Artist rendering of proposed Revelry food and music venue.
Image Credit: Submitted/City of Kelowna
September 24, 2022 - 6:31 PM
Kelowna residents against a proposed entertainment venue in downtown Kelowna are now raising funds to pursue legal action against the venue.
Earlier this week, Kelowna council decided to recommend a liquor service license to the The Liquor and Cannabis Regulation Branch for The Revelry, an entertainment venue currently being constructed at 1383 Ellis Street.
READ MORE: Revelry warming up a new music venue for downtown Kelowna
If approved, hours of service would run from 7 a.m. to 12 a.m. Saturday to Thursday and from 7 a.m. to 1 a.m. Friday and Saturday but would be considered “food primary” from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. and “liquor primary” from either 5 p.m. to 12 p.m. or 1 a.m. depending on the day, according to staff reports.
Lloyd Pederson, who lives at the Madison condo complex, across from venue’s location, said he’s not opposed to having an entertainment venue in the area, but not one that can house 685 people with a liquor license allowing operation until 1 a.m.
So far, the GoFundMe he started Sept. 23 has raised $4,900 of its $25,000 goal, which Pederson said will be used for legal action to file an action in the Supreme Court. Unused funds will be returned to donors.
If 685 people are drinking alcohol until 1 a.m., he said it will cause a disturbance in the area and he considers the venue to be a nightclub if it’s serving alcohol that late.
Pederson said residents of the Madison are mostly opposed to the entertainment centre.
However, the staff report shown to council states “the proposal does not include any outdoor activities, and all activities will be contained within the structure. The applicant has introduced noise mitigating factors like ending any live music one hour before the end of the proposed hours of liquor sales.”
The entertainment spot will include a cafe in the daytime and food and beverage services. During weekdays mornings, an event hall will be available for use by local businesses and other groups and a music hall will allow for performances.
"The rationale indicates that most of these shows will typically run between 8 to 10:30 p.m. or 11 p.m.," according to the report.
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