We celebrate our cultural heritage with cherished annual festivals, exhibitions, music concerts, dance, film and story-telling. Art galleries and studios offer star billing to hundreds of talented local artists and artisans who salute the beauty and vitality of this mountain paradise in every available media. Gallery shows and artist reception events give visitors exciting opportunities to meet many of these artists, view their works and learn what inspires them.

Visitors to the valley find that our inspiration is contagious and they usually try to take a little bit of it home with them, whether an original painting, a wood carving or the memory of the street festival where they sang and danced to the music of an accordion player.

Here are arts and cultural events taking place throughout the year in most Columbia Valley communities. Festivals, films, concerts and community occasions are always great reasons to get together to celebrate our heritage and our appreciation of friends, neighbors and our favorite place to live.

Oct 7, 2017

First Saturdays in Kimberley

The First Saturdays Arts and Culture Series is a monthly summertime event that celebrates the arts, culture and heritage of the Kimberley BC community. You're invited!

Oct 8, 2017

Thanksgiving Celebration at Fort Steele

The Thanksgiving Celebration at Fort Steele BC is a tradition for many families who return year after year for the day of fun and a great traditional meal

Oct 18, 2017

Tribute to Johnny Cash : David James & Big River

Tribute to Johnny Cash is a salute to the Man in Black. David James and Big River. A must for the country music legend fans. Key city Theatre.

Feb 18, 2018

Snow King’s Masque Parade – 12th Anniversary

The Snow King's annual Masque Parade, for the 12th year, brings a joyous celebration of their culture and history to the community of Golden, BC. Please join us!

Aug 17, 2018

Golden Sound Festival – Summer Edition

The next Golden Sound Festival - Summer Edition - in 2018. We are taking a break for summer 2017. Planning a bigger and better show for 2018. Stay Tuned!

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Here are some of our favorite annual fairs and festivals. Large or small, they draw friends and neighbors together to celebrate the uniquely beautiful tapestry that is Columbia Valley culture.

Columbia Salmon Festival

Visitors and the Ktunaxa people will have the chance to learn about the history and also the future of salmon in the Columbia River at Kinsmen Park.

Windermere Fall Fair & Scarecrow Festival

Celebrate the coming autumn season at the Windermere Fall Fair and Scarecrow Festival! There's live music, exhibits, demos, kids zone and great food! Mark your calendar!

Canal Flats Fall Fair & Artisan Market

The Canal Flats Fall Fair and Artisan Market is going to top the charts this year! Great fun to put happy faces on everyone. Contests, prizes, market.

Kootenay Country Fair

Celebrate the harvest season in style - Kootenay Country style! Join hundreds and enjoy all the excitement, the fun, the food, the prizes - and much more!

Steamboat Mountain Music Festival

The well-loved annual Steamboat Mountain Music festival in Edgewater brings musicians and music lovers together to experience an outdoor, all-genre musical gala in the shadow of Steamboat Mountain.

Kimberley Kaleidoscope

Kimberley Kaleidoscope is an annual 8-day arts and cultural festival through concerts, puppet theatre, poetry readings, exhibits, workshops, food and fun. For the whole family. You're invited.

Wings Over the Rockies Festival

Celebrate the biodiversity of wildlife in the Columbia River wetlands. Join people from all over the world at the 21st annual Wings Over the Rockies Festival.

Radium Harvest Festival

The Radium Harvest Festival is a grand celebration of autumn and the harvest season. It's a fun-filled family event with a pumpkin carving contest. Fun for all.

Mountain Mosaic Festival of the Arts

Follow the Canada Day Parade to the Mountain Mosaic Festival at Kinsmen Park. FREE family fun. Live music, dance, magic, kids activities, food & boat-building contest.

Snowflake Festival

Invermere's annual Snowflake Festival is a real family affair with live music, fantastic food, drink, ice skating, fire pit and fireworks as a grand finale.

More Fairs, Festivals & Annual Events > > >

In this section, you will find things to do and places to visit that represent the blending of the cultures and traditions that have made the Columbia Valley the living, always-evolving and unique place that we celebrate today,

Pynelogs Cultural Centre and Art Gallery

A beautiful 100-year-old Invermere BC building, Pynelogs Art Gallery and Cultural Centre is the home of the Columbia Valley Arts Council, displaying the works of more than 150 valley artists and artisans. [Read more...]

Fort Steele Heritage Town

Fort Steele Heritage Town, once a thriving mining town, is today a magnet for thousands of visitors who want to experience life as it was in the late 19th century. [Read more...]

Kootenay Country Fair

[September 13/15] Come on out to the old-fashioned Kootenay Country Fair! It's a major event in Fort Steele's annual calendar. [Read more...]

Kootenae House National Historic Site

The visitor to Kootenae House National Historic Site stands in a seemingly empty field, surrounded by majestic mountains which overlook the peaceful Columbia Valley. [Read more...]

Conrad Kain Interpretive sign

The career and accomplishments of Conrad Kain, Canada's celebrated first professional mountain guide,are celebrated with an interpretive sign at a scenic viewpoint alongside Hwy 93/95. Worth the stop. [Read more...]

Windermere Valley Pioneer Museum

The Windermere Valley Museum, with extensive archives,is a great destination for those who love all things historical. Take a family trip back to the days of the early settlers. [Read more...]

Valley Forged

Valley Forged is a Canal Flats-based band whose music is a seamless mixture of Country, Rock & Celtic. They perform at various Columbia Valley venues. [Read more...]

Kimberley’s Underground Mining Railway

Kimberley's Underground Mining Railway is a novel tourist attraction with a fascinating 100+-year-old history, beginning with the famous Sullivan mine. [Read more...]

Invermere Art Walk

Spend pleasurable Friday evenings in July and August visiting Invermere BC art galleries to view the inspired work of local artists. See all in one evening or make it a regular Friday treat! [Read more...]

The Stolen Church

Probably the most romantic tale of love and crime in the days of the pioneers of the Columbia Valley is that of the ‘stolen church’ in Windermere. [Read more...]

Fairmont Indian baths

Fairmont Indian baths are natural hot spring pools that were popular among the indigenous people and the early settlers of the valley. A unique and interesting little piece of history. [Read more...]

Embracing summer — Canal Days come alive!

Canal Days is an annual celebration of the reasons why the Canal Flats folks love living in this great little community. There's a full line-up of events. [Read more...]

Wings Over the Rockies Festival 2017

Wings Over the Rockies, one of Canada’s largest wildlife festivals, draws hundreds of visitors each year in May to the Upper Columbia River region of British Columbia. [Read more...]

This is a selection of venues where many of our Columbia Valley arts and cultural events take place. The list is by no means complete. We will continue to add others.

Cenotaph Park

Cenotaph Park in Invermere BC sits in the heart of the downtown business section. It's beautifully  landscaped with trees, flower beds brimming with color and benches where the [Read more...]

Kinsmen Park

One of the most popular outdoor venues in the Columbia Valley is Kinsmen Park, a beautifully manicured green space on the shores of Lake Windermere inInvermere. The park [Read more...]

Edgewater Community Hall

The Edgewater Community Hall and adjacent park are the pride and joy of the Edgewater community and a perfect venue for any occasion. It is the main venue [Read more...]

Golden Civic Centre

The Golden Civic Centre was originally built in 1948 from posts and beams salvaged from the Columbia River Lumber Company. It was restored and enhanced in 2011 and [Read more...]

Platzl in Kimberley

The Platzl in Kimberley's city centre is what readily comes to mind when one thinks of Kimberley BC. Kimberley is widely known as the “City of Festivals” and [Read more...]

Pynelogs Cultural Centre

Pynelogs Cultural Centre is a heritage building on the shores of Lake Windermere in Invermere. The facility houses an art gallery which is a venue for more than [Read more...]

Canal Flats Civic Centre

The Canal Flats Civic Centre, since its opening in 1968 as part of the Centennial Project, is the cultural and recreational heart of the Village of Canal Flats. [Read more...]

Fort Steele Heritage Town

Fort Steele is a heritage town, an hour's drive south from Invermere. Thousands visit each year to be reminded of how life was lived in the the late [Read more...]

Kimberley Conference & Athlete Training Centre

The Kimberley Conference & Athlete Training Centre, is located at the Kimberley Alpine Resort. At 24,000 sq ft,  the centre is the largest meeting facility in the East [Read more...]

More Event Venues > > >