Kelowna (2007 population 106,707, metropolitan population of 165,596) is a city on Okanagan Lake in the Okanagan Valley of British Columbia, Canada. Its name derives from a native term for "female grizzly bear."

Kelowna is the seat of the Regional District of the Central Okanagan, the third-largest metropolitan area in British Columbia (after the Vancouver and Victoria), and the largest in the British Columbia Interior. With scenic lake vistas and a dry, mild climate, Kelowna has become one of the fastest growing cities in North America. The appropriate management of such rapid development (and its attendant consequences) is a source of significant debate within the community. Kelowna is the second most expensive housing market in Canada (behind Vancouver).^[1] Also, Kelowna is the least affordable housing market in Canada and 13th in the world. It is classified as "Severely Unaffordable".^[2] Because of the Okanagan's climate and vineyard-filled scenery, it has been compared to California.

Kelowna ranks as the 22nd largest metropolitan area in Canada.

History

Kelowna, 1920

The service industry employs the most people in Kelowna, the largest city in the tourist-oriented Okanagan Valley. In summer, boating is popular, and in winter, Alpine skiing at the nearby Big White Ski Resort and Silver Star Ski Resort.

Kelowna produces wines that have a worldwide reputation. Vineyards are common around and south of the city where the climate is ideal for the many wineries. Notable ones include the Mission Hill Estate Winery, specifically for its unique architectural design. However, at least two major wineries were damaged or destroyed in 2003 due to the Okanagan Mountain Park Fire. Kelowna is also the home of Sun-Rype, a popular manufacturer of fruit juice and snacks.

With roots dating back to 1965, Okanagan College is the predominant centre for vocational and undergraduate post-secondary education in Kelowna. With over 5000 full-time students it constitutes the largest college in British Columbia outside the Lower Mainland and Victoria. The University of British Columbia took over the North Kelowna campus of Okanagan University College (now Okanagan College) on July 1, 2005. While UBCO continues to offer many of OUC's undergraduate programs, UBC Okanagan also offers Engineering and Management undergraduate programs and has developed Graduate programs in most disciplines.

Kelowna was home to the late Premier of British Columbia, W.A.C. Bennett and is the birthplace of his son, William R. Bennett, who also served as Premier of the province.

Former Major League Baseball players, Jeff Zimmerman of the Texas Rangers, his brother Jordan Zimmerman, and Paul Spoljaric were born here. The city is also home to The Grapes of Wrath, one of Canada's most popular rock bands in the 1980s and early 1990s. Evangeline Lilly of the hit TV show Lost was discovered on the streets of Kelowna.

Demographics

According to the Statistics Canada 2001 census^[3], the population estimates there were 96,288 people residing in Kelowna and 147,739 people residing in the Greater Kelowna Area. 48.4% of residents were male and 51.6% were female. Children under five accounted for approximately 4.8% of the resident population of Kelowna. This compares with 5.2% in British Columbia, and 5.6% for Canada overall.

In mid-2001, 18.4% of the resident population in Kelowna were of retirement age (65 and over for males and females) compared with 13.2% in Canada, therefore, the average age is 41.1 years of age comparing to 37.6 years of age for all of Canada.

In the five years between 1996 and 2001, the population of Kelowna grew by 8.2%, compared with an increase of 4.9% for British Columbia as a whole. Population density of Kelowna averaged 50.9 people per square kilometre, compared with an average of 4.2, for British Columbia altogether.

Population Growth

Religious groups

Source: Statistics Canada 2001 Census^[3]

Ethnic origin

Travel

Roads and highways

As the Okanagan Valley is a popular getaway for residents in Vancouver, a new freeway was built into the BC interior in 1986, eliminating over two hours of travel time between the two major destinations. This freeway, starting in Hope, is known as the Coquihalla Highway (Hwy 5), and terminates in Kamloops. This new freeway system allows one to drive the 425 kilometres from Vancouver to Kelowna in just under four hours.

A spur route, The Okanagan Connector, or Hwy 97C, was later added in 1989; it connects in Merritt, and heads eastward to Peachland, about twenty minutes south of Kelowna.

Kelowna is connected to Westside by the new five lane William R. Bennett bridge which officially opened May 25, 2008. This new bridge now links Highway 97 to the southern Okanagan and the Coquihala connector. The old floating bridge is currently being dismantled as it has outlived its usefulness and is incapable of supporting the current traffic levels. The new William R. Bennett bridge has helped to alleviate some traffic congestion but ongoing roadwork on interchanges, the restructuring of traffic lights and other improvements are underway on HWY 97 on both the Kelowna East and Westside West of the bridge. This stretch of Highway 97 continues to be one of the province's busiest traffic arteries and improvements will be necessary to keep up with the ever increasing population and the ever expanding tourist traffic to this area.

Highway 33, which connects with Highway 97 in Rutland, provides an alternate way to enter and exit the city, towards the southeast.

Air travel

Kelowna International Airport, north of the downtown core, has regular flights to and from Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto, Vancouver, Victoria, Las Vegas, Honolulu and Seattle, as well as seasonal service to Mexico.

Climate

Relative to most Canadian cities, Kelowna enjoys a dry climate and mild temperatures (Mean Annual Temperature = , January Mean Temperature = ; Mean July Temperature = ) but this is recorded at the Kelowna Airport, inland and at a higher altitude than the city core. Okanagan Lake tends to moderate the winter climate, but Arctic air occasionally penetrates into the valley during winter (coldest recorded temperature = , 30 December 1968). Summers are hot and sunny, with daytime temperatures often exceeding (hottest recorded temperature = , 24 July 1994). Nighttime temperatures in summer are cool due to the dry environment. The city averages about of precipitation per year, with about 1/3 of the precipitation falling as snow, the bulk in December and January.

Although Kelowna averages 300.5 hours of bright sunshine in July (61% of daylight hours), the early winter months are mostly overcast; thus, Kelowna averages only 40.3 hours of bright sunshine in January (for comparison, consider 120 hours at Winnipeg, Manitoba and Miramichi, New Brunswick; 44 hours at Prince Rupert, British Columbia; 45 hours at Yellowknife, Northwest Territories).

(All data are derived from Environment Canada statistics for the Kelowna airport)

Kelowna is the least windy city in Canada with 39% of wind observations recorded as calm ^{[4][5][6][7][8]}.

Venues and attractions

Kelowna Marina

• Prospera Place, a 6,800-seat arena
• Apple Bowl, a 5,700 seat outdoor stadium
• Alternator Gallery for Contemporary Art^[9]
• Rotary Centre for the Arts^[10]
• Kelowna Art Gallery^[11]
• Kelowna Community Theatre^[12]
• Kelowna Museum^[13]
• Kelowna Marina on Okanagan Lake
• Capital News Centre
• Kelowna Farmers Market - April to October Outdoors
• Kasugai Gardens, an outdoor Garden beside City Hall built to celebrate friendship with its sister city; Kasugai, Japan. ^[14]

Gallery

<gallery> Image:Kelowna 1909.jpg|Kelowna in 1909 Image:Kelownaatnight.jpg|Kelowna, British Columbia Image:DSCN0050.JPG|Kelowna as seen from Westside Image:2008-02-24-KelownaSkylinePanorama-attempt1.jpg|High Res Kelowna Skyline Panorama taken from the Westside, off of Hwy 97 - 2008-02-24 </gallery>

Sport

• Kelowna Rockets - Western Hockey League (Winners of the 2004 Memorial Cup)
• Okanagan Sun - Canadian Junior Football League (Winners of the 1988 and 2000 Canadian Bowl)
• Okanagan Challenge - Pacific Coast Soccer League
• Kelowna Falcons - West Coast Collegiate Baseball League
• Kelowna Wilderness - Outdoor Basketball Association

Media

Local services

• Kelowna Weather
• The Okanagan Regional Library has 3 branches in Kelowna
• Emergency services are provided by the Kelowna General Hospital, the BC Ambulance Service, the Kelowna Fire Department,
  Central Okanagan Search and Rescueand the Royal Canadian Mounted Police
• Kelowna Regional Transit System provides transit to the Kelowna Area (A branch of BC Transit)

Education

Public schools^[15]

Public schools in the Kelowna area are part of School District 23 Central Okanagan or School District 93 Conseil scolaire francophone:

• Secondary (Grades 10-12 or 8-12):
  • ''Kelowna Secondary School'' (offers French immersion)
  • Rutland Senior Secondary
  • Mount Boucherie Secondary
  • ''Okanagan Mission Secondary''
• Middle (Grades 7-9):
  • KLO Middle (offers French immersion)
  • Dr. Knox Middle
  • Constable Neil Bruce Middle
  • Rutland Middle
  • Springvalley Middle
  • Glenrosa Middle
• Elementary Schools (Grades K-6 or K-7):
  • About 20 elementary schools spread throughout the city. (See the school directory list for district 23 and district 93.)

Private schools^[16]

• Aberdeen Hall Preparatory School (Pre-school, K-7)
• ''Kelowna Christian School'' (Pre-12)
• Heritage Christian School (K-12)
• Vedanta Academy (K-12)
• Okanagan Adventist Academy (K-12)
• Immaculata Regional High School (8-12)
• St. Joseph Elementary (K-7)
• ''Kelowna Waldorf School'' (Pre-8)
• Okanagan Montessori School (Preschool & Kindergarten)
• Okanagan Montessori Preschool-grade 6, after school care

Post-secondary^[17]

• The University of British Columbia (Okanagan Campus)
• Okanagan College
• Sprott-Shaw Community College
• The Centre for Arts and Technology

Events of significance

• On August 6, 1969, a sonic boom from a nearby air show produced an expensive broken glass bill while at least 6 people were injured^[18].
• Winter 1983 was the last time that the Lake completely froze over. (A Royal Canadian Mounted Police helicopter successfully 'rescued' an SUV that had tried to drive across the Lake and cracked through the ice).
• In both 1986 and 1988, alcohol-fuelled riots erupted during summer Regatta festivities.
• On May 7, 1992, a forest fire consumed 60 hectares of forest on Mount Boucherie in West Kelowna; no homes were damaged.
• In August 2003, a nearby wildfire destroyed over 200 homes and forced the temporary evacuation of approximately 30,000 residents^[19].
• During the 2003 fire, many trestles of the historic Kettle Valley Railway were destroyed. One of the trestles, Trestle 18, has been rebuilt, and other trestles are planned to be reconstructed as well.
• In May 2005, Kelowna celebrated its Centennial.
• In 2005, a new bridge to replace the Okanagan Lake Bridge began construction, being part of a plan to try and alleviate the severe traffic problems experienced during the summer months when people from Kelowna drive to Westbank and vice versa. (the height of tourist season).
• In July 2007, rowdiness during the "Wakefest" festival led city council to cancel any future Wakefest events due to the public drunkenness exhibited by many young attendees. A March 2008 proposal to host the event in nearby Penticton was declined by that city's council, due to the demands it would have placed on the local police.

Sister cities

Kelowna has "sister city" agreements with the following cities:^[20]

• Kasugai, Japan
• Senenga, Zambia
• Veendam, Netherlands

Trivia

• In the Sci-Fi series Stargate SG-1, Jonas Quinn hails from the nation of Kelowna on the planet Langara. Stargate SG-1 and its sister show Stargate Atlantis are produced in Vancouver.
• Some believe a lake monster named Ogopogo lives in Lake Okanagan. In the past, naysayers have pointed out the similarities between the so-called monster and a beaver, a log, and other less monstrous lake denizens.
• The Online Virtual World Club Penguin has its headquarters located in Kelowna.
• In the song "Driving One of Your Cars" by Swedish musician Lisa Miskovsky, she mentions Kelowna in the lyrics "Kelowna is beautiful in summertime they say".
• Fido, the comedy/horror/thriller movie about zombies, was shot in Kelowna and debuted on September 7, 2006 at the Toronto Film Festival.
• Part of the movie Mee Shee: The Water Giant was filmed here.

References

External links

• Kelowna City Hall
• CHBC TV News Website
• CKOV 63
• Regional District of the Central Okanagan
• School Board
• University of BC - Okanagan
• Kelowna Art Gallery
• Circle The Earth Kelowna Page

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