The annual Rutland May Days Festival is a weekend of rides, games, music, food and more.

Image Credit: Shooting Star Amusements

KELOWNA – Two annual events which have been happening in Kelowna for more than 50 years are back again and taking over Kelowna this May long weekend.

Rutland May Days and the Knox Mountain Hill Climb have been annual events in Kelowna for the last 56 and 58 years respectively. The Hill Climb, which attracts racers and their machines from all over North America, benefits the Cancer Society, the Kids Care Cancer Foundation and Camp Good Times. Rutland May Days is a fundraiser for the new Rutland Centennial Hall.

The Hill Climb takes place Saturday and Sunday starting at 9 a.m. Racers start at the bottom and work their way up Knox Mountain as quickly as possible while spectators cheer and take in the car show and booths set up at the bottom of Knox Mountain Drive.

More than 50 cars are registered to race the 3.5 kilometres paved road which climbs almost 250 metres. Cars are run one at a time, each trying to reach the top in the lowest elapsed time. Drivers compete in various classes from open wheeled formula cars to powerful, large-engined GT cars.

Across town in Rutland, Centennial Park will be filled with rides, food trucks, booths and more for the annual Rutland May Days Festival.

May Days chair Laurel D’Andrea says the weekend starts with rides and outdoor entertainment.

There will be a new midway this year called Shooting Star Amusement hosted at Roxby Square off Roxby Road while the live music and booths will be set up at Centennial Park. The midway runs Saturday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Sunday from noon until 5 p.m.

The Knox Mountain Hill Climb is one of two huge events coming to Kelowna this weekend.

(ADAM PROSKIW / iNFOnews.ca)

The annual Kiwanis May Days Pancake Breakfast is Saturday from 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. followed by the May Days parade which starts at 11 a.m.

“So far we have over 50 entries,” D’Andrea says. “We’re very excited about that.”

The Busy Women Express Shop, an indoor market for women, will be set up inside the Rutland Hall on Saturday between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. and there will be bingo on Saturday and Sunday as well.

Rutland Centennial Park will also host a new addition this year. The Imagination Market is a collection of businesses and non-profit organizations offering free crafts for kids.

Also new this year, a raffle where 2,500 tickets will be sold for $5 each. First prize is a $2,500 travel voucher, second prize is a hot air balloon ride and third prize is a $250 gift basket.

“The money we make from will go into a new security system for the hall once we get it renovated,” D’Andrea says.

Admission for May Days is $40 at the gate.

For a complete schedule or more information, visit the Our Rutland website. 

If crowds aren’t your thing, the Kids Care Spray Park in Westbank Centre Park will also open in time for the May long weekend.

The children’s water park will be open to the public from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. until September with extended hours in July and August from 9 a.m. until 8 p.m.

The park has 20 motion-activated geysers, hoops, shower towers, and water cannons as well as lawn space for activities. There are also picnic tables and washrooms/change rooms on site.

Kelowna City Hall and the West Kelowna District Office will be closed Monday, May 18 but the Glenmore Landfill will be open its regular hours from 7:30 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. 

Parkinson Recreation Centre will be open Monday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

For general information about the City and its services, please visit the City of Kelowna website. 

To contact the reporter for this story, email Adam Proskiw at aproskiw@infonews.ca or call 250-718-0428. To contact the editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.

News from © iNFOnews, 2015