Maybe Kamloops should leave arts and culture to Vernon
VERNON HAS SHOWN Kamloops how it’s done. Again.
Last Saturday, Vernon residents voted to build themselves a $40-million multi-purpose cultural facility downtown. Of that, $25 million will be borrowed, the rest coming from grants, donations and “partnerships.”
The storyline is familiar. While Kamloops already has a very good art gallery, it needs a new concert hall, commonly referred to in these parts as a PAC (performing arts centre). Vernon already has a PAC but needs a new home for its art gallery and museum, which are currently in two different, aging buildings.
Kamloops needs a new home for its museum, too, but it no longer gets mentioned in conversations about a new arts and culture building.