A new summer festival and agri-tourism heritage attraction are adding to Kamloops, BC’s already established reputation as the best summer playground in Canada. 

Kamloops is home to the brand new THRiVE Festival, June 21-23, 2013, designed to illustrate that creativity is not confined only to the traditional art forms such as music, visual arts, dance or drama, but is also found in recreation, pastimes, and everyday activities. The inaugural festival, held at Thompson Rivers University, features leading local, national and international experts such as Kamloops based photographer Kelly Funk, national writing sensation Sharon Butala, BC’s go-to-gardener Brian Minter and many more who are designing and facilitating one-of-a-kind personal development programs.  Courses run free - $150.00 per person.
The THRiVE Festival helps launch a Kamloopsian summer that is chalk full of activities for all ages.  The distinct semi-arid mountains (Kamloops receives over 2,000 hours of sunshine every year) combined with Canada’s most unique topography have always drawn intrepid families and adventurers hungry to dive into a dizzying array of experiences—mountain biking for all levels, hiking, paddling (kayaks, canoes, and stand-up paddle boarding), hang gliding, rock climbing—and that’s just the self-propelled pursuits. There is also dirt biking, ATV riding, horseback riding, and motorcycle touring and seven intriguing circle routes.   Kamloops literally means “where the rivers meet” and along with more than 100 lakes within an hour’s drive, guided fishing tours are offered for all ages.

And for truly getting back to the land, a new agri-tourism attraction, Tranquille Farm Fresh offers farm, historical, wildlife, photography, and gold panning tours.  A historic calf barn is now home to a farmers market that sells locally grown produce (herbicide and pesticide-free) and a corn maze opens in August. The site also includes an historical town-site complete with firehall, homes and buildings – a photographer’s dream today and will be a perfect backdrop for a five day ‘spooky’ Halloween celebration in October.

And to make things even easier for families, a free Kamloops Kids Map, produced by Tourism Kamloops, is full of ideas and coupons to help enjoy the best of Kamloops at great value.  Activities highlighted include hiking the hoodoos at the Lac Du Bois Provincial Park, indoor skateboarding at Faction Indoor Skate Park and getting creative by splattering paint in a “Splatter Room” at 4Cats Art Studio. Add in feeding wolves at the BC Wildlife Park, playing in the Children’s Museum and experimenting with science at the BIG Little Science Centre, and there are all the trappings for a great family getaway.

Additional Kamloops highlights include being named the most diverse golfing destination in Canada – offering 13 remarkable courses, and home to some of the best mountain bikers in the world.  The Kamloops Bike Ranch is a 26 hectare world class mountain biking facility where you trade in your horse for a bike to explore race courses and recreational trails.  And from August 2-4, the Kamloopa Powwow is one of the largest celebrations of First Nations' culture and heritage in Western Canada.  The Powwow is a spectacular expression of the Secwepemc people's heritage and is a vibrant display of storytelling, song, and dance in traditional regalia.

Located in the heart of the Interior of British Columbia, Kamloops is easy to get to, with several airlines servicing the city, major highways meeting in Kamloops and rail travel options.  More information on summer activities, events, and accommodations in Kamloops may be found at www.tourismkamloops.com.

News from © iNFOnews, 2013