Katie Pereira, the general manager of the S.S. Sicamous, and Robert Nield, treasurer of the board and a longtime board volunteer, have announced a major fundraiser is underway in an attempt to raise $80,000 to upgrade the longstanding wheel cover of the ship.

Image Credit: Keith Lacey, Local Journalism Initiative

The people who are committed to keeping one of Penticton’s most iconic tourist attractions alive and well have announced an $80,000 fundraising project is already underway for a major capital project they hope to have completed before the 2025 tourist season gets underway.

Katie Pereira, the general manager of the S.S. Sicamous, and Robert Nield, treasurer of the board and a longtime board volunteer, have announced a major fundraiser is underway in an attempt to raise $80,000 to upgrade the longstanding wheel cover of the ship, the largest surviving ship of its kind in Canada.

“We are super excited to launch a new capital project this year,” said Periera. “It has been a while since we’ve done a project this big. It will be over 80 grand and we are hoping to restore and rebuild our current wheel cover.

“Currently, the wheel cover is starting to decay. There are lots of holes in it and a lot of rotting and a big need to improve it.”

The restoration project includes removing all of the old wood on the large wheel cover.

All of the mechanical parts that made the wheel cover function properly when the Sicamous was a functioning ship will not be replaced, she said.

“Once the wood has been removed, we’ve got a company coming in to rebuild a brand new wheel cover,” she said. “After the rebuild is done, we’ll be giving the wheel cover a brand new paint job.”

The original S.S. Sicamous first hit the shores of Okanagan Lake dating back to 1914 and it has been landed on the shores and turned into a museum since the early 1950s, said Nield.

“It was brought down from Okanagan landing, where it was rotting,” he said.

Taking care of an iconic tourist attraction like the S.S. Sicamous involves a lot of planning and ensuring it is continually upgraded and maintained for future generations, said Nield.

“Being the custodian of something like this, which remains such an iconic part of Penticton, is a big job,” said Nield. “I think the S.S. Sicamous is the most photographed tourist attraction in our community, even more than the Penticton sign up on Munson Mountain.

“It gives us (volunteer board) a huge responsibility to look after it. It might be easy to take some shortcuts, but we don’t do that. If things need to be fixed, we want to make sure it’s done right. Wood rots, of course, and this has been replaced before, but it gets an awful lot of exposure being located where it is right on the shore of Okanagan Lake.

“It gets a lot of sun and heat and snow and wind, you name it. So it needs replacing again and it has to be done properly. That’s where the expense comes in.”

The fundraising efforts will involve community members stepping up and making donations to finish this project, hopefully by June before the busy tourist season begins, said Pereira.

“We’re looking for people who want to contribute to the project through donations,” she said. “It can be a donation of any amount, it doesn’t matter. It all adds up towards having enough money to finish the project.”

A perimeter fence will be erected before the restoration project on the cover wheel begins and volunteers are also encouraged to sign up for this part of the project, she said.

“Any kind of help would be great,” she said.

The S.S. Sicamous Marine Heritage Society has hired Pereira and two part-time employees for 2025 and the volunteer board is made up of nine members.

During the summer, Young Canada Works and Canada Summer Jobs allows several more students to be hired.

Funds raised from admissions are directed back towards restoration projects of the S.S. Sicamous and the other ships in the park, said Nield.

“The majority of money we raise is from people coming in to see the ship during the busy tourist season and those admission fees,” he said. “We also get a lot of money from venue rentals. People or organizations want to rent the ship for a special occasion. We get money from wedding rentals. People want to get married on the ship because it’s so beautiful and has so much history.

“Everything we do is a fundraiser with most of what we make going back into keeping the museum open and running.”

Periera said it’s part of her job to stay on top of what provincial and federal arts grants are available annually for heritage attractions like the S.S. Sicamous.

“We don’t have an exact date set to have this project finished, but we would like to get it done by June, so we can be ready when all the tourists start pouring into town,” she said.

The board has developed a strategic plan to raise money to complete one major capital project on the S.S. Sicamous over several years and the wheel cover project was clearly prioritized last year, she said.

“We look at that strategic plan and any income we bring in within that year goes toward the major capital project assigned to that year,” she said. “This year, the wheel cover is the major project and there’s also plans to upgrade lighting within the museum later on.”

Pereira said the citizens of Penticton have great pride in this iconic ship and museum and she’s confident the fundraising goal will be reached.

“We’re hoping to enhance the beauty of the ship with this project and we’re confident something so beautiful and precious will bring people in to give what they can,” she said.

Nield said every donation helps and residents are only being asked to contribute what they can afford.

“There’s many people out there who say they can only afford 50 bucks, but that’s fantastic,” he said.

The City of Penticton has long provided an operational grant to the S.S. Sicamous Society, which covers utilities and administration costs and that money is much appreciated every year, said Pereira.

The museum board is determined to continue making the S.S. Sicamous a vibrant and popular part of this city’s culture for generations to come, said Nield.

“This old ship is now 111-years-old and look at it, it looks fantastic,” he said. “There are nicks and cracks, of course, but overall, it’s in incredibly good shape.”

Pereira said she’s proud to work on a ship that means so much to so many longtime Penticton residents.

“Our biggest mission is keeping the history alive,” she said. “We believe the ship belongs to the community. We want to keep it alive and make sure the public understands paddleboats like this were the only means into the area back in the day. It’s a really big part of this city’s history.”

Anyone wishing to make a donation, can visit the website at www.sssicamous.ca. You can call during business hours at 250-492-0403.

— This story was originally published by the Penticton Herald.

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