Penticton BC Festivals, Fairs & Fun Events

Penticton BC festivals fairs and the many events during the year celebrate peaches, Elvis Presley, great films, ales, wine, jazz music and much more, and much of it makes for great entertainment and cheap family fun!

The peak of festivals and fairs happen between May and October, but you can enjoy many events during the winter too.

No matter what age group or interest you have, you can count on having a great time, and never running out of things to do.

Peach City Beach Cruise

For classic car show lovers, the Penticton Peach City Beach Cruise is for you! Visit in June, where you'll see over 700 classic cars in town.

Gyro Park in downtown Penticton BC holds vendors and live entertainment, a grand parade of all the cars down Main Street, and the entire 'Magic Mile' of Okanagan Beach becomes a display of antique and classic cars and trucks, and some other pretty interesting vehicles.

All these cool classic cars park along Lakeshore Drive for the weekend for visitors to tour through and check out.

There is also a Collector Car Auction that goes on all weekend.

Or, if you prefer, you can just listen to the auctioneer do his thing at a mile a minute! That's always fun.

One thing you don't want to miss is the famous JS Blues Brothers impersonators, Jake & Elwood. These guys are a favorite and return to Penticton BC for this event every year putting on an awesome show on the streets.

As for cheap family fun? Kids 12 and under are free, and for the rest of us, admission for the weekend is a whopping $2! (and you get a button with that!).

There's great activities for the whole family with ongoing entertainment from Friday night until Sunday.

Bring along your beach blankets and chairs, and relax on the beach for a while, 'cause the cruise event runs right along Okanagan beach, and on a hot day, it's the perfect place to cool off!

Penticton Elvis Festival

Another highly popular Penticton BC event is the Pacific Northwest Elvis Festival. Elvis impersonators from all over and the tribute artists take part in judged competitions.

This costs a bit more than the Peach City Beach Cruise, but you can attend just one day or get a full weekend pass.

There are great entertaining shows all weekend long, and the highlight is the Showcase of Gospel Music on Sunday, along with the judged finals on the last day.

Bring along sunscreen, a hat and water, and even a beach or lawn chair for the day.

Also during the Elvis festival and the beach cruise is the Square Dance Festival, which attracts over 800 square dancers in every event from free casual dances to mainstream competitions.

Penticton Peach Festival

The biggest of all Penticton BC festivals is the Penticton Peachfest, which takes place during the first week in August, and runs over 5 full days right after the August long weekend Canadian holiday,

It's been running since 1947!

The best cheap family fun - it's free entertainment - except for the midway and whatever food and other stuff you buy.

Live music, food and clothing vendors, arts and crafts, a cultural village, a grand parade and a special kid's parade, and a week long miday will keep you busy and entertained.

There's also a number of competitions, such as the peach drink, peach dessert and marching band competitions, and the most popular of all, the sandcastle competition.

The sandcastle competition happens on Skaha beach, where the entire beach is transformed into an outdoor art studio. Watching these folks create their masterpieces is amazing!

Along with the Peach City Beach Cruise, this is one of the busiest weekends in the city.

Many of these events are super family friendly, and have a variety of kid friendly activities and attractions throughout. Summer is also a time for summer farmers markets and fairs, where you can find all kinds of treasures made by local artists and artisans.

Penticton Ironman Canada Triathlon

Penticton Ironman Canada Triathlon is one of the largest and most successful annual races in Canada and is on in late August.

There are over 2000 participants in the race, which begins at 7 a.m. with a 2.4 mile swim, is followed by a long 112 mile bike and ends with a 26.2 mile marathon run.

Ironman in Penticton BC is the longest running Ironman competition in North America, and each year is equally exciting to watch.

More Penticton Festivals Fairs & Events....

And then there is the Pentastic Hot Jazz Festival. The weekend following Labour Day Public Canadian Holiday, entertains with three days of World Class Jazz music. They say it's the "Best Jazz party in the Northwest!"

Other great events include the Okanagan Wine Festivals that take place throughout the year. And in the spring, if you happen to be here you can check out the Okanagan Fest Of Ale that is always a sell out. This is one of the largest beer festivals in BC with over 70 brews!

Dragon boating is a popular sport in the Okanagan, and there are several Dragonboat Festivals throughout the valley. In Penticton BC, the Dragonboat Festival takes place in September.

The Annual Meadowlark Festival also takes place in spring, during the month of May.

We're always adding new pages. Please do visit often for Okanagan British Columbia travel and tourism information, including Okanagan accommodation guide, great attractions, guide to the Okanagan wineries and Okanagan BC golf vacations, all the fun Okanagan festivals, fairs and events, ideas for winter vacations, summer vacation ideas, shopping, places to eat, and much much more!

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