Jann Arden will headline the 2026 Alpenglow Arts Festival at Sun Peaks, an event Tourism Sun Peaks hopes will help establish the mountain community as a destination for arts and entertainment beyond the winter season.

The festival begins Sept. 18 with Arden and her trio performing at Sun Peaks Centre Stage from 6–9 p.m. The two-day event continues Saturday with the Alpenglow Living Gallery, an immersive arts experience featuring art, photography, live performance and interactive installations.

For Naomi Kerchinsky, executive director of Tourism Sun Peaks, the festival is part of a broader strategy to bring visitors to the destination during its traditionally softer spring, summer and fall periods.

“When I started, the board was looking to switch our mandate to a split of destination marketing and management,” Kerchinsky said. “Part of that is looking at events as a lever to pull new and different markets into softer periods in Sun Peaks.”

The festival also grew from an effort to make greater use of Sun Peaks Centre, including its arena, which had been underused as an entertainment venue.

Tourism Sun Peaks tested the venue in 2024 with a performance by Brett Kissel to determine whether audiences would purchase tickets for concerts there.

The organization then self-promoted shows before seeking outside promoters to establish the venue as a viable location for professional entertainment.

MRG Live is now working with Tourism Sun Peaks on the festival and is responsible for booking the talent. The company has also been involved with other Sun Peaks events, including Rockin’ in the Peaks and the Heartland Country Festival.

The festival’s development is part of a five-year event strategy designed to create new experiences while generating economic benefits for the community.

“We want economic impact to our village,” Kerchinsky said. “That means heads in beds, people staying overnight, and being part of that experience.”

Tourism Sun Peaks is also aiming to make the venue attractive to performers and audiences who might otherwise associate the space primarily with hockey.

Kerchinsky said the festival’s concert setup is designed to create an intimate experience while maintaining the advantages of the covered outdoor venue and its mountain surroundings.

“What I want visitors to take away is getting this professional event experience in this laid-back mountain town where you can golf and hike and bike by day and then go to this incredible concert by night,” she said.

This year’s festival will expand its arts component through the Living Gallery on Saturday, transforming the venue into an evolving creative space.

The long-term goal is to make the festival an experience that attracts visitors regardless of which artists are performing.

“We see it just growing to a place of sustainability so that it’s something that people, no matter what the talent is being booked in the show, want to be part of this beautiful arts experience in our mountains,” Kerchinsky said.

Additional artists, experiences and programming for the festival are expected to be announced soon.