Image Credit: CFJC/City of Kamloops

By Adam Donnelly

BUILD KAMLOOPS

Build Kamloops Celebration of the Arts set for future site of performing arts centre

Jul 24, 2024 | 6:15 PM

KAMLOOPS — For now, it’s a parking lot — with aspirations to one day be home to the Kamloops Centre for the Arts. While that dream is some years away, proponents of the project hope to share the vision for the space at Fourth Avenue and Seymour Street on July 29’s Build Kamloops Celebration of the Arts.

‘The whole parking lot, which is where the building will be, will be laid out as it will be when the building is built,” James MacDonald, artistic director for Western Canada Theatre, explains. “You can see where the theatres will be, see where the lounge is going to be, where the restaurant will be, where art gallery storage is going to be. It’s a great opportunity for people to not just look at a picture of something and say, ‘That looks kinda cool,’ but actually come down on the site and get the feeling of that.”

On Wednesday, behind closed doors, the organizing committee met to finalize many of the details for Monday’s Celebration of the Arts — some of which are closely guarded secrets.

“There is [one special detail], but it’s a surprise, so I’m not going to talk about it,” Councillor Dale Bass says. “To be honest, everything that is planned — if it comes off as we expect it to, it’s going to be really amazing. The whole evening is going to be fun.”

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The event will feature live entertainment, food and drink, and interactive displays from many community arts organizations.

“It’s not just about the physical space, but the — for lack of a better term — the vibe of what this space is going to be for this community,” Kamloops Symphony Executive Director Christopher Young suggests. “I think this event is going to highlight exactly what this performing arts centre is going to do for Kamloops.”

Detailed renderings of the new Kamloops Centre for the Arts have been available to the public for some time. However, organizers believe that if people come down and experience that vibe, they’ll get a deeper understanding of what such a facility would bring to the downtown core.

“You can look at images and get an idea of what the performing arts centre would look like as a building,” Radhika Tabrez, Kamloops Film Society general manager, says, “but to actually be in that space and experience all these things that will be happening in that venue, it adds another dimension to the understanding of what the space brings to the community.”

The Build Kamloops Celebration of the Arts takes place Monday, July 29 from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. at 393 Seymour Street. Admission is by donation, with proceeds going to arts organizations who are helping organize the event.