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Explore the history of Penticton in a city-wide scavenger hunt

Learn about the interesting history of the city during the national event Historic Places Days
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The Empire Theatre in Penticton in 1914 on Front Street, the location is now home to the Lloyd Gallery. (Old School Penticton/Facebook)

Locals are being encouraged to explore some of Penticton’s most famous landmarks and historic places to celebrate the national event Historic Places Days running through the month of July.

The Penticton Museum and Archives and the Penticton and District Community Arts Council (PDCAC ) have partnered to celebrate Historic Places Days with a scavenger hunt and colouring book that highlights some of the special historic places around Penticton.

Historic Places Days is part of a larger national event put on by the National Trust for Canada. Events take place from July 3 to 31 in communities across the country with the theme that “every place, a story.”

Penticton museum curator Dennis Oomen said the event is a great way to learn more about the interesting history of Penticton.

“A lot of Penticton’s history unfolds as you start looking at the historic places around the city,” Oomen said “Buildings like the Kendall Building or Empire Theatre, now Lloyd’s Gallery tell us that Front Street was once the commercial centre of Penticton in the early 1900s.

“The post office on the corner of Main and Nanaimo was built in 1936, and speaks to Penticton’s rise in prominence in the South Okanagan despite the Depression.”

Nearly 30 historic places are highlighted in the scavenger hunt and colouring book. The Scavenger Hunt is a guided journey where you will need to get out walking and looking to hunt for clues.

Participants can enter answers digitally or in the printed booklet.

“The colouring book was a fun collaboration with local artists who re-imagined historic places in their own style,” said PDCAC Administrator Bethany Handfield. “You can add your own flair by colouring them in how you like.”

Twenty local artists were commissioned to create the colouring book pages based on the historic places.

The colouring book and scavenger hunt can be picked up at the museum and at the arts council building.

Both are free to the public. Digital downloads are also available online for you to print at pentictonartscouncil.com.

A digital version of the scavenger hunt is available through the Actionbound app.

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jesse.day@pentictonwesternnews.com

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Jesse Day

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