April 16 has been chosen as the day to celebrate Penticton’s birthday with a celebration in Gyro Park.
It turns out that the City of Penticton has a lot of birthdays including the opening of the Penticton post office (Dec. 1, 1889) — a milestone often considered to be the start of a community. Then, there is its incorporation as a district municipality (Dec. 31,1908), Later it was re-incorporated as a city municipality on May 10, 1948, and confirmed on Oct. 7, 1954. In between, the name was incorrectly changed to Penticton (Town) in 1936 on the Geological Survey map. Penticton marks 68 years as a city in 2016, and, in December, 108 years since its first incorporation as a municipality.
Celebrations will be centred in Gyro Park with the South Okanagan Volunteer Centre sponsoring a volunteer appreciation barbecue from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., followed by the third annual One World Festival from 2 to 5 p.m. The Rotary Club’s annual Pioneer Tea, celebrating the area’s long-term residents, takes place the next day, on April 17.
In September 2015, Coun. Judy Sentes announced the concept of the April birthday celebration, with the intent to recognize the birthday and create a festival atmosphere.
Coun. Andre Martin originally proposed the idea in June, though he wanted an annual event to mark the city’s 1908 incorporation.