Arts & Culture

The Shuswap Economic Development region is home to a diverse, vibrant, and exciting arts and cultural scene, offering a wide variety of programming from museums and heritage sites, live music and theatre venues, and festivals to fairs, stampedes, and sporting events. First Nations culture is shared and celebrated at The Shuswap Centre.

Artists’ studios and galleries, and concert halls and other live performance venues are scattered throughout the region, including public and private galleries, artists’ collectives, community halls, coffee houses and restaurants, and other shops. Local artists work in a wide variety of media – painting, sculpture, fibre arts, pottery, and everything in between. The Salmon Arm Arts Centre offers monthly exhibitions at the SAGA Public Art Gallery, along with summer art camps, films, live concerts, informational talks, and much more. Caravan Farm Theatre in Armstrong offers a unique outdoor theatre experience. Shuswap Theatre in Salmon Arm also hosts several live performance productions a year.

The Shuswap’s annual festival and special events lineup features Salmon Arm’s renowned Roots and Blues festival – and its traveling offshoot, Routes and Blues – the Nimblefingers Bluegrass and Old Time Music Workshops and Festival, the Word on the Lake Festival for Writers, the Shuswap International Film Festival, the Shuswap Music Festival, and much, much more. As well, many of the more rural areas have active community halls that host a wide range of activities for locals including theatre, dance, and music.

Salmon Arm’s theatre, ice arena, and community centre all offer a range of arts and cultural programming throughout the year, and nearby Kamloops, Vernon and Kelowna also offer events in keeping with larger centres. The neighbouring Okanagan Symphony Orchestra continues a long history of fine classical music performance.

Visit the Shuswap Tourism website for detailed, up-to-date information on the region’s arts and cultural attractions.