Help shape Penticton

The doors swing open tonight on a new-to-Penticton type of public engagement.

Rather than a display at city hall, an evening at the Trade and Convention Centre, or the occasional Saturday booth at the Farmer’s Market, the City of Penticton is starting a three-day event for the Official Community Plan review.

Related: City to spend 18 months on new community plan

ExpOCP runs Jan. 18 to 20, 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Thursday and Friday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, all of it taking place at the new Shape Your City storefront at 249 Westminster Ave.

It will feature displays, hands-on activities and workshops exploring a variety of topics including the economy, transportation and infrastructure, heritage and history, healthy communities, arts and culture, environment and sustainability, and housing.

Ben Johnson, manager of special projects, said these are topics that surfaced through previous engagement events. During the expo, residents will have the chance to discuss the topics in more detail and share their own suggestions.

Now that Penticton has engaged in the Smart City Challenge, planning for that will be incorporated in the expo, including an interactive session at the event to brainstorm how the community might use data, innovation and connected technology to improve the quality of life. Smart Cities team members and display materials will also be at ExpOCP during the other scheduled times.

The ExpOCP locations, formerly the showroom of Penticton Auto Sales, has been leased by the city for up to three months to be home to the expo and other OCP engagement activities.

Visit shapeyourcitypenticton.ca for more information about future events as dates and activities are confirmed.

Related: PenTalkton aims to start conversations