarten to Grade 5

The En’owkin Centre, Theytus books and the Regional District of the Okanagan Similkameen (RDOS) have announced the publication of four new children’s books entitled Follow the Water. (Theytus.com)
Crystal Johns used her lunch break to film her audition video for the Vancouver Canucks.

VIDEO: Former Vees anthem singer wants to bring her voice to the Canucks

Crystal Johns made her audition tape during a lunch break

Crystal Johns used her lunch break to film her audition video for the Vancouver Canucks.
Penticton city council heard from Dhorea Ramanula, of Paid Employment for People with Lived Experiences Tuesday, Jan. 19. Ramanula’s organization has operated public washrooms in Kelowna staffed by community support workers since April, she says Penticton could benefit from a similar facility. (Michael Rodriguez - Kelowna Capital News)

Penticton interested in new public washroom concept to combat vandalism

Public washrooms with on-site support staff have been operating in Kelowna since April

Penticton city council heard from Dhorea Ramanula, of Paid Employment for People with Lived Experiences Tuesday, Jan. 19. Ramanula’s organization has operated public washrooms in Kelowna staffed by community support workers since April, she says Penticton could benefit from a similar facility. (Michael Rodriguez - Kelowna Capital News)
Penticton band Yarrows play an outdoor show at the their debut album release party, in front of a small, socially distanced at a downtown Penticton cafe in August, 2020. It was the only time they’ve been able to play their new album in front of a live audience due to pandemic. (Jesse Day - Western News)

Penticton musicians struggling in silence through pandemic

Public health orders has put live music on hold since since March 2020

Penticton band Yarrows play an outdoor show at the their debut album release party, in front of a small, socially distanced at a downtown Penticton cafe in August, 2020. It was the only time they’ve been able to play their new album in front of a live audience due to pandemic. (Jesse Day - Western News)