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Image Credit: SUBMITTED/ Kelownapoloclassic.com

When it comes to entertainment in Kamloops and the Okanagan over the August long weekend, there are numerous options to choose from, and a few that are sure to draw in large crowds.

In Kamloops, the vibrant, spirited Kamloopa Powwow is back for its 42nd year with drums, songs, pageants and dance competitions running all day until midnight Friday through Sunday. The colourful Indigenous festival draws thousands of dancers and spectators to the powwow grounds every year. Cost of admission $10 for a day or $20 for the weekend. Located at 200-339 Chief Alex Thomas Way, there are food trucks onsite, available parking and port-a-potties.

Over in Kelowna things get fancy at the three day Kelowna Polo Classic starting at 10 a.m. Saturday. It’s the largest Polo tournament in the Pacific Northwest and features up to 200 horses with several professional riders coming from Argentina and Mexico.

The day will be filled with polo matches, music, food, cigars and drinks on the polo field at 4444 Bulman Road. You can purchase tickets through the website or show up for free at the separate south field. On Sunday and Monday, the whole field will be open to all for free. 

(DANA REYNOLDS / iNFOnews.ca)

The second annual Cowboy Arts Festival is giddying up at Vernon’s historic O’Keefe Ranch all weekend starting at 5 p.m. Friday with a cowboy dinner, music show and campfire. Next morning the ranch opens from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. for a day of entertainment including a travelling troubadour, cowboy shooting demos, wagon rides, roping activities and a pet-a-goat station to name just a few.

The festival’s main event is the Cowboy Festival Showcase on Saturday night, an evening of cowboy poetry, music, desserts and a good old fashioned hoedown. Go here for tickets for the Cowboy Dinner Show and Cowboy Festival Showcase. Admission for the daytime events on the ranch at 9380 97N are by donation.

It’s all about family time at Penticton’s free BC Day Celebration at Gyro Park on Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The park is being turned into a family fun zone with live music, sports and balloon making shows. Vendors and food trucks will be onsite, along with bouncy castles, face painting stations, crafts, and a goat petting zoo.

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Did we miss any big events happening in your community? Please let us know in the comments below.

Polo action will be high on many people's social calendar on the August long weekend.

Image Credit: Submitted/Okanagan Polo Club/Susan Wales

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