NEWS
OKANAGAN Athletics bowed out to Vancouver Cannons in the B.C. Premier Baseball League playoffs at Elks Stadium.
COLUMNIST Marjorie Horne says the compassion showed in helping evacuees of the Smith Creek wildfire needs to be translated into our health care system.
SIMULATED journey to Mars comes to an end for Lake Country physicist in Hawaii.
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TUESDAY July 29, 2014 The Central Okanagan’s Best-Read Newspaper www.kelownacapnews.com
Province kicks in $6 million for high tech centre
Wade Paterson
STAFF REPORTER
Approximately onesixth of the funding for the Okanagan Centre for Innovation will come from the provincial government. Premier Christy Clark announced Monday the province will invest up to $6 million toward the development of the $35-million, six-storey building, which is expected to be completed by early 2016. “I don’t believe that government has a big role in subsidizing business, but I do know that government policy and government decisions can fundamentally alter the direction of an economy,” said Clark. She added the provincial government will be a tenant in the new centre, using space for some of its staff. “We’re going to be using space anyway—we might as well do it here, and might as well be a part of creating a new economic future.” Kelowna city council unanimously approved a development permit for the project earlier this month. The Okanagan Centre for Innovation will be See Province A4
CENTER of Gravity festival goers watch a motocross rider flip over on his bike in mid-air last weekend. For more photos of the festival, see page A3.
▼ KELOHA & CENTER OF GRAVITY
Two summer festivals may not be sustainable Kathy Michaels STAFF REPORTER
Festival fans may have one less event to attend in Kelowna next summer. As the cleanup got underway for what most have deemed a successful run for the Center of Gravity, organizer Scott
Emslie admitted that putting together a profitable festival is becoming challenging. “The market for festivals has changed a bit,” he said Monday, noting that B.C. is bursting with events similar to his signature offerings, the Centre of Gravity and Keloha. That, he explained, is
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stretching thin the audience, which could cause trouble down the road. “It’s a very expensive festival to hold, and we need to have the numbers (in attendance) to justify bringing in these types of performers and sports events,” he said. As is, the usually sold out
COG saw a 90 per cent attendance rate, while response to Keloha was even more tepid. “We need to run the numbers to see if they’re both sustainable,” said Emslie. That will happen in the next two to three weeks, then by mid-August he should have reached a verdict.
Whether or not Emslie comes back next year with two festivals remains to be seen, but he’s clear on one thing—he wants whatever event he organizes to occupy the August long weekend again.
See Festivals A15
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