Arts & Culture

District of Summerland Cultural Plan

The Cultural Plan Task Force engaged with many community groups, local businesses and individuals and worked together with District of Summerland staff and Council to collaboratively complete Summerland’s Cultural Plan 2016. The Plan represents the collective wisdom and expressed views of the people of Summerland.

The Cultural Plan offers a clear path for leveraging the community’s values and cultural assets to crystalize Summerland’s identity and bring about economic prosperity and social cohesion.

The Summerland Community Arts Council (SCAC) is a nonprofit organization that fosters a thriving arts community where creativity is accessible to everyone and artists are valued as vital contributors to society. SCAC supports artists, cultural organizations, and creative initiatives that enrich the lives of individuals across the region with a mission to inspire artists and residents to learn, imagine, and connect through the transformative power of the arts. Recently, SCAC was honoured to receive the Mayor's Award for Excellence. To learn more about this award, please visit the District of Summerland Council's Corner website 

Throughout the year, SCAC stays busy! With the help of staff and volunteers, they operate a delightful gift shop that promotes local artists and authors, organize curated exhibitions in a dedicated art gallery, plan workshops, coordinate inclusive arts and youth programming, manage public art initiatives including the vibrant street banners project, and deliver special events like the popular Light Up the Arts winter market, and Music in the Park, a free Wednesday evening summer concert series in July and August in downtown Summerland. Artists are supported in many ways, such as promotional opportunities in the gift shop and on the SCAC website. Visit the SCAC at the newly renovated George Ryga Arts & Cultural Centre at 9525 Wharton Street. Click here for more information about SCAC and to sign up for the twice weekly digital newsletter, Arts Palette, that covers arts and culture events across the region. 

Summerland Musicians

Summerland is fortunate to have many accomplished musicians living in our community. Some are quite famous however all are very talented. These musicians add to the fabric of our community and can often be heard entertaining at local community events.

Summerland Potters Guild

Summerland has an active group of potters. For more information click here.

Summerland Singers and Players

This theatre group has been performing for over 100 years. They began by staging Gilbert & Sullivan plays however these ambitious performances required casts of 40 and a full pit orchestra. This group is still very active in our community. Click here for more details.

The Ryga Festival

The Ryga Festival is an annual arts festival, including music, theatre, spoken word, readings and workshops. The Festival fosters local creativity and is inspired by Summerland resident George Ryga (1932-1987), one of Canada's greatest writers. Ryga wrote "The Ecstasy of Rita Joe”, the best selling Canadian play of all time.  For more information visit the Ryga Fest website.