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West Kelowna has a vibrant and evolving culture, rich with aboriginal and pioneer heritage and flourishing with modern art, music, festivals and events.
Treasures of our cultural legacy are captured at the Westbank Museum. Today, our culture thrives through the works of dedicated and talented artists and musicians, who study and practice their unique crafts or who carry on ancestral skills. Modern festivals and events such as Art in the Park, Music in the Park and Westside Daze are establishing traditions that fill our parks and streets with life, laughter and excitement, creating vibrancy in our community and providing bases for artistic development.
The Cultural Plan will be a guiding document for fostering, creating and implementing cultural development in the District of West Kelowna. The strategic document will provide future direction, a vision statement, policies, priorities and actions for the District of West Kelowna. The plan will include an events and festivals strategy. The document will guide and shape West Kelowna's cultural priorities for the next 10 years.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS
West Kelowna Council was presented with a Key Findings Report stemming from the initial public consultation phases of the developing Cultural Master Plan.
At the January 22, 2013 meeting (click here to read the report) Council gave input on seven identified themes:
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Define the Municipal Role
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Better Connect Culture and Economic Development
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Coordinate Responsibilities and Build Partnerships
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Integrate Culture into Current Infrastructure Priorities
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Increase Awareness and Expand Community Engagement
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Support a Strong and Sustainable Cultural Sector
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Expand Cultural Collaboration with Westbank First Nation
From this, the first draft of the Cultural Master Plan will be created.
NEXT STEPS
Input from Council, provided in January 2013, and a public survey and Community Visioning Session, which occured in November 2012, will be used to compile a draft plan, which will be taken to Council for further input and direction.
The Cultural Plan will be connected and aligned to support West Kelowna's Official Community Plan and other relevant guiding documents. The plan will bring focus to cultural planning, policy and development initiatives and provide a strategy for coordination/delivery of cultural events and/or festivals. In addition to broad community engagement, the plan will seek participation and buy in from key cultural businesses and organizations and stakeholders in the community.
Consistent with leading practices in British Columbia and other parts of Canada, the plan will embrace a broad definition of cultural resources as illustrated in the diagram below (click on image to enlarge).
While the strategies and priorities proposed in the final plan may not address all the resources in the diagram, the planning process is being undertaken with this larger vision of culture and cultural resources in mind.
CONTACT US
If you wish to learn more about the Cultural Plan, or if you have questions or comments, please contact the Recreation and Culture Department at:
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