If one was paying any attention to the arts community in Kamloops, or even just the news, the results of the Build Kamloops alternate approval process announced in the last few months were hard to miss. After what seemed like a summer of debate and disagreements, the residents of the city green-lit the borrowing of $275 million to build a performing arts centre in downtown Kamloops and a multiplex arena in Dufferin.
The Kamloops Centre of the Arts received 5,802 opposing petitions and the arena received 4,025; both well under the 10 percent of eligible electors needed to effectively pause the plan in its tracks. The larger community recognizes that Kamloops — the third fastest-growing city in Canada — needs a bigger and much better-equipped venue to be ready for future residents. The project will break ground in 2025.
Meanwhile, as the city starts to hunker down for the colder months there is still plenty happening that will encourage the residents to come out and enjoy the vibrant arts and culture scene of Kamloops.
What better way to prepare for the winter than checking out the latest exhibit at the Kamloops Museum and Archives. Common Threads, which is on the second floor, spotlights wool’s journey connecting culture, history, and community through engaging displays and artifacts.
Stories That Animate Us, the latest exhibition at the Kamloops Art Gallery, highlights a diverse selection of works on paper and animations from a wide range of collectively shared oral histories, knowledge systems, and cosmologies, as well as personal memories, imaginings, and dreams.
With over eighty works on display including artists like David Hockney, Robert Davidson, Amanda Strong, Francisco de Goya, Marina Roy, Jérôme Havre, Ed Pien, Royal Art Lodge, and many others, this is an exhibition that will bring visitors back again and again.
Kamloops Symphony Orchestra has a busy November planned for Kamloops, kicking off with a vibrant fusion of Latin rhythms and symphonic soundscapes as Grammy Award-winner Alex Cuba returns to the Sagebrush Theatre, on Nov. 1 and 2. For the little ones, and perhaps not so little ones too, The Little Mermaid, narrated by TRUs very own George Johnson, should be a treat to look forward to. That’s also on Nov. 1.
The much-awaited holiday season show at Western Canada Theatre — Disney’s Beauty and the Beast can be enjoyed starting Nov. 21. WCT has recently welcomed their new Executive Director Matt Eger, who comes to Kamloops from Toronto and brings with him years of passion and experience in theatre, adding much depth and dimension to the city’s talent pool.
For more details of events and happenings in Kamloops throughout November, please check out our Events Round-up section.
Have fun out there, Kamloops!